Contentment Is...

Sermon from CCM:Kingsway
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LISTEN

This sermon was preached by Tim Simmonds at the CCM:Kingsway site of Christ Church Manchester on Sunday 18th February 2018.

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SERIES

 

This message was part of the ‘SERIES NAME’ series, preached at Christ Church Manchester’s church in Burnage in EARLY/MID/LATE YEAR. The full series included the following sermons:

BIBLE VERSES

This sermon was based on Ecclesiastes 9: 7 – 10.

Enjoy Life with the One You Love

 

7Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.

8Let your garments be always white. Let not oil be lacking on your head.

9Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.

10Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

KEY POINTS

 

Contentment enjoys the simple things

  • Contentment is inextricably linked to joy; God takes pleasure in our pleasure.
  • But can we find joy in the normal rhythms of life: Food and drink, clothing, our spouse, our work?
  • Can we make a daily habit of finding enjoyment in the food on our plate, the clothing on our back, the people around us and the work we do?

 

Contentment is sober

  • Solomon teaches us that we can be both content with our possessions while also being sober-minded about the realities of life.
  • We must hold the bitter and the sweet simultaneously; without one, you cannot have the other. You don’t just reside in drunken joy nor in perpetual vexation of the world. 
  • One commentator says, ‘to be able to grieve deeply and rejoice relentlessly at the same time is a mark of Christian maturity.’ 

Contentment is God-centred

  • Our contentment is sourced from God. We enjoy food and drink because God wants us to; we enjoy all the day that God has given us.
  • Ecclesiastes consistently points to God being the source of contentment.
  • How much great is the giver than the gift? The gift is fleeting, short-lived, insecure and stable; the giver is sustaining, long-lasting, consistent, unchanging, and solely joy-giving.

MORE SERMONS

 

To see more sermons from Christ Church Manchester, you can visit our sermons page, or why not consider subscribing on iTunes.