Playlist: Ecclesiastes Resumed (sermon series)

John W. Ritenbaugh

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Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part One)

Ecclesiastes is perhaps the most practical book in the Old Testament, providing overviews of life-guiding advice, essentially a roadmap through the maze.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Two)

Work

Until Christ returns, the world's problems will not be solved. Using godly wisdom helps us to deal with our circumstances, but it won't change the world.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Three)

Solomon emphasized in Ecclesiastes 2 that we should enjoy and derive pleasure from our work. The way that we work is a visible witness of God before men.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Four)

Profit from life is produced by work, requiring sacrifices of time and energy. We have been created for the very purpose of doing good works.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Five)

Time and God

Solomon warns against bad choices in our investment of time. Our knowledge that we will ultimately die should motivate us to use our time circumspectly.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Six)

What is Wisdom?

God wants us to use wisdom to change ourselves, humbly replacing our perspective with His perspective. God gives wisdom as a component of His grace.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Seven)

Time and God's Sovereignty

God has given time to mankind as a gift, manipulating its use for us. The bad as well as the pleasant aspects of life are fashioned for our ultimate good.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Eight): Time

God is Sovereign Over Time- All the Time

We must realize that God is sovereign over time all the time, even as it is running out for all of us. God works to make the most of every situation in our lives.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Nine)

Only those called by God are given insight into God's grand design, making living by faith possible. God adds understanding as we are able to use it.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Ten)

Many of God's servants, including Elijah and Jeremiah, had their crises of faith, desiring to flee from their responsibilities and commitments.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Eleven)

Ecclesiastes deals with quality of life issues for those who have been called, emphasizing responsibility and choice, continually fearing God.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Twelve)

Corruption in the courts is a fact of life. We should not be surprised by this curse, realizing that God is aware and is allowing it for a purpose.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Thirteen)

Ecclesiastes 6

Solomon teaches us that money may provide some security, but it cannot be relied upon for satisfaction; only a relationship with God will fill that vacuum.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Fourteen)

Solomon ruminates about life being seemingly futile and purposeless. A relationship with God is the only factor which prevents life from becoming useless.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Fifteen)

Our relationship with God is often strengthened through hardship. We must choose to yield to God, living for a much higher goal than raw materialism.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Sixteen)

Ecclesiastes 1-6 contains an indictment of materialism. The only lasting fulfillment comes from establishing and maintaining a relationship with God.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Seventeen)

Wisdom can be defined as doing the right thing at the right time in the right way to the right measure. Wisdom is not given as a whole, but incrementally.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Eighteen)

We accept most of our opinions, prejudices, and beliefs unconsciously. We must scrutinize our own beliefs through the principles of God's Holy Scriptures.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Nineteen)

Ecclesiastes 7 contains a series of 'this is better than that' observations. Wisdom seems to carry more sadness and sorrow than mirth or foolishness.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Twenty)

Our supreme objective in godly living is attainment and cultivation of wisdom, which consists of attributes giving us skill in living.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Twenty-One)

Paradoxes, Conundrums, and Wisdom

Biblical wisdom (sagacity, quickness of perception, soundness of judgment) is achievable by anyone called of God because God is the source of this wisdom.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Twenty-Two)

Trials are a means to produce spiritual growth, unless we resort to super-righteousness, straining to please God by exalting our works.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Twenty-Three)

Psalm 73 describes someone seeing the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer, but it is not true that people in the world are leading superior lives.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Twenty-Four)

The paradox of Ecclesiastes 7 shows an unrighteous man flourishing and a righteous man suffering. The solution to this conundrum is found in Psalm 73.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Twenty-Five)

Gossip about us from someone we may have trusted can be painful, yet our tongue has likely been just as detrimental against someone who may have trusted us.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Twenty-Six)

To keep us secure from the temptations of the world, we must embrace our metaphorical sister, Wisdom, keeping us focused on our relationship with God.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Twenty-Seven)

Solomon exercised a lifetime of hard work trying to find answers, but fell short because some things are discoverable only through God's revelation.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Twenty-Eight)

Wisdom does not give us complete understanding into the ultimate purposes of God, but when accompanied with faith in God, it will brighten our countenance.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Twenty-Nine)

We are not privy to God's, but we must realize that He has the prerogative to impose both blessings and calamity, the latter in response to disobedience.

Ecclesiastes Resumed (Part Thirty)

In the matter of deference to civil authority, we must remember that we must give governing officials respect, even though they may be the basest of men.