If you have ever played "The Game of Life," you know there are all kinds of events that sneak up on you that you never saw coming. That spin of the wheel can bring prosperity or disaster. We may be okay with the outcome, or it may cause us to want to quit the game. But is the real game of life really determined by the random spinning of a universal wheel? How do we walk out our faith through seasons of pain, struggle, or even prosperity?
We are all familiar with the concept of "right place, right time" or "wrong place, wrong time," but as we look at Ecclesiastes chapter 3, we will see Solomon's perspective on the timing of all things under Heaven.
This week, read Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 and come ready to allow God to reveal His sense of timing to your heart. (You'll also find out why I hate crossword puzzles!)
See ya Sunday,
Jeff
By Dale Palmer, Director of His Kids Children’s Ministries
On Saturday, May 7, the quite fashionable moms, the children, and their friendly stuffed friends came ready to have a wonderful tea. Gracious servers kept the tables stocked full of delicious sandwiches – cucumber and cream cheese, egg salad, and PB & J! There were yummy scones and strawberry jam, fresh strawberries and crème, as well as Grandpa’s Cinnamon Bears and Oatmeal & Raisin Cookies. Of course, no tea is complete without assorted hot teas for Mom and lemonade and apple juice for the children.
We had a short program with Debbie Smith playing the guitar and leading us in some fun songs. Then the children told us the best thing about Mom.
We gave away five Build-A-Bear gift certificates for The Most Loved, Best Dressed, Funniest, Sweetest, and Cutest stuffed friends.
We finished our time together with a craft made especially for the Tea by Sherry Schuster. It seemed that every minute was full of activity and fellowship.
The Mommy, Teddy & Me Tea would not have been a success without the wonderful help of Lydia Phares, Tammi Strasen, Alice Weissmann, Sherry Schuster, Donald Goodwin, Annie Williams, Lyric Ellis, Whitney Zeimis, Bob Palmer, and Debbie Smith. Thank you!
This week's "Reflection" by Gary Keith, Lead Pastor
Working Things Out
Ecclesiastes 2:12-26
In the “Game of Life,” work takes up about a third of our time. It’s probably the single largest time block of any thing we do in “The Game of Life.” With that in mind, how do you like the way you are spending 33% of your life? Are you one of those people who say, “Take this job and shove it?”
In our passage Solomon has just finished talking about how wisdom and work do not give meaning to life, and then suddenly changes his attitude in verses 24 and 25 when he said, “I realized that these pleasures (food, drink, and work) are from the hand of God." Solomon makes it very clear that when God is in the mix, it changes everything.
Here we are on a Monday morning and most of us are back at our jobs. So how does including God in the mix of our job experience make it different? Is this a new thought for you? Or have you figured out ways to “take this job and LOVE it” as you include God in the mix? What are some of the ways that including God in the mix helps give meaning to our work?
Working Things Out
Ecclesiastes 2:12-26
The financial and employment chaos of the last few years has caused scores of people to question what they really want out of life and work. What about you? What gives you value? Where are you looking to find fulfillment and meaning? What defines you? Is it about climbing the work ladder? Is it having the perfect job? Would you consider yourself a workaholic? If so, why is that? We have a need to work things out.
Solomon has been searching for life’s meaning, but believes everything is pointless. So far in our study he has looked for life’s meaning apart from God in wisdom and in pleasure, but he still thinks it is all meaningless. This Sunday we will see Solomon’s search continue as he looks for life’s meaning in work.
Gary Keith
Have you ever uttered the words, "If I had a million dollars..."? Have you ever seen something and thought, "If I had one of those, then..."? Rock stars, movie stars, business moguls, and lottery winners seem to have everything one would need to have happiness, contentment, and purpose in their life, yet how many times have we seen the opposite play out on Access Hollywood with reports of alcoholism, drug abuse, and marital issues?
Maybe it's just that no one has really tried to see if money, possessions, and all things under the sun can bring happiness. Well, this week we are going to take a look at a man who literally gave it his best shot and denied himself nothing. Read Ecclesiastes chapter 2 verses 1-11 and join us on Sunday to see the extent to which Solomon went to buy happiness, and how his motives may sound a bit similar to ours at times.
See ya Sunday,
Jeff
By Dale Palmer, Director of His Kids Children’s Ministries
Summer’s coming! Won’t it be great to finally have warm sunshine and blue skies every day? Just think of all the fun that summer brings. Here at Life Bible Fellowship Church, summer will bring fun for His Kids as well as a chance to learn more about Jesus. It’s an enjoyable time to be with the kids.
This summer the His Kids Children’s Ministries theme is: Standing Above the Rest – We Can Be Different! Imagine being able to make a difference in kids’ lives by teaching them the Word of God! God calls us to be ambassadors for Him and to be different. In fact, you will rise above the crowd by being a Children’s Minister this summer.
Every year we give our ministers who serve during the school year (39 Sundays of continuous service) the summer off for a well-deserved rest. Will you please prayerfully consider helping this summer? We need people who will serve His Kids during each of the service times on Sunday at 8, 9:30, or 11:11 a.m.
The summer session begins Sunday, June 5, and the last session will be Sunday, August 28, which is only a 13-Sunday commitment. If you have vacation planned or have to be absent during this time period, we will work around your schedule by having one of our Super Subs take your group. The Service Directors and I strive to provide assistance with lessons and help in any problem that might happen during the summer session. We are here to bless you in your service to the Lord.
We also will need people willing to serve as substitutes when a regular minister leaves for vacation. Maybe you have a gift for organizing and playing games or organizing and doing crafts. If you are that person, we would love to have you as part of our team to make ministry to His Kids fun and exciting as everyone learns more about our gracious God and “standing above the rest.” It would be wonderful to have someone in charge of crafts and/or games each service.
Opportunities to sign up and to have your questions answered will be available on the patio as you enter the Worship Center starting May 1 in between services. Come to the His Kids Children’s Ministries table – we’d love to see you and share with you how the program will work this summer!
This week's "Reflection" by Gary Keith, Lead Pastor
Empty-Handed Adventure
Ecclesiastes 1:12-18
This week Solomon talked about his pursuit of wisdom. It was pretty interesting to see Solomon’s thoughts about wisdom especially in light of the time he chose to ask God for wisdom and God granted it to him. I think the most startling thing for me to consider this week was verse 18 when he says that the greater our wisdom the greater our grief and sorrow. That just didn’t add up to me. I would naturally think that the greater my wisdom the better handle I would have on all things concerning life, and that would make me happy or at least satisfied.
But Solomon has said just the opposite. He says the more we know the more sadness it brings to our lives. What do you think about that? What has been your experience? Is it true that the more we know the more sorrow we experience? Why is that?
Tell me how that has worked out for you – I’d love to get some more wisdom on this idea!
By Gary Keith, Lead Pastor
One of the favorite board games I used to play with my kids when they were growing up was “The Game of Life.” Maybe you’ve played it as well. This game has been around for decades and the makers of “Life” continue to update the game to reflect the changes to our culture. Some of the things that never change though are the very basics of the game – like getting an education, deciding on a vocation, obtaining an annual salary, getting married, having kids, and trying to win by being the first to reach your mansion with the most money. It kind of sounds like real life, doesn’t it?
I remember the time in my life when I began asking how I should be pursuing these kinds of things as a Christian. How should I play the game of life? What kind of vocation should I go after? How many kids should we have? How much money do I need to live on? Where will I live and what kind of house will I have? I’m sure I’m not alone in asking these kinds of questions and I can’t help but believe that as a Christian, I would answer them differently than if I weren’t a Christian.
How should “The Game of Life” be played? That’s a good and important question. Starting May 1, we are going to look at the writings of a man who looked back on his life and reflected about what was meaningful and what was meaningless.
We are going to study the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes and most people believe this book was written by Solomon, the son of David, King over Jerusalem. You will notice in verse one it says, “These are the words of the Teacher…” The Hebrew word there for Teacher is qoheleth. It’s the word for a man who addresses an assembly. The corresponding word in Greek is the word ekklesiatic, and that’s where the book of Ecclesiastes gets its name.
Some people think that Ecclesiastes is about the meaninglessness of human life, but this perspective is not quite right. Ecclesiastes is really about the meaninglessness of life without God. And because the writer never gives up his belief in God, his ultimate purpose is to show us how meaningful life can be when we see things from God’s perspective. His message is not that nothing matters, but that everything matters, and the more we study Ecclesiastes, the better we will understand why.
So as we start this journey through the book of Ecclesiastes, we will learn from the wisest and richest man who ever lived. I look forward to learning with you about God’s perspective on “The Game of Life.”
Empty-Handed Adventure
Ecclesiastes 1:12-18
This week we start learning about the details of Solomon’s journey of discovering the truth that apart from God, everything is meaningless. His first pursuit is wisdom. Solomon didn’t have to go to college to become wise and I would think that most of us believe that the pursuit of wisdom is a good thing. We would think pursuing wisdom brings success, just like going to college in the game of life can make you a winner of the game. But the teacher has some startling things to say about his pursuit of wisdom and it’s effects in our lives that will shake us up a bit. Week two of our journey in Ecclesiastes will help us to see what wisdom apart from God really looks like.
Gary Keith
