There is a quiet sadness—an emptiness—that seems to hang over much of our world. It doesn’t always look like grief or despair. In fact, it often looks like success. It looks like full calendars and empty evenings.It looks like years of hard work followed by restlessness instead of peace.It looks like achieving what we hoped for, only to wonder why it still isn’t enough. In a 2005 interview on 60 Minutes , Tom Brady was asked about life after winning Super Bowls. At the time, he had already...

“Vanity of vanities…all is vanity.”With these words, Ecclesiastes confronts us with an uncomfortable truth: much of what we chase in life does not last, satisfy, or finally matter. As we begin a new sermon series through the book of Ecclesiastes, we step into a book that is often overlooked and under-appreciated. Yet it may be one of the most honest books in Scripture. Ecclesiastes does not offer quick fixes or shallow optimism. Instead, it names the weariness many people quietly carry—the...

There is something deeply hopeful about a fresh start. New jobs, new homes, new routines, and especially a new year all carry the promise that things can be better. New Year’s Day invites reflection—looking back on the joys and struggles of the past year while resolving to move forward with purpose. Yet while we are often tempted to place our hope in self-improvement or optimism about the future, this reflection points us to a deeper and more lasting source of hope: God’s mercy, given freely...