Third Church Sermons

This Sunday we’ll be hearing from Pastor Fakhri Yacoub, pastor of the Christian Arabic Church. Fakhri will be speaking about the current crisis in the Holy Land, and how we as Christians can faithfully pray for what is happening.

We are nearing the end of this rich book. Qohelet begins offering more guidance about how to live well. This week in chapter 11:1-6, he offers some guidance about how to live a purposeful life in the face of such an uncertain world.

This Sunday we'll be looking at the subject of suffering and how to deal wisely with our seasons of pain. As we process the atrocities of the terrorist attacks in Israel, and the many innocent children, women and men who have been killed in Israel and Gaza, it is overwhelming to know what to do, what to think, or how to pray. Qohelet offers us wisdom to think about not just our own suffering, but also the suffering we witness in the world.

** This sermon was co-written by Corey Widmer and Kevin Germer of Christ Presbyterian Church, Richmond

Sermon sources:

- Philip Ryken, “Why Everything Matters”. The open story about Thomas Boston comes from Ryken's chapter on this section.

- David Gibson, "Living Life Backwards." The “Legoland” illustration idea comes from chapter 3 of this book

- Zack Eswine, “Recovering Eden.”

- Christopher JH Wright, “Hearing the Book of Ecclesiastes”

- Peter Enns, “Ecclesiastes”

In the Scripture text for this Sunday, Qohelet turns back to his research on on the meaning of life, this time exploring the topic of money and wealth.

This Sunday we’ll look at the serious subject of injustice, and how Qohelet grieves over the way things often work in the world.

Notes for the sermon “The Scandal of Injustice,” Oct 1, 2023

** This sermon was co-written by Corey Widmer and Kevin Germer of Christ Presbyterian Church, Richmond

Sermon sources:

- Miroslav Volf, “Exclusion and Embrace”

- Christopher JH Wright, “Hearing the Book of Ecclesiastes”

- Philip Ryken, “Why Everything Matters”

- Peter Enns, “Ecclesiastes”

This Sunday we will turn to Ecclesiastes 3 and a mysterious element of being human: the enigma of time. How do we deal with the limiting and frustrating quality of time, and how do we find purpose within it?

Notes for the sermon “The Tyranny of Time,” Sept 24, 2023

** This sermon was co-written by Corey Widmer and Kevin Germer of Christ Presbyterian Church, Richmond

Sermon sources:

- David Gibson, "Living Life Backwards." The “Legoland” illustration idea comes from chapter 3 of this book

- Zack Eswine, “Recovering Eden.”

- James KA Smiith, “How to Inhabit Time.”

- Christopher JH Wright, “Hearing the Book of Ecclesiastes”

- Philip Ryken, “Why Everything Matters”

- Peter Enns, “Ecclesiastes”

This Sunday we’ll continue our journey with Qohelet, this time looking at this experiment with work. Can the work of our hands bring meaning and significance to our lives under the sun?

This week, we’ll be getting into the rest of chapter 1 and a bit of chapter 2, learning about Qohelet’s experimentation with knowledge and wisdom.

This week, we’ll be getting into the rest of chapter 1 and a bit of chapter 2, learning about Qohelet’s experimentation with knowledge and wisdom.

This Sunday we'll be starting a new fall sermon series on the Book of Ecclesiastes. This book honestly faces some of the most difficult questions we wrestle with as human beings.