Mercy Fellowship Sermons

In light of our limited ability to understand the world there comes a point when you have to look beyond what you can see and begin to explore a faith in something greater. Even when we assume a baseline belief in a God who is in control of all things, the world can still be difficult to understand. 

When we have questions and seek wisdom, we expect answers to both satisfy our curiosity and fulfill our desire for everything to make sense. Yet, wisdom has limits requiring us to be comfortable with the uncomfortable tension of not understanding everything.

Beginning with a popular proverb, “a good name is more valuable than riches or luxury” looks beyond our reputations to consider the underlying nature of what it means to have a truly authentic life. Two showcases are highlighted helping us remember the fragility of life contrasted with our desire to forget there is an end.

What happens in our lives when we put our hope in wealth? This section is not linear but flows beginning, middle/end, and beginning again. So it flies over the topic of wealth and satisfaction at 20,000’ then it drops down circling the city to get a more detailed account, before finally landing at a place of joy.  

We are typically centered on ourselves at worst or others at best but here The Preacher wants our attention hyper focused on our relationship with God the creator. Specifically warning us how we approach God matters because He is creator, ruler and judge of all things.

While life “under the sun” is actually more like a dark basement there is light that penetrates the darkness. As bright as the light is coming in, every basement still has its shadows. In our basement world there is still the question of what to do with all the injustice we see and how to respond to constantly feeling alone and isolated. 

As God shines bright the light into our basement laboratory there can still be dark shadows. In our basement world, there is still the question of what to do with all the injustice we see. Where can we go to appeal for justice? If God is sovereign over time and seasons why does he allow injustice? Where is hope? 

The curtains in the dark basement laboratory have been pulled back and now things can be seen clearly for what they are. The light illuminates and warms our experiences. 

There is some gain under the sun to wisdom when compared to mad folly. Wisdom received and applied has its benefits in this life. It is better to live wisely than like an immoral foolish idiot. One has vision to navigate this world the other is blind. The problem is the path of the wise and the fool lead to the same destination. Death. Wisdom isn’t valueless; it is just not valuable on its own to...

When the pursuit of wisdom led down a path that ended with more knowledge and wisdom leading to greater sorrow; and much study leads to weariness, it is time to get out of the library. Get past things of the mind and start experiencing all the good pleasures life has to offer. We’re going to see experiments carried out to their fullest conclusion in the most well-appointed laboratory imaginable.

“What’s the point of life if it is just unprofitable toil, unsatisfying, and with unending cycles. Where can we find meaning in world like this? The Preacher is going to go down three vain paths to find meaning “under the sun” and shows us where they eventually lead.

When the struggle for survival transitions to the searching for meaning, big questions fill our consciousness. Our laments can drive us to deeper hopelessness or deeper meaning and purpose.