Ecclesiastes 7:1-20
The Test of Adversity Is Easier than the Test of Prosperity TO HEAR THE ENTIRE SERMON CLICK THE LISTEN BUTTON ABOVE A well-known Hollywood actress once said, “I know what it’s like to be poor. And I know what it’s like to be rich. And let me tell you, rich is better.”[i] But Solomon would disagree. I don’t know whether he was ever poor, but he certainly was rich, and his personal testimony in chapter 5 and 6 of Ecclesiastes is that wealth is not all it’s cracked up to…
Ecclesiastes 7-11
Sharp Goads and Hard Nails Note: This sermon is a summary of Ecclesiastes 7-11. Please turn in your Bible to Ecclesiastes 12. I want us to begin reading at verse 9: Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs. The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true. The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like…
Ecclesiastes 11:1-6
Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained Note: This sermon was preached at First Free Wichita by Associate Pastor Phil Thengvall. Introduction: Today’s global economic uncertainty has a way of paralyzing nations, corporations, small business owners, families, and individuals. Yesterday, The Washington Post said that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner confirmed that Aug. 2 remained the deadline for raising the $14.3 trillion debt limit. On that date the United States will begin to default on its obligations without additional borrowing authority, setting in motion the “catastrophic…
Ecclesiastes 11:7-12:14
Live It Up Without Messing Up! The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks the question, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer? “The chief end of man is to love God and enjoy Him forever.” But you wouldn’t know it by looking around. It seems to me that many Christians just endure life rather than really enjoy it. There is relatively little laughter in their lives, only occasional excitement, and almost no ecstasy. It doesn’t have to be that way. Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life and might have…
Esther 1
When Chauvinism Confronts the Domino Theory Today we are beginning a new series on a much-neglected book of the Bible, the Book of Esther. There are reasons why it has been neglected (which I will enumerate in a few moments), but no excuses. Many evangelical preachers and commentators never touch it. I regret to admit that during my 40 years of preaching and teaching, this is the first time I have tackled Esther with any thoroughness. I think I did…
Esther 2
Introducing the Hero and the Heroine Introduction: Last Lord’s Day we launched a summer series on the book of Esther. It’s rare that I urge you to go to our website to read sermons, but if you missed last week’s, I hope you will go back and read it (or listen to it) because we offered a lot of background information that is important in order to put the rest of the story in context. In the first chapter…
Esther 3-4
For Such a Time as This Note: This sermon was preached by the Youth Pastor at First Evangelical Free Church of Wichita Good morning. I’m excited and honored to have the opportunity to open God’s Word with you this morning. Our privilege and responsibility is to worship Him. Let’s spend a few moments in silence as we prepare our hearts and minds for worship through the preaching of God’s word. My name is Jeremy and I’ve been the Student Ministries Pastor for 2 years. For…
Esther 5-6
The Tables Are Turned Introduction: Scripture tells us the same truth in countless ways: “Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7); “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18); “Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12). Nowhere can one find a clearer illustration of these truths than in the life of Haman, the Agagite–one of the key characters in the OT Book of Esther. Jeremy…
Esther 7-8
Haman’s Last Supper Note: This sermon was preached by the long-time Associate Pastor at First Evangelical Free Church of Wichita. It’s good to be together again today as a church family. This morning we re-engage our study in the book of Esther (two books before the Psalms). Because it has been two weeks since our last look, let’s recall some of the highlights of the unfolding drama. An Unfolding Drama The setting for the book of Esther is within the city…
Esther 9-10
A Day to Remember So soon we have come to the end of our summer series on the OT Book of Esther! I have thoroughly enjoyed this excursion through one of the great short stories in the Bible, and I hope you have as well. I told you when I began this series that in forty years of Bible teaching and preaching I had never seriously tackled this book, and I shared with you some of the factors that made…
Ruth 1
Behind a Frowning Providence It’s good to be back with you today. It probably wasn’t the most appropriate thing to have a sermon on Islam on Mother’s Day. But I’m going to try to make up for that by spending the next month preaching from Ruth, who as an ancestress of Jesus was one of the most important mothers of the Bible. Ruth comes right after the Book of Judges, to which it was actually attached in the Hebrew Bible. …
Ruth 2
We Intend; God Superintends Southern Baptist preacher Jess Moody once said, “May the dear Lord teach me that the more candles on my birthday cake, the more like Jesus I am supposed to become.” Would that we all had such a goal and attitude! Unfortunately, there seem to be a lot of Christians who feel that getting saved is the sum total of the Christian’s experience. Once they make a profession of faith in Christ (and perhaps get baptized), they…