"Up In Smoke" // Ecclesiastes 1:2-11 (Sunday 1/11/26)

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS sometimes feel like trying to grab smoke.We make big plans, set some goals, create a chart or two, but somehow it ends up slipping through our fingers. Things usually don't turn out to be quite what we imagined.We all come to the new year with hopes, dreams, relational, financial, physical, even spiritual goals, and yet disappointment and failed expectations lurk around the corner like a thick fog.It’s no surprise that God knows all about this. He knew all about our temptation to chase the smoke around us. He knew the disappointment we’d experience in the"worthless pursuit of the things of the earth”, and He wants to warn us, to guide us. This Christmas we reflected Jesus’ birth, and right along with that was Zechariah and Elizabeth’s son’s birth; John. John lived his life as a “warning” to “prepare the way” for Jesus, and this ancient book we’re going to look at these next few weeks, Ecclesiastes, was written 1,000 years before Jesus was born; and it’s a warning; it prepares us to receive Jesus by pointing out the absolute futility and emptiness of everything else.Most of us hate the idea of wasting a day, or an afternoon, or a weekend, or God forbid; your life. Life moves too quick! It’s just a mist! A vapor! A breath! Smoke! Your life is passing by while you're reading this!So whether you’ve been a Christian for a lifetime, or your brand new to church and faith and checking things out... If you're ready to stop wasting your time and get down to living “Life on Purpose”, this season is for you!Sunday 10:30AM // 70 Stephens Ln. Bayside, CA 95524