Everything is Empty

Redemption Hill Church

Everything is Empty

Ecclesiastes 1:1-18

January 7, 2024 • Pastor Bill Riedel • Ecclesiastes 1

I love the book of Ecclesiastes. Reading through it feels like it could have been written directly to DC in 2024. With the uncertainty of the year ahead, anxiety that many are already carrying into another election year, and the difficulty of navigating life in general, we all long for something solid to stand on, something that is unmoving that we can trust. Ecclesiastes helps us by exposing the fullest measure of every pursuit under the sun.

This Sunday we begin with Ecclesiastes 1:1-18. The sermon title is Everything is Meaningless. If you read chapter 1 you will catch why that’s the title! I’ll take some time to introduce the book, talk about who the Preacher might be, and then we will jump right into what amounts to be a summary of the Preacher’s teaching. The Preacher shows us that all things under the sun, in the end, are a vapor, a mist, a chasing after the wind. In the end we will also see what is fixed like nails for us to hold onto in the end.

Every Pursuit Under the Sun

January 14, 2024 • Pastor Bill Riedel

This Sunday we continue in our series with Ecclesiastes 2:1-26. Last week we were introduced to Qoheleth, the Preacher, and an overview of the book that highlights his teaching concerning the extent of human experience and wisdom under the sun. This week we will see him explore specific pursuits, assessing the ultimate value and end-goals of pleasure, wisdom, and work. Our teacher has had a full life and limitless resources and opportunities to push to the fullest end of each pursuit, trying to find meaning and purpose. We will follow him down those paths to see where they end. By the end of the chapter we have already come to the end of section 1 of the book, and verses 24-26 give us the conclusion of the matter. It is possible to find joy and purpose even in the midst of the vaporous reality of our lives.

There is a Season

January 21, 2024 • Pastor Bill Riedel • Ecclesiastes 3:1—4:3

This Sunday we continue our series with Ecclesiastes 3:1-22. This chapter starts the second section of the book of Ecclesiastes. Section 1 focuses on life under the sun, pursuing the fullness of the end of human wisdom and experience, and that it all is a vapor, a mist, a chasing after the wind. The next few chapters shift to focus on God’s design for the world as He created it. Chapter 3 might be the most well-known passage in the whole of Ecclesiastes. All because The Birds recorded their song Turn! Turn! Turn! in 1965. You’re welcome for having that stuck in your head throughout the weekend now. There is a season for everything, and our lives will turn through season after season, eventually bringing us in the full cycle and reminder that we are dust, and to dust we will return. As we immerse ourselves in God’s Word on Sunday, we will work to find the secret of joy and purpose in every season of our lives, and in the midst of every circumstance under heaven.

Loneliness

January 28, 2024 • Pastor Bill Riedel • Ecclesiastes 4:4–16

This Sunday we continue our series with Ecclesiastes 4:4-16. This chapter raises the problem of loneliness and the importance of companionship. We are in the midst of a loneliness epidemic in our nation. The Surgeon General has issued warnings, HHS is doing studies, and it’s all being reported across news outlets. Loneliness is crushing and can become legitimately life-threatening. As we have seen so far, Ecclesiastes won’t allow us to look away from the truth of human existence and experience. Qoheleth, the author, will continue to poke at us an make us uncomfortable. On Sunday we will address loneliness. We need to take a realistic look at our world and our own lives, and then look for signs and pathways of hope. God’s Word can guide us there.