17 Aug Simpler Times and Ecclesiastes Part 3
Simpler Times
After a break, I’ve recently had the great joy of returning to one of my favorite things – teaching through a book of the Bible!
Some people have asked why I am not releasing these new messages from Ecclesiastes in video format. The answer is pretty simple – I don’t have a video camera, a studio, an office, or a desk quite yet. Due to our transition, my entire library is boxed up for an indefinite period of time. Truth be told, this nerd really misses his books like Linus would miss his blanket. I’m not worried though that in time things will be better in terms of technical quality. In the meantime, hopefully it feels like we are sitting together in the family room doing a Bible study together because that’s pretty much what we are doing.
At present, life is pretty simple. For starters, I have my cell phone. Until recent years, my eyesight was good but has faded fast now that I am into my forties. Aging in dog years has forced me to buy a large cell phone that the kids refer to as “dad’s flatscreen.” I use this phone (large enough to allow astronauts to watch YouTube cat videos from space) to take photos for the weekly email newsletter. I also have a microphone someone let me borrow (thank you anonymous Good Samaritan). To record sermons, I sit alone and just talk into the microphone, which feels like Tom Hanks in “Cast Away” when he was stranded on that island having conversations with his only friend the volleyball. And, of course, I have a laptop that makes everything possible. Like the icing in the middle of an Oreo, the laptop is what holds it all together.
It seems like this simpler life will be for at least a season, which has it’s benefits including an easy commute. So, I sit in a chair to study off of my laptop using the amazing Logos Bible software, record messages on the borrowed microphone, and type up Bible study materials for the blog. This all gets posted online and from there the Holy Spirit does whatever He wants with it.
As someone who grew up playing with an Etch-A-Sketch, it’s all pretty astonishing and makes me very thankful for technology. It’s an amazing thing to consider the opportunity technology affords a nobody trying to tell everybody about Somebody like me to get Bible teaching out to the world. Truly, we live in an unprecedented time. If you’ve ever looked at the maps in the back of your Bible and traced Paul’s lengthy journeys, that included shipwrecks and miles of walking to meet with various churches and leaders, it’s pretty remarkable to consider that today you can do something similar from your phone while eating nachos at home in your pajamas.
So, if you find things a bit more homespun and less polished than you are used to from me, you now know why. If you hear the garage door go up, a child walk in, slurping of coffee, or our dog bark on a podcast it’s because that’s just life these days. And, if you see a typo it’s because one of my spiritual gifts is making typos.
Lastly, I’m very thankful for those who invite Bible teachers, including myself, into their lives. Bringing us along on your morning jog, taking us to work, and letting us sit with you in traffic while you listen to us talk about Jesus is a great honor for which we are grateful. Thank you!
Ecclesiastes Part 3
Lastly, today Ecclesiastes called “Meaningless Life? Part 3, Life Liberty and the Pursuit of Misery: Ecclesiastes 2:1-11, is available. My hope is to spend some months taking a road trip, verse by verse, together through this winding and confusing book. This will include an informal audio podcast, blog based Bible commentary, and small group questions.
To tell a friend about the new series, click the “Forward” button below.
We continue to bring back past sermons, including this week as we post messages from Luke in audio format. In addition, we are sending out new Bible teaching. I will be posting on Twitter, mainly Bible verses, insightful quotes from others, and ministry updates.
Pastor Mark Driscoll
