Buffalo City Church

Caleb Drahosh \\ We are all created with the desire for approval. We tend to seek approval in places that cannot fully offer it: other people, our work, our selves. God is our only true and lasting source of approval, and the approval of God comes to us freely through Jesus Christ. The Preacher directs us to learn to live in light of God's approval by flourishing in approved activities: eating joy...

Caleb Drahosh \\ God created us in His image; He gave us abilities of which to make use and we are called to use them well. But these abilities have limits; we exist under authority, injustice is a reality, and time ticks on death closes in on all of us. But God is not bound like we are. Wisdom acknowledges our creaturely limits, the limits of wisdom itself, and finds joy in God, the One who susta...

Caleb Drahosh \\ This world is full of paradoxes. Godly men and women may die young, while tyrants and dictators may live to a ripe old age. There's no secret formula to circumvent this reality. How should we live in light of this understanding? Recognize the paradoxes, reject super-righteous responses, and remain in awe of God.

Sermon audio begins at: 1:38:10 Caleb Drahosh \\ The Preacher asks, "What is good for man?" And while he's not able to answer the question in an ultimate sense, he does draw a specific conclusion: God has set the times of prosperity and the times of adversity; therefore, joy and good can be found in both. Finding joy and good in both times of prosperity and in times of adversity gives us the abili...

Mark Reeves \\ The Preacher urges the reader to find satisfaction in God, rather than in money and possessions. There is no satisfaction to be found "under the sun" apart from our relationship with Christ and the work of the cross in our lives, for in Christ alone "dwells all the fullness of Deity in bodily form, and we are complete in him." (Colossians 2:9)

Caleb Drahosh \\ The Preacher is a realist when it comes to church; he understands that people are sinful and they don't always approach congregational worship––and life in general––with the intentionality that it requires. Therefore, it is the responsibility of every believer to vigilantly guard his or her steps and his or her speech at all times. What motivates guarded speech and guarded steps?...

Blaze Culliton \\ Rugged individualism, greed, discontent, pride, material wealth, and the pursuit of fame are foolish and futile. Companionship, community and humility are gifts of wisdom from the Lord. However, neither foolishness nor wisdom can prevent death and therefore are vanity. So we look to the giver in Christ Jesus and not the gift for our salvation and joy.

John Baumgartner \\ Solomon, when faced with the reality of Injustice and vanity, strengthens his heart by reflecting on the truth of God’s judgement, God’s purposes, and God’s gift. Injustice will not reign forever because one day God will judge the righteous and the wicked. Yet for now we should learn to be humble, because suffering and death happen to everyone. And as we humbly live in this wor...

Caleb Drahosh \\ Just as we observe seasons in a calendar year, so our lives have seasons. God gives us the ability to recognize the season we are in and has made beauty there (11). Often we are pushed to look beyond our current season, and long for a time past or a time future. The Preacher knows that eternity resides in our heart (11), yet we can fathom neither eternity past nor eternity future....

Caleb Drahosh \\ The Preacher tests more things under the sun to find if they are examples of vanity. Despite taking wisdom and applying it properly, the Preacher recognizes that "the same event happens to all of them (2:14)": death. And despite being hard-working, everything the Preacher works for will be enjoyed by someone else once he dies. And so he draws the conclusion that we should enjoy gi...

Caleb Drahosh \\ The Preacher describes all as vanity, but what are some of the meaningless pursuits he goes after? He names wisdom and indulgence. Despite being the wisest, most-experienced man to ever live, the Preacher is a limited creature who is unable to bring about the results he desires. And despite being a wealthy man who did not keep himself from anything his heart desired, the Preacher...

**Sermon audio starts at 1:16:00 Caleb Drahosh \\ What has true meaning, worth, or value? The Preacher of Ecclesiastes bemoans the meaninglessness, the futility, and the worthlessness of this world's contents. What is gained by all the hard work we do under the sun? The answer is nothing. Through exploring that which is meaningless, futile, or worthless, we get closer in our journey to understandi...

Caleb Drahosh \\ At the end of Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, he encourages the congregation to do everything in love. Love should compel us as a church. Scripture shows us that God is rich in love–the ultimate expression coming in the Gospel. Paul wraps up his letter by giving a few practical ways we can reflect God's love: giving of what we’ve been given with no thought of return, growi...

Caleb Drahosh \\ The Doctrine of the Resurrection stands at the heart of the Christian faith. Paul unpacks this doctrine across the whole of 1 Corinthians 15. Jesus died and was raised; hundreds of people witnessed this reality. His resurrection guarantees the forgiveness of our sin and gives all of life meaning. At Jesus' second coming, we will immediately be raised in bodies like his which are i...

Caleb Drahosh \\ We don't reflect on death much in our culture; in fact, often we treat death as something to avoid for as long as possible. Marketing frequently appeals to youth and anti-aging; we are told that our best life can be had now. The Corinthians thought that they had already obtained the resurrection of the dead; some even openly denied a future resurrection. Paul offers a corrective b...

Caleb Drahosh \\ All who are in Christ have been given the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit has given each a spiritual gift. It is important that these spiritual gifts–along with everything that is given by God–not be used haphazardly, but decently and in order, for the building up of the church. Why? Because God is a God of peace; he is not a God of confusion. Confusion and chaos in the local chur...

John Baumgartner \\ As Christians, we earnestly want to experience God. The Corinthians were in the midst of great manifestations of the Holy Spirit among them. But Paul issues a warning: he tells the Corinthians if they want to experience God they should seek to build up the church. The best way to build up the church is through loving one another. How does love cause us to live? By using the gif...

Caleb Drahosh \\ The gifts of the Holy Spirit are giving to all that are in Christ and are used to build up the body. But Paul says that there is an even better, more excellent way: love. Love for one another is the mark of maturity in the Christian life, not spiritual gifts. As we move from milk to solid food–from childhood to adulthood–love for our brothers and sisters in Christ will become incr...

Caleb Drahosh \\ What is form of the local church? How is the local church meant to function together? Paul tells the Corinthians that they–as individuals in the local church–are all given a gift from the Holy Spirit to use to do intentional spiritual good to one another. Not everyone is given the same gift. The body is diverse; not every part has the same form or function, but they are all contri...

**Skip to 39:30 to hear the sermon audio Caleb Drahosh \\ The Lord's Supper is an important piece of congregational worship; we are called to remember Christ's sacrifice through it. Paul instructs the Corinthians regarding their approach to the Lord's Table. They came flippantly, considering only themselves and their own individual desires. But Pauls says it shouldn't be this way; he calls the Cor...

**Skip to minute 51 to hear the audio Caleb Drahosh \\ At the end of Luke's Gospel, two travelers find themselves on the road to Emmaus. These men meet the risen Christ who interprets the Scriptures for them, intimately breaks bread with them, and affects their hearts deeply. Similarly, we are invited through God's Word, to walk with the resurrected Christ in ever deepening intimacy as our affecti...

Caleb Drahosh \\ The ideas of gender as a social construct and sex as biologically negotiable have grown significantly in our culture over the past decade. Issues of sex and gender can be found in headlines and have been the topic of debate in all areas of society, even in Christian circles. Not unlike us, the church in Corinth experienced their own issues concerning sex and gender. Paul affirms b...

Caleb Drahosh \\ We aspire to be like and seek to imitate people we observe all the time. And others inevitably imitate us. Paul calls the Corinthians to imitate him as he imitates Christ. As Christians, we should be seeking and setting Christlike examples. This is our purpose: God loved us first and now we have the great privilege of loving others with the same love in order that we might show ea...

Blaze Culliton \\ Although we have all been given access to God through Jesus Christ, we still inhabit sinful flesh and need help to overcome temptation and sin. With that, we proclaim in unity that Jesus Christ is the one who has overcome. We have an escape against all temptation and sin as we serve our one master Christ Jesus. Turn away from idols and fully trust him, proclaiming with your life...

Caleb Drahosh \\ As Christians, we are free from sin and free to live in the way that God designed for us. Paul recognized this; he was free to exercise certain rights as an apostle (e.g. financial support) but realized exercising those rights might lead to potential obstacles in his Gospel proclamation. He was willing to give up everything to ensure that he ran a race worthy of receiving a prize....