26-0301p - Detailed Summary

The preacher, Tom, announces the sermon title, Nothing New Under the Sun. He references his morning sermon on Ecclesiastes, where Solomon described everything as vanity and chasing after the wind. The evening message continues this theme, emphasizing that life under the sun is not only empty but also endlessly repetitive. These two truths—vanity and repetition—complement each other closely. Ecclesiastes feels raw and bleak at times, yet this honesty makes it powerful, refusing to sugarcoat reality while directing listeners to the true source of meaning.

Tom reads Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 aloud, inviting the congregation to follow in their Bibles if desired. The passage opens with the words of the preacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem, declaring “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” It questions the profit of human labor under the sun. Generations come and go while the earth remains; the sun rises and sets, the wind circles endlessly, rivers flow into the sea without filling it, and all things are full of labor that cannot be fully expressed. The eye and ear are never satisfied. The text repeats that what has been will be again—there is nothing new under the sun. No achievement is truly novel; everything has existed in ancient times. Former things and future things alike are forgotten.

These words, written 3,000 years ago by Solomon—who possessed unmatched wisdom, wealth, women, power, and palaces—declare life under the sun to be vanity despite his abundance. Amid this honest lament, Solomon asserts there is nothing new under the sun, a truth that challenges every generation convinced it has invented something original. Modern culture obsesses over the new—new phones, series, diets, therapies, identities, and political figures—each marketed as revolutionary. Advertisements claim everything changes, yet the pattern repeats endlessly. Influencers promise unprecedented experiences, only for the cycle to continue with the next upgrade. Tom shares personal examples of trying new diets, workouts, and gadgets, recognizing them as recycled ideas that fail to deliver promised results. Solomon, no cynic but a realist, exhausted every pursuit and found each road ending in familiarity—“been there, done that.” He observed nature’s repetitive cycles and human history—kings rising and falling, empires blooming and rotting, lovers cooling—concluding life’s machinery spins in the same grooves. The temptation to believe the right job, spouse, money, or outcome will bring meaning is ancient; Solomon tested it all so others need not repeat his errors.

The phrase “under the sun” is central, describing life excluding God—horizontal, earthbound, timebound, and deathbound—where everything appears meaningless. Without God, existence lacks purpose; the atheist finds no ultimate meaning. History recycles the same battles, sins in new language, and heartaches in fresh disguises. Examples include the 1960s sexual revolution mirroring ancient pagan outcomes, social media gossip resembling village talk or steel mill rumors, cancel culture echoing Athens’ treatment of Socrates, economic bubbles seen in Rome, pandemics worse than COVID like the Black Death, corrupt politicians across eras, and false prophets in Israel. Even the church repeats cycles of revival, decline, compromise, and reformation. Many churches drift toward worldly things, though Tom notes his congregation has avoided this. Solomon aims not to depress but to deliver people from chasing novelty and the lie that the next thing will satisfy.

The truth applies practically in several areas. First, the pursuit of pleasure—Solomon tried laughter, wine, women, gardens, and every delight, finding it chasing wind; yet people still expect the next vacation, romance, or entertainment to fill them, only to remain empty. Second, the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge—Solomon, the wisest, said much wisdom brings grief and knowledge increases sorrow; today’s abundance of information via Google, AI, and education yields more anxiety, division, and arrogance rather than true happiness or wisdom, often diminishing independent thinking. Third, the pursuit of work and legacy—Solomon built temples, cities, and wonders, yet called his labor vanity; many today invest lifetimes in careers, retire wealthy, and still feel hollow, questioning if this is all there is. Tom reflects personally on working prime years only to face illness or death before enjoying retirement. Life is not structured for constant fun.

Tom rejects nihilism in response to these realities. Solomon does not abandon readers in despair; he continues writing until chapter 12, delivering the book’s conclusion: “Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man,” because God will judge every work, including secret things, whether good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). After demonstrating life under the sun as meaningless, Solomon points to life above the sun—lived in the fear of God.

When God is brought back into the picture, the repetitive cycles of life that once caused despair become the steady rhythm of a loving Father’s providence. The daily rising and setting of the sun fulfills God’s faithful promise that seedtime and harvest will not cease. Generations passing away serve God’s purpose in building an eternal family. Rivers flowing into the sea and returning as rain reflect the wise design of a Creator who sustains life. What previously felt like monotonous entrapment transforms into a consistent song of grace. The one true place where something genuinely new enters is highlighted here. The New Testament builds on Solomon’s realistic assessment by providing the answer through the gospel. Paul declares in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and behold, all things have become new. Becoming a Christian represents the greatest and best new thing possible. The endless cycle of sin and death was decisively broken at the cross.

The resurrection life of Jesus Christ, poured into believers' hearts by the Holy Spirit, introduces the truly new reality from above the sun. This truth has direct application for everyday life, such as Monday mornings. People can cease their frantic search for the next novelty to provide meaning, since true meaning was never located in fleeting new things but in the unchanging eternal God. In marriages that feel stuck in repeating arguments, fresh grace becomes available because God’s mercies are new every morning. Ordinary work can be performed with extraordinary faithfulness, knowing God observes every secret thing and will bring all into judgment—making labor offered to the Lord far from vanity. Current headlines, including wars and rumors of wars, moral chaos, and technological pride, lose their power to induce despair. Tom notes ongoing conflicts, such as bombings related to Iran and years of endless wars, as examples of nothing new. The same God who judged Babel, toppled Babylon, and raised up and removed empires remains sovereign on the throne.

No matter the president, ongoing wars, or apparent chaos—situations that are also nothing new—Jesus ultimately holds control. God raises up and brings down kingdoms and nations according to His will. This perspective allows investment in the next generation without unrealistic expectations that they will finally perfect everything. Instead, the focus remains on teaching them to fear God, which constitutes the whole duty of man; everything else follows from that foundation. Solomon’s overall message proves not pessimistic but profoundly liberating, freeing people from the exhausting tyranny of constantly pursuing the new. It directs them back to the ancient paths and invites them to stop chasing wind in order to walk with the Spirit. Tom addresses those who have lived as if life under the sun is all that exists, especially if exhausted by chasing novelties. He invites them to come to Jesus Christ, the only one who can make all things new. Christ entered the repetitive, broken world, lived the perfect life humanity could not, died the death deserved for sin, and rose to grant a life beyond death’s reach.

In Christ, the old cycle of sin breaks completely, and every morning becomes genuinely new. Tom calls for repentance from chasing vanity and placing trust in the Savior. For non-believers, the greatest new thing awaits: putting on Christ to become a new creation. For struggling Christians living under the sun’s burdens, he invites them to come forward for prayer. The service concludes with a benediction of peace. The final words affirm the sermon’s core truth: there is nothing new under the sun, yet everything becomes new in Christ.