"There Is a Time" sermon preview

This week, we wade into the waters of Old Testament wisdom literature with Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.  This is a passage that has been popularized by artists like Pete Seeger in his song "Turn, Turn, Turn."  In poetic form, it names for us opposing realities and suggests that there is a time for each of them.  Yet we may wonder what we are to do with this, especially given that we are in changing times in which the lines between these opposing times is often blurred or rapidly oscillating.

The map of our cultural landscape is in flux.  Technology is advancing at an increasingly rapid rate.  Our methods of communicating and interacting with one another are morphing.  And what once seemed stable, secure and timeless; now seems to be antiquity wrapped in a haze of days gone by.   What does this mean for people of faith?  What does this mean for us as we seek to live into and out of God's kingdom purposes for our lives and our world?

While this may mean many things for us, perhaps we may begin with the following.  First, perhaps we begin by remaining and growing more rooted in our context.  As the times change around us, being rooted in one spot creates a continuity that we can minister out of.  Second, we discern our direction through dependance on the Holy Spirit through prayer.  As the times change around us and our maps become outdated, the Holy Spirit can serve as a GPS to guide our navigation of our circumstances.  Third, we maintain hope in the current presence and future culmination of the reign of God in our lives and in our world.  God is with us despite our circumstances and we know that whatever may come our way that God has the ultimate victory that will one day be brought to its full culmination through the return of Jesus Christ.

As you consider this passage in Ecclesiastes, reflect on these questions in a time of silence, through journaling or in group dialogue.

1. How would you describe the time that we are in?  Is it a comfort or a point of unease to be in this time?

2. How do we determine the time that we are in and how is it that we faithfully navigate that time?

3. Does the time that we are in have to be an either/or?  Could it be a both/and?  If so, what does this mean for our role as a people of faith?

4. Regardless of the time that we are in, God is with us in time though God exists outside of the bounds of time.  In what ways are we able to discern and live into God's purposes in the time in which we find ourselves?

5.Describe a time in which you experienced a sense of being in line with God's purposes for you in the midst of what was going on around you.  What did this mean for your faith?

May Jesus richly bless you in this week ahead, leading you in His kingdom purposes. Amen