Ecclesiastes 3:16-22
In view of injustice, judgment, and death, enjoy the work God has given you.
RESOURCES: ESV Study Bible
Timing Is Everything
Ecclesiastes 3:1-15
Wise living means receiving the seasons and times God marks out for us.
RESOURCES: ESV Study Bible; Preaching Christ From Ecclesiastes by Signey Greidanus; Preaching the Word: Ecclesiastes by Philip Graham Ryken; A Table in the Mist by Jeffrey Meyers; Recovering Eden: The Gospel According to Ecclesiastes by Zack Eswine
Searching For Significance
Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:26
We must not look to God’s gifts for our ultimate significance and satisfaction, but to him.
RESOURCES: ESV Study Bible; Ecclesiastes Through New Eyes: A Table in the Mist by Jeffrey Meyers; Preaching the Word: Ecclesiastes by Philip Graham Ryken; Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes: Foundations for Expository Sermons by Sydney Greidanus; The Pundit's Folly: Chronicles of an Empty Life by Sinclair Ferguson
Life Is Hebel
Ecclesiastes 1:1-11
Life in a fallen world is fleeting, futile, and frustrating, but God is making all things new.
“So you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again.
The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older,
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death.”
~ Time by Pink Floyd
RESOURCES: ESV Study Bible
Call His Name Jesus
Matthew 1:21
Name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins!
Redemption
Ruth 4
God’s providence ensures the fulfillment of his promises.
“Providence tells us that there’s a lot more going on than what we can see, for God is at work behind the scenes to keep things moving in the direction of his ultimate goal for us as individuals and also for this world.”
~ Carolyn Curtis James
RESOURCES: ESV Study Bible; The Reformed Expository Commentary: Ruth by Iain Duguid; The Two Horizon’s Old Testament Commentary: Ruth by James McKeown; From Famine to Fullness: The Gospel According to Ruth by Dean Ulrich; The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules by Carolyn Curtis James
Redeeming Love
Ruth 3
God displays His loving kindness towards us by providing a Redeemer.
“E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme,
And shall be 'til I die.”
~ Fourth Stanza of There is a Fountain by William Cowper
Reaping
Ruth 2:1-23
This week Veritas welcomed guest preacher, Shane Huey, who currently serves as the pastor of young adult ministries at Vineyard Columbus.
Ruin
Ruth 1:1-22
Even when we experience ruin, we can trust that God is bringing ultimate redemption.
“Hopefully, we won’t come near Naomi’s Job-like level of suffering, but we live in a fallen world and all of us, sooner or later, will drink deeply of its sorrows. Naomi is here to remind us that—in these long, bewildering phases of God’s silence—our struggles are real and we can be honest about the state of our hearts. Her full story reminds us that our struggles are also important and that, even when there’s nothing left but rubble, God is mysteriously at work in the mess.” ~ Carolyn Curtis James
RESOURCES: ESV Study Bible; Unceasing Kindness: A Biblical Theology of Ruth by Peter Lau and Gregory Goswell; The Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary: Ruth by James McKeown; The Gospel According to Ruth: From Famine to Fullness by Dean Ulrich; The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules by Carolyn Curtis James;
Warnings for those on the Way
Matthew 7:15-23
Jesus warns us about what we’re to look out for while walking the narrow way.
“What a monstrous sight he makes,
Mocking man’s best friend,
When both the lion and the wolf
Crave the same thing in the end.” ~ Dustin Kensrue
RESOURCES: ESV Study Bible; The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary by Jonathan Pennington; The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World by Sinclair Ferguson; The Message of the Sermon on the Mount by John Stott; Expressive Individualism: What Is It? by Trevin Wax
