The Real Thing
The Conclusion to the Whole Matter
March 30, 2014 • Pastor Danny Lovett
"Is life worth living?" That was the question the Preacher raised when he began the discourse that we call Ecclesiastes. After experimenting and investigating "life under the sun," which means living life without God, he concluded "Life without God is not worth living!" He realized that life was not monotonous but filled with challenging situations from God, each in its own time and each for its own purpose. He also learned that wealth could be enjoyed and used for the glory of God. Though man's wisdom couldn't explain everything, Solomon concluded that it was better to follow God's wisdom than to practice man's folly. As for death, there is no way to escape it; and this should motivate us to enjoy life now by living like we are dying and by making the most of the opportunities God gives us. Paul said,"whether we eat or drink or whatever we do we do it for God's glory" (I Corinthians15:31). This Sunday we will finish our study on Ecclesiastes by looking at Solomon's Conclusion of the Whole Matter. Solomon ends his research by giving us four pictures of life and how each picture gives us a practical application to heed.
What kind of fool are you
March 23, 2014 • Pastor Danny Lovett
Solomon is the author of a large part of the wisdom literature of the Old Testament: Song of Solomon, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. In chapter ten of Ecclesiastes, he returns to the theme of wisdom verses foolishness. This section reads like a cross- section of the book of Proverbs. The Teacher-King dispenses one wise saying, after another. Solomon once again wants to remind his congregation of the importance of wisdom and the danger of folly and foolishness. The word folly is used nine times in this chapter. He lays down the basic principle that folly and foolishness creates problems. Solomon had already compared a good name to a fragrant perfume ( Ecclesiastes 7:1), so he used the image again. What dead flies are to perfume, folly and foolishness are to the reputation of a wise person. The conclusion is simple: wise people will stay away from foolishness and folly. Why is one person foolish and another wise? It all depends on the inclinations of the heart (Ecclesiastes 10:2). Solomon is going to warn us about four different areas of our lives where we can be foolish.
Live Like You're Dying
March 16, 2014 • Pastor Danny Lovett
Why is everyone so afraid to face the reality of death? The comedian Woody Allen once said, "I'm not afraid to die. I just don't want to be there when it happens." Solomon, in the book of Ecclesiastes, is not afraid to talk about death. He has said throughout the book that if you try to live your life without God, it will be a meaningless life, and therefore a meaningless death. To get to the end of a life of emptiness and despair and face the reality of who-knows-what after death could make anyone afraid to confront the reality of dying. After all, the only way to be prepared to live is to be prepared to die. Death is a fact of life. The last time I checked, the statistics on people dying were exactly 100 percent. All of us are going to die. Solomon examined many facets of life so that he might understand God's pattern for satisfied living. Robert E. Lee's last words were, "Let the tent be struck!", meaning that he was was ready for the earthly tent of his body to be taken down. Unless Jesus Christ returns and takes us to heaven, we will all one day "strike our tent" (1Corinthians 5:1-8) and leave the battlefield for a better land. Paul said,"for me to live is Christ but to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21). We must be ready.
Lessons in Humility
March 2, 2014 • Pastor Danny Lovett
One of my favorite players in the National Football League years ago was Kurt Werner. Kurt was a great Christian who stood up for his faith. Kurt led the Saint Louis Rams to the Super Bowl and they won it. He was named the most valuable player of the league and the Super Bowl. The next thing you know, he was sitting on the bench, not playing. He went through a period of not doing well, got injured; and while he was recuperating, the back-up quarterback won his job. So Kurt went from MVP to holding a clipboard and taking notes on the sidelines. Talk about a humbling transition! Thankfully, he handled it very well. Life is a process of learning humility. The actor Tom Selleck wrote, "Whenever I get full of myself, I remember that nice couple who approached me with a camera on a street in Honolulu one day. When I struck up a pose for them, the man said, 'No, no. We want you to take a picture for us.'" Even strangers can keep us humble. In the eighth chapter of Ecclesiastes, Solomon reminds us about five things that make us humble. When we humble ourselves before The Lord, He will lift us up (James:4:10).
God's Wisdom is Better
February 23, 2014 • Pastor Danny Lovett
Life is a puzzle, a process of making disjointed pieces fit together into a big picture. When we know what to do, we lack power to do it. And when we feel empowered, sometimes we don't know what to do. We need wisdom, which is the skill of living, and the strength to carry out what we know to do. Solomon came to that conclusion that wisdom alone did not make life worth living (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18). In Ecc. 1:18, he wrote, "For in much wisdom is much grief and he that increases knowledge, increases sorrow." But then, we see him taking a second look at the problem and modifying his view. In Ecclesiastes 7&8, King Solomon discusses the importance of wisdom in life ("wisdom" is found fourteen times in these two chapters); and he answered the question asked in Ecclessiastes 6:12, "For who knows what is good for man in this life?" The Preacher concludes that, though wisdom can't explain all of life's mysteries, it can give us at least three positive contributions to our lives. What are they? Find out by listening in!
Is Life a Dead End Street
February 16, 2014 • Pastor Danny Lovett
Is life a dead-end street? Sometimes it seems to be, especially when we don't reach our goals or when we reach our goals but don't feel fulfilled in our achievement. More than one person in the Bible became so discouraged with life that he either wanted to die or wished he had never been born. This list of discouraged souls includes Moses, Elijah, Job, Jeremiah and Jonah. Even the great apostle Paul despaired of life during a particularly tough time in his life (2Cor. 1:8-11). Perhaps the basic problem is that life confronts us with too many mysteries we can't understand and too many puzzles we can't solve. For life to be truly satisfying, it has to make sense. When it doesn't make sense, we get troubled or frustrated. If people can't see that they have a purpose in life, especially when they go through deep suffering, they start to question God and even wonder if life is worth living. In Ecclesiastes 6, Solomon discusses three of life mysteries: riches without enjoyment ( 1-6), work without satisfaction (7-9), and questions without answers (10-12). You don't want to miss this important look at life's issues.
The Values of Life
February 2, 2014 • Pastor Danny Lovett
"As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor, this is a gift from God, " Ecclesiastes 5:19. Have you considered that before? Have you stopped to thank God for the joy you share with friends and family when the money you have earned makes possible a meal eaten out, an enjoyable evening or a summer vacation? If we would just faithfully open our hands and thank God for the ability to work and thank God for the grace to enjoy both our work and the fruit of our labor, we would be more blessed. Putting Him first, in our work and in the enjoyment of its rewards, is the key, Matthew 6:33. Remember: Don't blame God, don't bribe God, don't be surprised at the government's failures, and don't believe the lie about riches - that money is the answer. When troubles comes, keep your eyes on Him and thank Him for it all; and you will be glad you did.
Life's Biggest Problems aren't ours to solve
January 26, 2014 • Pastor Danny Lovett
Sometimes in life we are guilty of not seeing the forest for the trees,of missing something that is as clear as the nose on our face. Solomon does not do that in his book called Ecclesiastes. He tells us exactly how things are in the plainest of language. So far we've learned there is no real meaning in life apart from God. We've also learned that there is a time and season for everything, that God's plans are good, His purpose is clear, but His ways are sometimes mysterious. In this message Sunday we are going to look at five aspects of life with which Solomon struggled. We struggle with the same problems of life! Solomon was making observations about life and writing them down, calling them just as he sees them, then he explains what he saw, and tells us how we can be overcomers. Don't miss this exciting truth that will show us how we can live victoriously over our problems.
A Time & Purpose for everything
January 19, 2014 • Pastor Danny Lovett
Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote a book titled, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, in which he told the tragic story of his young son's death from a debilitating disease. As a religious person, he wrestled with why God allowed such a thing to happen. He concluded one of two things must be true: Either God is all-loving, but not all-powerful (He wants to prevent disease but can't) or God is all-powerful, but not all-loving ( He is able to prevent disease but won't). The conclusion the rabbi came to was the first of the two options: God is loving but not omnipotent. God cares about us, but has decided to let the world run on its own without intervention from Him. God is not sovereign or all powerful; He keeps his distance from the everyday affairs of this world. Solomon would not agree with Rabbi Kushner's conclusions. He believed that God was sovereign over all of time and history and that nothing happens outside of his purpose including suffering. This week at the Church at Chelsea-Westover, we will look at what Solomon says about life. Solomon offers impressions about life, insights about God, and instructions about living which touch the issues of pain and suffering in this life. We will see how we can live a victorious life in the midst of the pain and suffering we sometimes experience. We must remember the words of Paul. We know all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose (Rom.8:28)
Life Lived under the Sun
January 12, 2014 • Pastor Danny Lovett
Many people today are searching for the meaning in life, but in all the wrong places. Trying to find eternal meaning in a temporal world is like trying to fit a square peg into a round hold. God made us for eternity, and only His eternal presence in our lives can satisfy our thirst for meaning. For decades, Solomon tried to find meaning in life through riches, extravagant and wild living, his work as King, and through the study of philosophies and beliefs of others. Ecclesiastes is the history of that ill-fated search, written at the end of his life when he came to the conclusion of his youth: God is at the center of life and to ignore God makes life vain and meaningless. Life is a matter of deceptive illusions when it is lived apart from God. The things that disappointed Solomon are the same illusions the world uses today. We must learn from Solomon's mistakes so we don't fall into the same traps.
What is the meaning of Life
January 5, 2014 • Pastor Danny Lovett
All of us want meaning and purpose in life, and we can have it! Dr. Hugh Moorhead wrote to 250 leading intellectuals and scientists asking them,"What is the meaning of life?" Most had little to offer in terms of a philosophy. In fact, some wrote Moorhead and said, "If you find out what the purpose of life is, please let me know." The search for meaning and purpose in life is the most profound journey one can embark on. The book of Ecclesiastes, written by Solomon, chronicles his own search to find the purpose of life. Solomon was a man on a mission and the Bible records his philosophical search for meaning and describes the conclusions he reached. We will learn from Solomon's conclusions, the richest and wisest man who ever lived . You don't want to miss this exciting truth if you really want to find your purpose in life this new year.