Tag: Sermons

The Problem with Wealth

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In part five of our series, Finding Meaning, we look at one last place we often go to fill this lingering void in our lives: Wealth. Money is a tempting source of meaning because it can make so many things happen that seem to be on our behalf, but if contentment is the thing we are seeking in having it, we are going to come up empty. Contentment has another source. Keep reading to find out what that is.

The Problem with Wealth

Have you ever felt like the system is rigged in favor of the wealthy and at the expense of the not-so-wealthy?  The odds are that unless you happen to feel like you’re part of the “wealthy”—that ubiquitous class of people who are imprecisely defined as folks whose net worth number has a couple more zeros than yours does and who serve as a convenient villain for all kinds of occasions—you’ve probably felt like this before.  As fair and impartial as our system is supposed to be, having money has its advantages.  And the more money you have, the more you are able to tap into those advantages.  We defer to wealthy people in ways we don’t similarly defer to not-as-wealthy people.  Humans have always done that.  We have always assumed that people who have lots of money have managed to get that money for some reason and whatever that reason is, if we haven’t been able to get lots of money ourselves, it must mean they’re better than us in some way.  We can try and deny that all we want, but that’s how pretty much every human culture has always worked.  It just is. 

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The Problem with Work

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After a couple of weeks off, this week brings us to part four of our series, Finding Meaning. One of the places we turn to for meaning in our lives is often our work. And that makes a lot of sense at first blush. After all, by the nature of the beast, we invest a lot of our lives there. We might as well try to get as much out of it as we can. But as with pleasure and wisdom, seeking meaning in our work is a trap and when it springs, it will leave us empty and searching. Keep reading to find out how we can get the most out of the work we do.

The Problem with Work

Have you ever done something that you knew, even while doing it, was a waste of your time?  I worked at OfficeMax in the print department while I was in seminary.  I really enjoyed the job and had a great boss.  My favorite part was working in production.  That kind of detailed and precise work was right up my alley and a nice break from school work.  We produced thousands of different documents while I was there from large format posters to bound workbooks to single copies.  If you wanted a document of any kind created, we could probably do it for you. 

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The Problem with Wisdom

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In part three of our series, Finding Wisdom, we took a look at another common area we look to in order to find meaning for our lives. This week, we looked specifically at wisdom itself. Wisdom seems like it should be a good thing, but the harder we pursue it, the more we find that maybe it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Keep reading to see why and what we can do about it.

The Problem with Wisdom

College holds a special place inour cultural narrative.  In books,movies, and TV, it is heralded as a time for young people to go off to pursuehigher learning and to grow in wisdom—a journey that cannot be completedwithout a great deal of experience and experimentation.  And at one time, that was more true thannot.  Universities were generally staffedby men and women who were genuine scholars in their respective fields and werecommitted to shaping young minds with the knowledge and tools they were goingto need in order to find success in whatever field they happened to bepursuing.  Over the past generation orso, though, that classical mission has…morphed…somewhat. 

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The Problem with Pleasure

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This week we begin looking together at some of the places in which we seek meaning for our lives. One of the biggest areas is in pleasure of one kind or another. The allure of pleasure–you pick your pleasure–is obvious. It feels good. Who wouldn’t want that? But, the question we have to face down is this: Does it deliver on its promise? Keep reading as our series, Finding Meaning, continues.

The Problem with Pleasure

There are some things people enjoy that require…training to be able to actually enjoy.  Fine art is one of those.  I haven’t quite developed enough of a taste for it to be able to enjoy it as thoroughly as others do who have.  There are folks who can go to an art museum and have their spirits fed simply by what they see there.  I can’t do that.  I have, however, had the opportunity to develop a taste for classical music.  While I don’t do it all that often—I mostly listen to news, commentary, and preaching—I genuinely enjoy listening to classical music and from multiple different genres (did you know there were multiple genres of classical music?).  There are some pieces that feed my spirit in a way few other things in this world do. 

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We’re for Them

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This past Sunday we took a look at the final piece of our identity as a church. We are a place designed by God to reach out into our community to advance His kingdom. God made us like this because He is for our community. He is for your community too. The church is to be for the world because our God loves the people in it. Keep reading to find out more.

We’re for Them

I’m not totally sure if they still do them nowadays, but a few years ago both Lowe’s and Home Depot had kids build days one Saturday each month.  The projects were usually pretty cheesy, but for the boys they were a lot of fun.  It was fun for us to get to see their excitement.  The setup was pretty much the same at both stores.  There were several makeshift tables composed of upside-down buckets and 8-foot shelf boards.  There were a couple of folks at a check-in table taking names and handing out the build kits.  Then, you spread out at one of the work stations with a pair of safety goggles and got to work.  The kits themselves were generally simple enough and with pretty clear instructions.  All the pieces were pre-cut and all the nail holes were pre-drilled.  You just followed the instructions and let the kids bang away with the little hammers they provided. 

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