We open with personal reflections on what this series has meant — and why a book this honest about suffering, aging, and death turned out to be unexpectedly life-giving. From there, we explore the Hebrew word sakar, unpacking what it really means to "remember your Creator" — not as an occasional spiritual check-in, but as a posture of living every moment in the presence of God.

The conversation gets practical from there. How do you hold the tension between enjoying today's gifts and planning faithfully for the future without chasing smoke? What do we do with the reality that God will bring every secret deed into judgment — and does the gospel change how that lands? 

We close by tracing Solomon's conclusion — Fear God and keep His commandments — through to Matthew 7 and the narrow gate, asking how a wisdom writer from three thousand years ago ends up pointing directly at Jesus.

The conversation also wrestles with what healthy expectations of God should look like as we invest our time, resources, and energy in life. Does following Christ require risk? And if so, how do we step forward in faith while still living wisely?

We also reflect on the sobering reminder that God will bring everything into judgment. How should that reality shape the way we make decisions, pursue opportunities, and live day-to-day?

Finally, we discuss a practical question many believers wrestle with: when obstacles appear, how do we discern whether they’re simply challenges to navigate—or clear signals from God that we’re heading the wrong direction?

Through it all, Ecclesiastes points us toward a life that holds joy and responsibility together—receiving life as a gift from God while living with the awareness that our choices matter.

Week ten of our series through Ecclesiastes finds us in some of Solomon's most honest — and most unsettling — territory. Life doesn't always go to the swift, the strong, or the smart. Sometimes the net drops without warning. Sometimes the snare comes out of nowhere. So what do we do with that?

In this episode, Mike sits down with Josh and the pastoral staff to unpack Sunday's message from Ecclesiastes 9:11–10:20. The conversation ranges from the surprisingly warm response Broadmoor has had to this often-overlooked book, to what it actually looks like to pursue wisdom before the battle starts — not in the middle of it.

The team also gets personal: What do you do when life doesn't turn out like you hoped or planned? Does wisdom come from experience, or does it come from truth — and is there a difference? And how does the gospel reshape our pursuit of wisdom, especially for those of us who are already looking back at foolish decisions we can't undo?

They also tackle one of the more provocative lines in the whole passage — Solomon's statement in chapter ten that money answers everything — and what he's actually saying (and not saying) there.

Plus, with mission teams in Phoenix, Atlanta, the Appalachian Trail, and England, the staff reflects on what it means to carry the gospel message into contexts far outside the Sunday morning comfort zone. And yes — the cat and the rotisserie chicken make an appearance.

In this episode, we dig into one of the Old Testament's most honest passages, where Solomon stares down the reality of death and somehow lands on a call to live fully. We wrestled with what it actually looks like to trust God's sovereignty while still making wise, intentional decisions — and how that tension shows up in everyday life and ministry calling.

From there, we explored what Solomon really meant when he wrote that "the dead know nothing" — is he making a theological statement about the afterlife, or something more pastoral about the urgency of the life we have right now? The conversation gets honest about mortality and what happens when we actually let that awareness sink in rather than keeping it at arm's length.

We also sat with the central tension of the passage: death is certain, and yet Solomon's response isn't despair — it's an invitation to embrace the life in front of you with everything you have. And we closed where it counts — asking what this passage would say to someone in our congregation who's just going through the motions, present in body but checked out in heart.

If you've ever felt the gap between knowing God is in control and actually living like He is, this episode is for you.

From there, we unpack Solomon's warning about anger and nostalgia — two things we don't usually put together but that are referred to as the fuel of a fool's fire. We explore how both are really attempts to control a life that isn't ours to control, and why our smoky existence often has more to do with how we respond to the world than what the world does to us.

We spend time on one of the sermon's most challenging ideas: that God entrusts us with hard days just like He entrusts us with good ones, and what it actually looks like to trust His sovereignty when you can't understand it. That leads us into the passage's most surprising warning — "be not overly righteous" — and an honest conversation about the checklist trap, where good spiritual habits become tools for trying to earn God's favor instead of resting in it.

We close with the New Testament connection from Ephesians 5, and what it means to live from love rather than for love — that obedience flows from being loved by God, not from trying to get Him to love us more.

Our conversation centers on cultivating true reverence in modern worship contexts. We discuss practical strategies for keeping our religious practices from devolving into self-centered displays or spiritual arrogance. This leads us to examine our own worship services: Are we creating space for listening and stillness, or have we prioritized activity over encounter?"

We tackle the sobering concept of the "sacrifice of fools" and identifying what contemporary behaviors might fall into this category and how we can guard against them. The discussion extends to the serious matter of vows and commitments to God, using the stark example of Ananias and Sapphira to reshape our understanding of what it means to make promises to God.

Finally, we consider a profound shift in perspective: moving from fixation on our own commitments and promises to focusing instead on God's promises to us. This reorientation offers a healthier, more grace-centered approach to faithfulness and worship that keeps us anchored in God's character rather than our own performance.

We wrestle with practical questions about maintaining healthy community, particularly for those who are naturally introverted. How do we honor our need for solitude and personal recharging while still engaging in the meaningful relationships God designed us for? The discussion offers insights into recognizing when healthy alone time crosses into unhealthy isolation that damages our mental and spiritual well-being.

The episode also tackles one of Ecclesiastes' most challenging assertions: that the world's injustices stem from our envy of one another. We unpack what this means for how we view competition, comparison, and our relationships with others in both personal and societal contexts.

Whether you're navigating the tension between introversion and community, concerned about isolation in your own life, or seeking to understand the roots of relational brokenness, this conversation offers biblical wisdom and practical guidance for building the connections we were created for.

We unpack the Hebrew word "hevel" (vapor, breath, smoke), translated as "vanity" in many translations, and discuss modern examples of pursuits that promise fulfillment but ultimately leave us feeling empty. From there, we tackle a crucial distinction: what's the difference between doing godly activities and doing things that are truly centered on God? How can we honestly evaluate which category our own lives fall into?

The conversation then moves to practical application as we explore what it means to live "under the sun" versus viewing life through the lens of eternity. How does an eternal perspective practically reshape the way we approach our daily work, relationships, and pursuits?

We close by pointing listeners toward helpful resources for personal study through Ecclesiastes, equipping them to dig deeper into this profound book over the coming weeks.

Whether you're wrestling with questions of meaning and purpose or simply want to gain a deeper understanding of this challenging book, this episode provides a solid foundation for the journey ahead. Further study:

The Gospel Coalition  Living Life Backward by David Gibson Why Everything Matters by Philip Ryken