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In Ecclesiastes, death is final. But the New Testament unfolds great hope for life after death, grounded in Jesus. The ultimate hop of the Scripture is that death itself will die.

We often live with a tension between what we ‘know’ to be true and what we actually see and experience in life. The Quester wrestles with this tension, and gives us some surprising advice in the midst of it.

Forgiving others is the last thing we want to do when we are hurt. What we want is vengeance and pay-back. In this message Reuben explores the basis of forgiveness in God’s forgiving of our sin, and how that empowers and enables u to be both forgiven and forgiving people.

A lot of conflict and tension in relationships are caused by issues of control, where one person seeks power over another. Control has many forms, and we need to be aware of its potential to damage relationships, and ready to confront it in a biblical manner.

Conflict is an inevitable part of personal relationships, and it can be healthy if we handle it in the right way. In this message Reuben looks at strategies for dealing with conflict and describes the biblical path of reconciliation.

How should Christians relate to government What level of political influence should we seek How should we respond to those in power Should our faith and our politics be integrated or kept separate These are questions with which the Quester wrestles in this passage.

This message wraps up the God & My Stuff series by looking at a range of texts on various topics relating to money and possessions.

Christians often ignore the plight of the poor simply because we dont see them. By learning to become aware of those in need around us locally and globally, we are better able to respond to them with love and compassion.

When we adopt a mindset of scarcity, it leads us to be tightfisted toward our money. The Scriptures call us to a mindset of Gods abundance, which compels us to be openhanded toward others with our money and our stuff.

The starting point for thinking biblically about our money is shifting from a paradigm of ownership to stewardship. God owns all our stuff and we are his financial managers.

The Quester follows an approach to knowledge and truth that is self-directed and seeks certainty in order to have faith. By contrast, Jesus offers us a new way of knowing that begins with personal faith in him. This faith gives us a lens through which to gradually discover the truth of life, which sets us free. 

Ecclesiastes challenges the old formula that says good character leads to success and bad character leads to ruin. But the Quester cannot find another basis for good character. Instead we need to look Jesus, who opens up God’s story and gives us a new basis for character—fitting participation in the reconciling story of God.

Blessings become disappointments when we can only see the negatives. This passage shows us the folly of focusing only on our problems, and helps us learn to see and enjoy the many blessings God has given us.

Greed is often more subtle than we think and can get its claws into our lives in all kinds of ways. In a culture of greed, the Quester invites us to pursue a different type of life, characterised by joy, contentment and true satisfaction.

In this message Andrew Picard describes the difference between a self-referenced life, in which our worship is hasty and presumptuous, with a God-referenced life, which is centred around Christ.

Relationship and friendship are central to what it means to be human. Ecclesiastes 4 gives us a vision of friendship that involves personal presence, authenticity and genuine care. 

Tithing is often either a taboo subject or an obsession in churches. Between these extremes there is a healthy, biblical way of looking at church-giving, as a generous response to God’s grace

Our consumer culture is driven by a relentless desire for the next thing. In contrast, the gospel offers us true satisfaction in Christ and moves us toward contentment with our stuff. 

Ecclesiastes laments the injustice in the world and cries out for justice. This points us toward Jesus who brings about God’s justice through establishing shalom (peace) on earth and in our lives.