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PREACHING CHRIST FROM ECCLESIASTES

Foundations for Expository Sermons

SIDNEY GREIDANUS

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K.

Published 2010 by

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505 /

P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.

www.eerdmans.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Greidanus, Sidney, 1935–

Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes: foundations for expository sermons /

Sidney Greidanus.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN 978-0-8028-6535-9 (pbk.: alk. paper)

1. Bible. O.T. Ecclesiastes—Sermons—Outlines, syllabi, etc.

2. Bible. O.T. Ecclesiastes—Criticism, interpretation, etc.

3. Jesus Christ. I. Title.

BS1475.54.G74 2010

223′.8077—dc22

2010006437

Unless otherwise noted, the Bible quotations in this publication are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

To our grandchildren:

Jeremy & Julie, Jeffrey, Cara & Peter, and Caitlin

Zachari, Anna, and Jessica, and

Mikayla, Solomon, and Katherine

May the “goads and nails” (Ecclesiastes 12:11)

of the Teacher’s wisdom

provide direction, stability, and security for your lives.

Contents

1. Preaching Ecclesiastes

The Value of Preaching Ecclesiastes

Difficulties in Interpreting Ecclesiastes

The Nature of Wisdom Literature

The Relation of Wisdom to Redemptive History

Contradictions

The Historical Setting of Ecclesiastes

The Author(s)

The Original Recipients

The Date of Composition

The Place of Composition

The Purpose of Ecclesiastes

The Genre and Forms of Ecclesiastes

Reflection

Proverb

Instruction

Autobiographical Narrative

Anecdote

Metaphor

Allegory

The Structure of Ecclesiastes

Literary Patterns

Juxtapositions

The Overall Structure

The Overall Message of Ecclesiastes

Difficulties in Preaching Ecclesiastes

Selecting a Proper Preaching Text

Formulating a Single Theme

Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes

Redemptive-Historical Progression

New Testament References

Contrast

2. No Gain from All Our Toil

Ecclesiastes 1:1–11

3. The Teacher’s Search for Meaning

Ecclesiastes 1:12–2:26

4. God Set the Times

Ecclesiastes 3:1–15

5. Working in a Wicked World

Ecclesiastes 3:16–4:6

6. Working Together

Ecclesiastes 4:7–16

7. Worshiping in God’s House

Ecclesiastes 5:1–7

8. The Love of Money

Ecclesiastes 5:8–6:9

9. How to Handle Adversity

Ecclesiastes 6:10–7:14

10. How to Act in a Paradoxical World

Ecclesiastes 7:15–29

11. Use Wisdom but Know Its Limitations

Ecclesiastes 8:1–17

12. Enjoy Life!

Ecclesiastes 9:1–12

13. Because of the Harm Inflicted by Folly, Use Wisdom!

Ecclesiastes 9:13–10:20

14. Take Risks Boldly but Wisely!

Ecclesiastes 11:1–6...

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About Preaching Christ from Ecclesiastes: Foundations for Expository Sermons

As Sidney Greidanus points out, the biblical book of Ecclesiastes is especially relevant for our contemporary culture because it confronts such secular enticements as materialism, hedonism, cut-throat competition, and self-sufficiency. But how can preachers best convey the ancient Teacher’s message to congregations today? A respected expert in both hermeneutics and homiletics, Greidanus does preachers a great service here by providing the foundations for a series of expository sermons on Ecclesiastes. He walks students and preachers through the steps from text to sermon for all of the book’s fifteen major literary units, explores various ways to move from Ecclesiastes to Jesus Christ in the New Testament, and offers insightful expositions that help the preacher in sermon production but omit the theoretical and often impractical discussions in many commentaries.

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