Sermons

In this passage Solomon, having come to see the vanity of life through his own regretful life, warns how we should live so that in old age we will not regret time we can never get back. Reflecting on a past in which he craved power and pleasure, he emphasises that in the face of death everything is meaningless. He also reminds us that keeping the law God has established is essential for kings and priests alike.

Seeing people laughing and chattering in bars late at night, the preacher questions whether they are aware of the judgment after death. Even amid the world's changes and conflicts, God's law does not change, and if we do not acknowledge it, our state after death cannot help but be different. Believers must not forget that the people of the world are the ones to be saved, and must set an example with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit; if they do not keep the faith, they lose their direction like a sunken ship.

It also points out the attitude of treating church like a hobby or caring only about the kingdom of heaven, and makes clear that true faith is bound up with the eternal life gained through Christ. Through the martyrdom of Stephen, it emphasises the importance of those who proclaim the gospel and of a love that forgives even in persecution. Finally, the reader is asked how to use this very moment so as not to regret it in old age, and whether they truly believe that God is the Judge.

This passage deals with the mission of bringing the truth of life to souls who are in darkness. Every life, heading toward death from the moment of birth, is precious, but because of our sinful nature we can be saved only by receiving Christ. So believers who have been called have the responsibility to save souls by proclaiming the gospel, and this is an important mission God has entrusted to them.

The sermon compares proclaiming the gospel to casting bread on the waters or sowing seed. The world is full of darkness and sin, but when believers boldly proclaim Jesus, who is life, those who have ears will hear. The importance of choice and effort is also emphasised: believers must work diligently morning and evening and take responsibility for the path they have chosen. God helps believers in their struggles and efforts, and since the salvation of souls belongs wholly to God's sovereignty, we must keep proclaiming steadily without being discouraged or giving up.

Noah, who in his day believed that judgment would come and built the ark, is an example for believers. Knowing that the world is full of sin and that judgment is near, believers must still share their wealth, proclaim the truth, and live good lives. Those who follow Christ, the light, come out of darkness, but those who refuse remain in darkness. Only by enjoying the days of our youth without forgetting God, and by making right judgments, can we live a life without regret.

The sermon asks whether we have sown the seed of the Word that God has entrusted to us in people's hearts, and how that seed is growing.

This passage contrasts the wise and the fool, and shows that human choice determines whether God's planned grace becomes a path to enjoying blessing or turns into a curse. Abraham's obedience in offering Isaac shows the attitude of the wise, who receive grace rightly even though God's will had already been prepared. By contrast, the rich man, boasting in his wealth and his outward show of faith and ignoring his neighbour, is the picture of the fool, and in the end he meets spiritual ruin.

The sermon emphasises that believers must have an obedient heart that is thankful for the grace of Jesus' atonement on the cross, rather than trusting in their own merits with a proud heart. Satan and the world focus only on what is seen and cannot understand God's invisible kingdom, but the wise humble themselves, obey God's word, and keep the faith to the end. It also warns that complaints in the heart or secretly cursing others cannot be hidden from God, and urges us not to be lazy and not to neglect examining our faith.

What should believers hold on to as they live, in order to stand as wise people who place Christ at the centre of their lives and make right judgments every day?

This passage deals with the effect a ruler's wisdom or folly has on the nation and its people. When those in power lose discernment and make foolish judgments, the fate of the nation is put at risk, and those who love the truth end up suffering instead. Yet believers must show a faith that keeps its place and prays even amid the world's unreasonable situations.

Through the example of King Hezekiah, the sermon warns of the spiritual crisis that comes after hardship. He prayed earnestly and experienced miracles, being healed of his illness and seeing an army driven back, but after he gained peace he grew proud and forgot God's grace. As a result he fell into Satan's trap by showing off his treasures, and in the end his faith was corrupted and he committed the folly of fathering his son Manasseh. Once hardship has passed it is easy to forget to give thanks and to put forward our own righteousness, but the sermon stresses that this is exactly when Satan attacks most.

Believers must live humbly, not forgetting God's grace, and must keep the blade of their faith sharp to protect themselves from Satan's temptations. What are we holding on to, so that we do not become fools who break through their own walls, but wise believers who rely on Christ and build a strong spiritual hedge?

The world shows us evil people using technology to harm life, and a reality in which committing sin is far easier than holding on to what is good. As the standards of education and morality collapse and parents and the church fail to judge within the truth, people are losing common sense and discernment. Amid the currents of this fallen world, keeping the eternal truth demands a fierce spiritual battle that may at times mean risking one's life.

Through the story of the poor wise man who saved a small city and the event of David defeating Goliath, the sermon sheds light on God's work of choosing what is foolish and weak in the world. David could fight the giant Goliath without fear because he had the experience of a faith that was blessed as he overcame lions and bears. He risked his life not to win a reward but to stop the one who insulted God and his people, and this was not the world's war but God's battle.

People commit the folly of easily forgetting the words of the wise and following only the words of the powerful or the rich, but God uses the weak to put the strong things of the world to shame. Believers should learn to trust God through their own experiences, and those experiences should become courage and wisdom that let them overcome the great enemies of the world. The sermon asks how believers will carry out the mission of becoming poor wise people who proclaim the truth even when the world does not recognise it, and of saving souls through the experience of a life lived by faith.

This passage sheds light on the essence of life through the way Solomon and King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon lost their power, wisdom, wealth and glory and came to realize how empty it all was. People come to see that even the swift runner or the strong warrior can be caught in an evil net at any time without God's protection. In particular, King Nebuchadnezzar, though he had seen God's warnings and miracles, could not let go of his pride and suffered the hardship of living like a beast, revealing the weakness of human beings, who cannot overcome sin by their own will.

The sermon points out that the cause of such failure was that they had left God and raced through the world driven by their own greed and selfishness. Believers must not be swallowed up by the world's goals, but must have a faith that has been taken hold of by Jesus Christ, who became our goal. Even when Satan and evil spirits attack, when the Holy Spirit protects us and walks with us, we can walk safely on the narrow way of truth. Even when hardship comes, if we are in Christ we are safe there, and we can enjoy peace even in the midst of outward difficulties.

In an uncertain world where we cannot know what tomorrow will bring, rather than boasting of our own wisdom or ability, we must walk steadily with the Holy Spirit. Letting go of the folly of forgetting God's grace and chasing only worldly success until it is lost, as Solomon and Nebuchadnezzar did, what kind of life must we live to become true victors?

This passage deals with the emptiness of life and with what we should truly set our hearts on. The writer himself realizes that the authority and wealth he holds mean nothing in the face of death, and declares that those who live in a low place, repenting daily and obeying God, are more precious.

Through the parable of the unjust steward, the sermon points out the need for wisdom to discern the master's will. The world praises those who hold on to what is theirs and pile it up, but God delights in the good steward who has compassion on the poor and shares. Believers must acknowledge that what they own has been entrusted to them by God for a while, and must use it according to God's will, not for their own pleasure or power.

The sermon asks believers not to be bound to the world's empty glory, but to live the life of a good steward as those whose sins have been washed away by the blood of Christ alone. Before we cross the bridge of death, it leads us to look back on whether our lives right now look like those of children who fear God, or like the unjust steward who builds up his own righteousness in the darkness.

This passage deals with the frustration believers feel as they see the injustice of the world and the long lives of the wicked. Solomon points out that because the wicked are not judged at once, they sin boldly, and he explains that this is because God is being patient to give them an opportunity to repent. The world's abundance and long life are in the end empty things that vanish like a shadow, and the passage emphasizes that true blessing lies in eternal life after death.

Through the case of Judas Iscariot, the sermon shows how someone who knows the Word but whose heart has not been changed becomes a tool of Satan. And through the experience of Solomon, who enjoyed power and wisdom yet did not fear God and in the end felt only emptiness, it teaches that human wisdom and effort alone cannot bring true satisfaction. Believers must not be swallowed up by the world's standards, but must understand God's patience and hope for eternal life through faith in Christ.

The sermon urges believers to live a meaningful life following Christ rather than the world's empty glory. Finally, it invites the reader to meditate deeply on why we must walk toward the eternal kingdom of heaven, rather than becoming churchgoers who do not fear God or heroes of the world.

Through the life and wisdom of King Solomon, this passage deals with how believers should live between the powers of the world and God's commands. It contrasts the time when Solomon oppressed the people because of his pride with the time after he recognized his own weakness and turned into a good king who obeyed God. It also sheds light on the attitude of people of faith through Obadiah's faithfulness in hiding and saving God's prophets amid Jezebel's persecution, and through Stephen, who kept his peace even as he was martyred.

The sermon emphasizes that believers keep the moral laws of the world and submit to authority as a strategic choice for spreading the gospel. But it points out that this must not be a mere strategy for survival; it must be a natural obedience that flows from their identity as people who have God as their King. In particular, noting that believers' faces shine when they obey the Word and grow dark when they stray from it, it urges them to examine their inner spiritual state. It also speaks of the need to understand the grace of God, who waits, not through force but through a personal relationship, for believers to devote themselves of their own accord.

Finally, it reminds us that human beings are weak, unable to know what is to come or to control their own life or the time of their death. Only when we acknowledge these limits can we become truly wise, and we come to realize that keeping God's good commands is, in the end, the way that saves believers. The reader is led to look back on whether their life is lived for the praise of the world, or is a life of obedience that fears God.

This passage sheds light on how the wisdom of God that Solomon enjoyed early on gradually disappeared because of his own pride and lust. It shows how he, who at first governed the people with wisdom greater than that of ten rulers in a city and gave off a holy fragrance, became intoxicated with people's praise, mistook God's grace for his own righteousness, and fell into corruption. Where wisdom was lost, pride and sexual immorality filled the space, and in the end he was caught in Satan's snare and came to regret having lived an empty life.

Through Solomon's failure, the sermon asks what believers should hold on to as they live. It warns that when we do not let go of human righteousness and insist that our own judgment is right, it can lead to a foolish decision like Eve's eating of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. It also points to situations in which we react too sensitively to what people say, or let others' slander capture our hearts until the foundation of our faith is shaken, and reminds us that true wisdom comes from God.

Believers must break free from the temptations of the world and from human righteousness, and carry the fragrance of Christ. The sermon asks the reader to reflect on whether they are guarding God's wisdom in their life, or have fallen for Satan's schemes and been caught in his snare.

This passage sets out the standard that divides the wise from the foolish among believers, and points out that longing for past glory or complaining about present hardship is folly. God has set the day of prosperity side by side with the day of adversity so that people cannot find out what is to come, which shows that sovereignty over life belongs to God. Believers must obey God's righteous judgment rather than boast of their own righteousness or wisdom, and must guard against the pride of being overly righteous or acting overly wise.

The sermon warns that human righteousness in the end brings ruin, and makes clear that exalting oneself by the world's measure is an act that brings God low. Believers must acknowledge their weakness and live with honest faith, cutting off the sprouts of sin and fending off Satan's attacks. So as not to walk the path of the fool who may die before the time God has set, they must judge carefully with the wisdom of Christ and devote themselves to the salvation of souls.

The sermon asks whether believers boast of their own righteousness, or judge the world's problems with God's wisdom and devote themselves. It reminds us that if our human righteousness is not revealing the Lord's righteousness, it is something that must be cast away. When believers meet problems, they must discern why God has given them this situation, and seek not human wisdom but the wisdom of God.

Through the fall of the walls of Jericho by Joshua's obedience, this passage explains the principle by which God's name receives glory. When people of faith obey, the world comes to remember their names, and at that point believers must humbly give the glory to God. A name is not merely a label; it is an important marker that speaks for a person's faith, character and the years they have lived through.

It also says that the word that the house of mourning is better than the house of feasting leads us, through the end that is death, to realize the finitude and truth of life. Worldly pleasure lasts only for a moment, but a life of self-examination in preparation for death is a wise attitude that hopes for the eternal kingdom of heaven. Believers should be able, even amid hardship and sorrow, to discern the emptiness of the world and to mourn for the salvation of souls.

Finally, it warns that greed and bribes make the wise foolish and destroy understanding. Because one wrong choice can bring down a faith built up over a lifetime, believers must in every situation think deeply about how God would judge, and live honest lives. This sermon, which says that a life that exalts God's name rather than worldly honor brings true glory, leads the reader to reflect on how their own name will be recorded.