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Better Together and Awful Alone

Ecclesiastes

October 17, 2021 • Jonathan Pokluda • Ecclesiastes 4, Genesis 2:18, Proverbs 6:10, Proverbs 24:30–34

Have you ever been in a situation where you were in a bad spot and you were alone? How would it have been different if someone else was with you? As we continue our series studying the book of Ecclesiastes, JP teaches us the importance of doing life with other people and not being alone.


KEY TAKEAWAYS

-You were not designed or created to be alone.

-Life is better together and awful alone.

-It’s better to be alone in a cemetery than alone and alive.

-What keeps you isolated?

-Envy and comparing yourself to others will keep you isolated.

-When we assess how we are doing in life, we are almost always comparing and measuring ourselves against someone else. Your contentment is based on being better or having more than them.

-The essence of laziness is selfishness.

-The most self-absorbed person is the farthest from God.

-The person who is most isolated is closest to Satan…they are the easiest to pick off and defeat.

-Greed will keep you in isolation.

-Many people have provided for their family at the expense of their family.

-Ty Cobb is arguably one of the greatest, if not the greatest baseball player of all time. On his deathbed, he said he wished he had more friends. Only 3 friends showed up to his funeral. Ty Cobb won at baseball but he lost at life.

-The truth is, if you want something bad enough and have enough drive you can probably get it, but make no mistake…it will cost you. Make sure you are pursuing the right things.

-What are the benefits of friends?

-You can do more and be more productive with others.

-The law of synergy shows that when two are together they can accomplish a multiplier of what each could accomplish alone.

-To receive (or give) care in life implies that someone else is there.

-Idiosyncrasies grow in isolation.

-Comfort and strength are both benefits of friendship.

-The vast majority of pastoral care emails and messages are from people who are not in community or doing life with close friends and family. They are usually alone.

-If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far go together.

-Some people grow so smart they are not teachable. Don’t be one of them!

-The loneliest place is leadership.

-Leaders and politicians are miserable saviors.

-The loneliest place in all of history was Jesus being crucified on the cross. And yet, He did it for us. God used that moment to save us.

-If you have an area of your life that you don’t want to let others into, you are inviting the devil into that area of your life.

-God paid a great price to defeat Satan and save you, but while you are on earth you are in a strange middle ground and not fully home yet. If you live isolated, you will get taken out.


MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

-Suggested Scripture Study: Ecclesiastes 4; Genesis 2:18; Proverbs 6:10, 24:30-34

-Sermon: God Working in Time

More from Ecclesiastes

The End of the Search

November 28, 2021 • Jonathan Pokluda • Ecclesiastes 12, Matthew 10:26–31, 1 Kings 11:1–6

What does it mean to fear God? Christians are commanded to do so all throughout the Scriptures. As we finish our series studying the book of Ecclesiastes, JP teaches us what it means to fear God. KEY TAKEAWAYS -We are all moving toward death. You are older now than when you read the sentence before this. -Fear and follow God before your body fails. -You can and should take care of your body, but you are going to die. -Form your theology before your decline. -Don’t buy into a false theology that God is not loving and kind because we are commanded to fear Him. -Read other books, but only in addition to the Bible, not as a supplement to the Bible. -Fear and follow God by holding firmly to His Word. -There are so many distractions in this world that the enemy uses to pull you off track. -Your quiet time is not a means to please God. It’s a method of survival to fight against an enemy that is seeking to steal, kill, and destroy you. -If you are not regularly reading the Bible you are backsliding. -Why would God make known to us His mysterious will when we are clearly disobeying and overlooking His revealed will? -Fearing God and following Him means living by faith. -Is your life marked by acts of faith? Things you did that if God didn’t show up you’d be considered foolish and a failure? -Every sin you’ve ever committed is against God. -If someone can come back from the dead after being tortured and crucified, you should fear them. If they were tortured and killed and came back from the dead for you, you should follow them. MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES -Suggested Scripture Study: Ecclesiastes 12; Matthew 10:26-31; 1 Kings 11:1-6 -Sermon: Wisdom in Words, Work, and Worship -Resource: http://www.biblereadingplan.org

Wisdom in Words, Work, and Worship

November 21, 2021 • Nate Hilgenkamp • Ecclesiastes 10, Ecclesiastes 11, James 1:19, Colossians 3:23, 2 Thessalonians 3:6–8

While toddlers can be really funny with their actions and words, there is a big difference when adults do and say similar things. As we continue studying the book of Ecclesiastes, Nate Hilgenkamp teaches us what Scripture has to say about our words, work, and worship. KEY TAKEAWAYS -Here are some descriptions of the tongue in Scripture: snake, fire, sword, world of evil, and full of deadly poison. -Are you thoughtful with your words? -The wise are slow with their words. -Your tongue can eat you alive if you aren’t careful and thoughtful with your words. -Your words always matter, and they matter even more when it comes to your family. -You are never “safe” when it comes to speaking words that aren’t wise or gracious. -The wise work hard no matter what while the foolish work based on how they feel. -The wise are steadfast in their work. -Many of our problems with work are because we let our feelings guide our work. -Your laziness steals from yourself, and at times, it might even be stealing from your company. -Don’t work so hard to provide for your family at the expense of your family. -The world is not out of control, but it is out of your control. God is fully in control. -The more you try to control the more you will worry and fear. -The wise are surrendered in worship. -When you have a right view of God you can worship instead of worry. -It will not go well with you when your life is centered around yourself. -Do your words, work, and worship look like that of an adult or a child? -While children are often foolish, they have the one thing necessary to come to Jesus: need. -Don’t try to clean up your mess before you come to God. Come to Him as you are and let Him clean you up. -The only people who get into the Kingdom of God are the ones that know they shouldn’t. MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES -Suggested Scripture Study: Ecclesiastes 10:11-14; James 1:19; Ecclesiastes 10:20; Ecclesiastes 11:1-6; Colossians 3:23; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-8; Ecclesiastes 10:15; Ecclesiastes 11:5, 3:11, 8:7, 8:17, 9:12, 10:14; Matthew 19:13-14 -Sermon: Live Like You’re Dying

Live Like You're Dying

November 14, 2021 • Jonathan Pokluda • Ecclesiastes 9, Colossians 3:23, 1 Corinthians 3:19, Psalm 111:10, Ephesians 2:10

Do you have a bucket list? What do you want to do before you die? It could be anything at all. As we continue studying the book of Ecclesiastes, JP shows us that God has a bucket list prepared for each of us and that we should live like we're dying (and will live forever). KEY TAKEAWAYS -We do not know what tomorrow will bring. -Mortality causes us to be reflective. -Weddings are fun and celebratory, but everyone is distracted. At a funeral, the focus is crystal clear and you have everyone’s attention. -Remember death awaits us all. -In America in 2021, we are bad at death. We’ve outsourced it in a way that is completely foreign to other cultures and all of history. -You do not know how much time you have left. -It is really hard and sad when death strikes. We mourn because we were made to live forever. Death was not present in Eden before the Fall and it’s not in heaven either. -Find joy in living. -God does not want to rip you off. He is a good God, and He loves giving good things. -What do you enjoy doing? Can you do it to the glory of God? (doing something in faith and without sin). Go do more of those things! -Learn to enjoy serving others. -Do you use your words flippantly or thoughtfully? -You can be wise and live prudently, but even then, you don’t know what life has in store. Before Jesus returns, pain and death will come to the wisest people at times. -Live with wisdom. -Live a life not for God’s approval but from God’s approval. -We don’t have to experience all this earth has to offer before we die because we will have forever and ever and ever to experience this earth in its glorified form. -Don’t wait to live like you are dying. Surround yourself with Scripture, share the gospel with every person you meet, and give as generously as you can. MENTIONED OR RECOMMENDED RESOURCES -Suggested Scripture Study: Ecclesiastes 9; Ephesians 2:10; Colossians 3:23; 1 Corinthians 3:19; Psalm 111:10; 2 Corinthians 5:19 -Sermon: Submitting to Authority