Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 1 to 25 of 59 results

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

1:1 · Title: The book begins with a title that attributes these “sayings” to “Qoheleth.” Deuteronomy 1:1; Nehemiah 1:1; Proverbs 30:1; 31:1; Jeremiah 1:1; and Amos 1:1 introduce their books similarly as containing the words of a specific individual, without necessarily claiming thereby that this person wrote or edited the present canonical book. Although often left untranslated as the proper name ...

2. Everything Is Meaningless

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Opening Matters: This opening section of the book of Ecclesiastes consists of three distinct segments. First, a superscription identifies the work but is not part of the book proper (1:1). The following verse provides a motto for the book (1:2). Closing the introductory section is a poem that incorporates many of the themes and much of the vocabulary to be developed in the remainder of the work (1...

3. PROPER 13

Lk 12:13-21 · Col 3:1-11 · Ecc 1:2; 2:18-26 · 2 Ki 13:14-20a

Sermon Aid

John R. Brokhoff

THE LESSONS 2 Kings 13:14-20a A sick and dying Elisha promises victory over Syria to Joash, king of Israel. This, the last appearance of Elisha, concludes the series of Lessons on Elijah and his successor, Elisha. The scene is Elisha on his death-bed. Joash, king of Israel, comes to him for guidance. He and the country are in deep trouble. Syria is oppressing Israel. With the symbol of a bow and ...

4. Human Achievements and Wisdom

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

1:12–2:26 Review · Everything under the Sun Is Examined: In the first major section of the book, Qoheleth examines various aspects of life “under the sun” (1:12–6:9), intermittently evaluating what he has experienced or observed. In an extended autobiographical section (1:12–2:26), Qoheleth relates his personal experiences. He first examines by means of wisdom (1:13; cf. 7:23) the gain that comes ...

5. Wisdom is Meaningless

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Qohelet’s Experiment: Qohelet, using the implied persona of Solomon, undertakes to explore “all that is done” (1:13). “All” includes gaining wisdom, amassing possessions, building monuments, and engaging in celebrations. Solomon is an effective choice as speaker: he is the one character in Israelite tradition who can take wisdom, wealth, and extravagance to their extremes. This section records an ...

6. Pleasures Accomplish Little

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Qoheleth’s actual test is related in this strongly autobiographical section that has striking parallels with the Solomonic narrative in 1 Kings. Verse 10 might give the impression that these verses express his later sober reflections on an earlier period of sensual excesses, but the emphasis is rather on the intentional and restrained nature of his investigation (2:3b: “my mind still guiding me wi...

7. When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough

Sermon

David E. Leininger

"If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear, does it make a sound?" You have heard that one. Or one more serious: if a person lives and dies and no one notices, if the world continues as it was, was that person ever really alive? What brings that question to mind is that sadly cynical passage from Ecclesiastes a moment ago in combination with a motion picture that is current...

8. The Vanities Of Work

Sermon

Erskine White

What do we gain from our labors under the sun? (Ecciesiastes 2:22) I want to introduce you to someone you may not know very well: the Preacher who. wrote Ecclesiastes. We ought to find him quite interesting; he is one of the most modern personalities in all the Bible. In fact, here is someone very much like you or me. He is a successful man by any measure of worldly achievement and he knows how ...

9. Pleasures Are Meaningless

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

10. Wisdom and Folly

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Next, in 2:12–16, Qoheleth investigates wisdom and its converse, madness and folly (2:12a; cf. 1:17). Verse 12b is viewed by some commentators as unintelligible or displaced but may serve to anticipate 2:18–21, which also deals with the king’s successor. Verse 12b, translated literally, asks, “For what kind of person is it who will come after the king, in the matter of what has already been done?”...

11. Wisdom and Folly are Meaningless

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

12. Toil

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

This leads to Qoheleth’s concluding evaluation of this area of investigation. On the negative side (2:17–23), he claims to have hated life. All work, especially his own life’s work, was “grievous” or burdensome to him (cf. Eccles. 1:13b), a futile pursuit of lasting gain (2:17–18a). His strong emotions here appear to contradict his previous assessment of the delight he derived from his labor (2:10...

13. Enjoy Toil, but Its Accumulative Wealth is Vanity

Bulletin Aid

Carl Hoefler

Call to Worship Pastor: Approaching death finds us frustrated with what will happen to all we have worked for and saved. People: We wonder if it will be wasted, after we have worked a lifetime to acquire it. Pastor: God's gift of joy or labor is the toil itself which enables us to have the basics of life. People: The vanity of more wealth than we can use is obvious. We desire to concentrate on the...

14. Proper 13

Sermon Aid

George Bass

THEOLOGICAL CLUE Liturgical purists might call this "skin them alive" Sunday, according to the long-standing tradition that St. Bartholomew, whose day may be celebrated near this Sunday, depending on the lectionary followed and calendar year, was actually skinned while alive. Of course, that is only conjecture and the truth is that no one knows for certain when he died, or how, or where. In icono...

15. Toil is Meaningless

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

16. Memorial Day

Sermon

Brett Blair

Anwar Sadat, the late prime minister of Egypt, once noted that there were two experiences in life that were so traumatic, so far reaching in their scope, that having experienced them, one's life could never be quite the same. One was prison; the other was war. As we are gather here this morning, on the week of Memorial Day, I would like to address ourselves to the latter. While there are many wars...

17. A Time To Die

Eulogy

Barbara G. Schmitz

For everything there is a season,and a time for every matter under heaven:a time to be born, and a time to die. These opening lines from the book of Ecclesiastes say that there is a season for everything. There is a time to be born. There is a time to die. Such a time it is, for we are in the season of Lent. And if ever there is a time that the Christian faith dwells on death, practices it, even c...

18. Of Thimbles And Thread

Eulogy

Lawrence H. Craig

Seamstress ____________ was a seamstress. Such talent was hers as a hobby. Such talent was hers in her labors beyond those of a homemaker. ____________ wasn't one for buying cloth, cutting out patterns, or creating clothing to wear. Instead, she was one who took clothing that was already sewn. Clothing that needed to be changed when the sizes and styles in people's lives changed. Simply put, _____...

19. Time and Eternity

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

3:1–22 Review · Next Qoheleth turns to the examination of how time, viewed against the backdrop of eternity, affects human efforts to engage in profitable activities. 3:1–8 · He begins with a highly structured “Catalogue of Times” (Fox, 193), which affirms and illustrates that “there is a time for everything” (3:1–8), certainly the book’s best-known text. The poem begins with an initial summary cl...

20. A Time for Everything

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Huwiler

Time: Qohelet turns here to a consideration of “time.” The poem on time (3:1–8) is the most familiar passage in the book of Ecclesiastes, and is used in settings from funerals to folk-rock concerts. In the poem, pairs of opposites illustrate that there is a proper time for all human activity. When it is read in isolation from its context, the poem provides the reader with a sense of comfort and re...

21. A Sense Of Past And Future

Bulletin Aid

Frank Ramirez

Call To Worship Once again a new year, once again the old favorites of fierce winter and warm fires. Once again a new season, once again familiar words that call to us your people. Once again a new life, once again the perspective that comes with trust in your seasons, trust in your presence, trust in your word! Collect A time to be born and a time to die? We thank you for them both! A time to we...

22. New Year's Eve/Day

Bulletin Aid

B. David Hostetter

CALL TO WORSHIP Worship God, our Sovereign, with reverence for the majesty of God's name in all the earth! PRAYER OF CONFESSION God before time, God in our time, God Eternal, you mark our days and years for what we have experienced and what we have learned. You give us time to develop characters shaped by joy and sorrow. We do not always learn willingly and change our ways to follow the way of Je...

23. Does God Have Fun?

Children's Sermon

Marti Kramer Suddarth

Object: Card stock printed with scripture reference and verses Pictures of the following (look through encyclopedias, children’s science books, and the internet) 1. Puppy 2. aye-aye 3. Crocuses 4. rainbow We’re often very serious at church. Helping people learn about God is very important. But should we be serious all the time? What does God think about us doing things just for fun? Does God have...

24. Attitudes

Children's Sermon

B. Kathleen Fannin

Object: A brown paper sack in which I have placed several different styles of calendars, an egg timer, a mechanical timer, and an alarm clock. Lesson: Attitudes; time; control; New Year's Day. Text: "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." Whether by serendipity or grace (if, in fact, there is a difference), light snow during the night has conveniently set t...

25. New Year

Children's Sermon

Robert B. Lantz

Object: Calendars Lesson: There is a time for everything. Good morning, boys and girls. I have a very special (watch or clock) with me today. (Show them.) Can you tell me what you think is special about this clock? (Responses -- a special gift, belonged to grandfather, bought in foreign country, and so forth.) No, the thing that is special about this clock is that it tells me the proper time onl...

Showing 1 to 25 of 59 results