What's The Point Of It All
Ecclesiastes 1
Skip Heitzig
Ecclesiastes 1 (NKJV™) | |
1 | The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. |
2 | "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." |
3 | What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? |
4 | One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever. |
5 | The sun also rises, and the sun goes down, And hastens to the place where it arose. |
6 | The wind goes toward the south, And turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit. |
7 | All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full; To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again. |
8 | All things are full of labor; Man cannot express it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor the ear filled with hearing. |
9 | That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. |
10 | Is there anything of which it may be said, "See, this is new"? It has already been in ancient times before us. |
11 | There is no remembrance of former things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come By those who will come after. |
12 | I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. |
13 | And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. |
14 | I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. |
15 | What is crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered. |
16 | I communed with my heart, saying, "Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge." |
17 | And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind. |
18 | For in much wisdom is much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow. |
New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.
In the book of Ecclesiastes written by Solomon, the bell of disillusionment tolls over and over again. It is a book often quoted by unbelievers because it strikes a chord of familiarity. The deepest questions about life are probed by one of ancient society's most brilliant thinkers. Modern men and women would do well to consider this man's journal and especially his conclusions so as not to make the same mistakes.
In Ecclesiastes, Solomon delves into the hard issues of life, and attempts to find satisfactory answers that avert despair. Pastor Skip Heitzig examines Solomon's search for meaning.
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Date | Title | Watch | Listen | Notes | Share | Save | Buy | |
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4/29/2001 completed
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Is That Your Final Answer? Ecclesiastes 12 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Solomon has run his course. His journey is completed. Years have passed since he began his search for meaning in life. After wearing several well-trodden paths of experimentation he now gives his final conclusion-his final answer as to the purpose of life. Boiling all of life down to its unavoidable terminus he leaves us with a few salient truths of guide our course through life. |
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4/22/2001 completed
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Living Life To The Brim! Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:1 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary A wise pundit once wrote, "Your life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you can spend it only once." Each of us is assigned just one shot at this thing called life. There is an eternity that we are all moving toward. So much of that eternity is shaped by how we live our lives right here and now, and that is one of the sobering thoughts with which Solomon chooses to close his journal. His theme is: Life should be enjoyed to the fullest-within proper boundaries! |
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3/25/2001 completed
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What Are You Doing With Yourself? Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary When Dr. Karl Menninger was asked, "What advice do you have for someone feeling a nervous breakdown coming on?" Astonishingly he replied, "Lock up your house, go across the railway tracks, find someone in need, and do something to help that person." I think Solomon would agree. In this section he is winding down his journal with this advice: Give yourself away! |
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3/18/2001 completed
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Watch Your Mouth! Ecclesiastes 10:11-20 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary An old proverb reads: "The ability to speak several languages is an asset, but the ability to keep your mouth shut in one language is priceless." There are times when that is true. The tendency to let our mouths rule, whether in a conversation or at a meal, can get us into trouble and harm others. Solomon, in poetic style, considers three foolish ways our mouths can be used: |
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3/11/2001 completed
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Four Common Follies Ecclesiastes 10:1-10 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary The old saying goes, "Man is pretty much a fool: when it's hot he wants it cool; when it's cool he wants it hot-always wanting what it's not!" That might sound simplistic but folly is simply think of and living for the short-term. Solomon in his unique and pithy style points to several areas where folly is demonstrated in life: |
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3/4/2001 completed
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Certain Truths For Uncertain Times Ecclesiastes 9:11-18 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Have you ever felt like life is a violin solo and you're wearing mittens? Things can get pretty frustrating from time to time, can't they? In fact how often have you heard (or said), "It's just not fair"? With this seemingly precarious nature of things we must bank on the certainty of other things-divine sovereignty and biblical authority. |
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2/25/2001 completed
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A Matter Of Life And Death Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary You are alive! You will die! Those two absolutes are as basic as it gets. But how many people really live well? And how many really die well? Solomon's deep probing of the human condition and plan of God drives him to consider these two irreducible certainties. Concerning these two absolutes, there are some things we can't change but some that we can: |
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2/18/2001 completed
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Are You Getting Along With Uncle Sam? Ecclesiastes 8 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary In one of the most insightful writings about the working of human government, King Solomon shows the problems of it, the power of it, the failure of it, and the believer's relationship to it. We are citizens of God's kingdom, but we also have an earthly address. This means we are to be model citizens attracting others to our heavenly destination. |
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2/11/2001 completed
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Life: A Realistic View Ecclesiastes 7:15-29 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Solomon has graduated: Rather than tipping the scales completely towards pessimism, he balances out with realism. This is a realistic view at one of man's most puzzling problems. we will explore the nature of man with undiminished realism and find out what it means to us here and now. |
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2/4/2001 completed
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Building A House Or A Home Psalm 127 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary The reason this psalm is important to us today is because of its author-notice Solomon was the one who wrote it. Here, the master philosopher-builder-entrepreneur reflects on the central core of human life-the home. The Christian leader John Henry Jowett wrote, "Anyone can build a house: we need the Lord for the creation of a home." I believe Solomon penned this psalm during the upswing in his outlook described in the second half of Ecclesiastes. |
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1/28/2001 completed
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Seven Ways To A Better Life Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Steven Covey, the guru to the business community, wrote his best-selling book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and outlined a strategy for making life count. King Solomon wrote his own list, but by balancing over it you can readily see that the majority wouldn't accept these biblical directives. Let's follow along with this wise king as he takes us on a tour of these seven ingredients: |
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1/21/2001 completed
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All That Glitters... Ecclesiastes 6 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Living in a prosperous country has its advantages. It also has its problems. Solomon understood this since his own nation was experiencing economic growth through free trade and low unemployment. But he was willing to see both sides of the economic coin. Today we consider the personal problems that prosperity can bring and solutions to those problems. |
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1/14/2001 completed
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Money Matters Ecclesiastes 5:8-20 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Look again at the title, Money Matters. Most of us would say a hearty Amen to it. Money does matter to us: it pays the bills and buys us food to live. But how much is enough and how much will bring us happiness? Can we be trusted with money? Will we use it for the right purposes? In the end what will money profit us? |
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1/7/2001 completed
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You've Come To Church...Now What? Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Think about it: Its 2001, and here you are in church...again! Why? What are you doing here? Now, I'm not trying to discourage you from attending, nor do I want you to turn on your heels and high-tail it out of here. But I do want you to think about why you're here, what happens to you while you are here, and what happens afterwards. The beginning of this New Year is a good time to consider the value of commitments we have made. |
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12/17/2000 completed
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The Case For Companionship Ecclesiastes 4 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary God said it from the very start and it's still true today: "It is not good that man should be alone" (Genesis 2: 18). Loneliness and isolation are formidable forces in our fast-paced culture. Separation is easier than integration. Seclusion is easier than assimilation. But these are not better! God created us to be comfortably knit together n meaningful relationships, sometimes in marriage, and at other times as friends. |
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12/10/2000 completed
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How's Your View? Ecclesiastes 3:12-22 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Solomon was a torn and conflicted individual. He spouted a cynical glumness as he observed life, then he would lapse moments of optimistic spirituality in his journal. Perhaps that's nowhere better seen than in these paragraphs. Within the span of a few verses his divergent viewpoints can be seen. What Solomon faced is what we all face how to maintain a spiritual outlook while living in a skeptical world! |
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12/3/2000 completed
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Caught Between Time and Eternity Ecclesiates 3 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary "Man is the only animal that worships." one observer noted. Have you ever wondered why people always seem to be groping for more than they have? No matter what our lot in life, no matter where we find ourselves, we want to know what's on the other side of the wall! Is there more? We have the strange predicament of living in time and yet longing to outlive it. Here we discover one of the great truths of Scripture - God is sovereign over both time and eternity. |
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11/26/2000 completed
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How An Uplook Can Change Your Outlook! Ecclesiastes 2:12-26 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary Solomon didn't have a sight problem as he looked around at his world to find fulfillment. His was an insight problem. He saw a world full of allurements that all promised to satisfy but could never produce. For a long time Solomon failed to gain the needed insight, because things on the horizontal plane aren't the source of enjoyment. It was then that he momentarily turned his eyes upward and, with a flash of perception, had balance brought to his pessimistic perspective. |
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11/12/2000 completed
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Common Paths On A Frustrating Journey Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:11 Skip Heitzig |
Info Message Summary "The pursuit of happiness" is written into the script of the American dream. As a culture we take it literally and go for it wholeheartedly. Have you ever stopped to observe those on that pursuit? Have you ever met someone who stopped pursuing it because they found it? Solomon, the king of Israel was able to create and finance his own dreams. He walked down many roads to find the illusive golden pot of happiness at the end of the rainbow. But what was it he found? |
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