Godly Friendships

Solomon talks about friendship in verses 9-12 of Ecclesiastes 4. Here we are reminded of the importance of friendships. Today, we talk about godly friendships and why they are important. We talk about the friendship of David and Jonathan from 1 Samuel 18-20. Here is an example of a friendship where they truly showed love for one another as Matthew 22:39 would instruct believers to show love. Proverbs 17:17 tells us that a godly friend loves at all times and in 27:6 we see that a godly friend will be faithful to tell you the truth - even if it hurts. So what about you....are you this godly friend? Do you seek to develop godly friendships?

Envy vs. Contentment

In Ecclesiastes 4:4, we read about man's envy. Solomon notes that envy is a part of what motivates man to work. Today, we talk about what believers can do to be content rather than envious. Learning contentment is a heart attitude. It is not something that we will naturally be good at. Paul says in Philippians 4:11 that he learned to be content. As believers, we need to understand that:

1. Envy is sin.
2. The outcome of envy is not God-honoring.
3. Believers cannot show true love if they are envious.
4. We need to put on thankfulness and contentment in place of envy.

We share many practical things from Scripture today about how we can choose contentment rather than envy. We challenge you today to reflect on your life. Are you choosing to be thankful for all things, or are you envious about what others have? How does the truth of this passage encourage you?

Ecclesiastes - Chapter 4

Warren Wiersbe in his book, Be Satisfied, helps us to understand an outline of this chapter. We will reference Wiersbe as we discuss this chapter over the coming week. Solomon will record his observations from visiting four different places:

1. The Courtroom (vs. 1-3)
2. The Marketplace (vs. 4-8)
3. The Highway (vs. 9-12)
4. The Palace (vs. 13-16)

As we begin this chapter today, we find Solomon visiting the courtroom, observing the oppressed. There are many people who find themselves under the rule of an unjust authority even in our day and age. Solomon acknowledges that oppression is real, and yet in these first three verses does not seem to have to a desire to do anything about it. Rather, he woefully says that it would be better for the oppressed to be dead. As we seek to apply this section of Scripture to our lives, may we challenge you to be hopeful and give hope to others who are going through difficult circumstances? Maybe you are working for an unjust boss who treats you unfairly, maybe your child is facing a bully at school. In each of these situations we have the hope of Scripture to remember and offer. We can be encouraged that God knows all things and that for those who believe, God is using our trials for good (Romans 8:28).

Ecclesiastes - Chapter 3:16-22

As we finish out chapter 3 of Ecclesiastes we spend some time discussion how the fact that God's judgment on both the righteous and wicked should affect our daily lives. We know from the Bible that God will call both the righteous and wicked into judgement. The righteous have been washed by the Blood of Christ and are pardoned from sin. The wicked are doomed to eternal separation from God. Because of these facts, we ought to be striving to share Christ ever more with those who are unsaved! Knowing that your unsaved neighbor will one day spend eternity in hell ought to cause you to break through your uncomfortableness and share the Truth! Is there someone in your life whom you need to share Christ with today? If so, don't delay!

Ecclesiastes - Chapter 3:9-15

God sets eternity in each man's heart - meaning we all have a natural curiosity towards finding out our purpose of life, what time is all about, when life began and what is to come when we die. Thankfully, we have God's word to instruct us and give us a portion of God's plan! Many people strive to find peace with what they are doing in their life by volunteering in their community, being in the Red Cross, taking missions trips and doing things to make them feel like they are "making a difference." When we have God's perspective in mind for all of life, we come to realize that the job that God gives to us (whether it is a wife, stay at home mom, or a woman working outside her home) is "making a difference" when performed according to the truth of God's word. We pray you'll be encouraged by the discussions of this section of the Bible. As always, we'd love to hear from you if you have anything to ask or share! Oh, we also mentioned a book today on the program: Don't Waste Your Life, by John Piper. We've posted a link for this book under "favorite books" on the right of our blog.

Ecclesiastes - Chapter 3 "There is a time"

As we move on today in our study of Ecclesiastes, Warren Wiersbe in Be Satisfied gives this outline for chapter 3.

• Look up: God orders time (vs. 1-8)
• Look within: Eternity in your heart (9-15)
• Look ahead: Death is coming to all (16-22)

We begin in verses 1-8 which is a more familiar section of this book. Solomon now turns his attention to sharing some facts about God's sovereignty as it relates to time, events and emotions. Over the next few days we'll be talking about the things Solomon is contrasting and what spiritual truths these contrasts can have on us. Please share with us any thoughts you have as you study with us.

Ecclesiastes 2:12-26

In this next section of Scripture we find that Solomon now turns his attention to the vanity of toil. In Solomon's eyes, he hated all he had toiled for as it would now be left to someone who did not work for it. He was concerned for his possessions and gave his "heart up to despair" over this (vs. 20). His conclusion in verse 24 is that a person should find enjoyment in his toil rather than despair because of it. Here we begin to see a shift in Solomon's thinking. He now begins to give credit to God for the ability to enjoy toil and gifts. Please join us as we spend the next few days talking through our questions and seeking to practically apply truths from this book to our lives.