Embedded Files
O Praise the Name
Verse 1
Verse 1
I cast my mind to Calvary
Where Jesus bled and died for me
I see His wounds His hands His feet
My Saviour on that cursed tree
Verse 2
Verse 2
His body bound and drenched in tears
They laid Him down in Joseph's tomb
The entrance sealed by heavy stone
Messiah still and all alone
Chorus
Chorus
O praise the Name of the Lord our God
O praise His Name forevermore
For endless days we will sing Your praise
Oh Lord oh Lord our God
Verse 3
Verse 3
Then on the third at break of dawn
The Son of heaven rose again
O trampled death where is your sting
The angels roar for Christ the King
Chorus
Chorus
O praise the Name of the Lord our God
O praise His Name forevermore
For endless days we will sing Your praise
Oh Lord oh Lord our God
Verse 4
Verse 4
He shall return in robes of white
The blazing sun shall pierce the night
And I will rise among the saints
My gaze transfixed on Jesus' face
Chorus
Chorus
O praise the Name of the Lord our God
O praise His Name forevermore
For endless days we will sing Your praise
Oh Lord oh Lord our God
Chorus
Chorus
O praise the Name of the Lord our God
O praise His Name forevermore
For endless days we will sing Your praise
Oh Lord oh Lord our God
Goodness of God
Verse 1
I love You Lord
Oh Your mercy never fails me
All my days
I've been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
I will sing of the goodness of God
Chorus
All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so so good
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God
Verse 2
I love Your voice
You have led me through the fire
In darkest night
You are close like no other
I've known You as a father
I've known You as a friend
I have lived in the goodness of God
Chorus
All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so so good
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God
Bridge
Your goodness is running after
It’s running after me
Your goodness is running after
It’s running after me
With my life laid down
I’m surrendered now
I give You everything
Your goodness is running after
It's running after me
Chorus
All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so so good
With every breath that I am able
I will sing of the goodness of God
This is My Father’s World
1 This is my Father's world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world;
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas
his hand the wonders wrought.
3 This is my Father's world:
he shines in all that's fair;
in rustling grass I hear him pass
he speaks to me everywhere.
This is my Father's world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King, let heaven ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad.
Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me
Verse 1
What gift of grace is Jesus my redeemer
There is no more for heaven now to give
He is my joy my righteousness and freedom
My steadfast love my deep and boundless peace
To this I hold my hope is only Jesus
For my life is wholly bound to his
Oh how strange and divine I can sing all is mine
Yet not I but through Christ in me
Verse 2
The night is dark but I am not forsaken
For by my side the Saviour he will stay
I labour on in weakness and rejoicing
For in my need his power is displayed
To this I hold my Shepherd will defend me
Through the deepest valley he will lead
Oh the night has been won and I shall overcome
Yet not I but through Christ in me
Verse 3
No fate I dread I know I am forgiven
The future sure the price it has been paid
For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon
And he was raised to overthrow the grave
To this I hold my sin has been defeated
Jesus now and ever is my plea
Oh the chains are released I can sing I am free
Yet not I but through Christ in me
Verse 4
With every breath I long to follow Jesus
For he has said that he will bring me home
And day by day I know he will renew me
Until I stand with joy before the throne
To this I hold my hope is only Jesus
All the glory evermore to him
When the race is complete still my lips shall repeat
Yet not I but through Christ in me
Ending
When the race is complete still my lips shall repeat
Yet not I but through Christ in me
Yet not I but through Christ in me
Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)
Verse 1
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I'm found
Was blind but now I see
Verse 2
'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed
Chorus
My chains are gone I've been set free
My God my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love amazing grace
Verse 3
The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures
Chorus
My chains are gone I've been set free
My God my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love amazing grace
Verse 4
The earth shall soon dissolve like snow
The sun forbear to shine
But God who called me here below
Will be forever mine
Will be forever mine
You are forever mine
Adam Veenstra
Ebenezer CRC
August 16, 2026
SCRIPTURE READING
SERMON INTRO SLIDE I invite you to turn to page 1044 in the Bibles in front of you, to Ecclesiastes 9. This passage helps reveal a temptation we can face as we confront the contradictions and confusion in Ecclesiastes about how to best navigate our lives.
Because this life under the sun is a precious gift from God, but it is short-lived.
And Ecclesiastes tells us to eat, drink, and be merry, but we know we have a responsibility to God’s mission of redemption as followers of Christ.
So this morning as we wrap up this series we’re going to use this passage to try and put all of that together. I invite you to follow along, starting at verse 1:
So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. 2 All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not.
As it is with the good, so with the sinful; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them.
3 This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of people, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead. 4 Anyone who is among the living has hope—even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!
5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. 6 Their love, their hate and their jealousy have long since vanished; never again will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun.
7 Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for it is now that God favours what you do. 8 Always be clothed in white, and always anoint your head with oil. 9 Enjoy life with your spouse, whom you love, all the days of this meaningless life that God has given you under the sun—all your meaningless days. For this is your lot in life and in your toilsome labour under the sun. 10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
11 I have seen something else under the sun:
The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favour to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.
12 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:
As fish are caught in a cruel net, or birds are taken in a snare, so people are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them.
MESSAGE
Part One - Context
SLIDE 1 This passage is very typical of what we might think of Ecclesiastes. There isn’t a singular, concrete point, and there isn’t necessarily a lot of obvious hope in the language used.
It’s typically observational about this life we have under the sun, and the inevitable realities that we all have to face.
We started this series talking about how life is short, and life is fleeting.
So there is the temptation towards resignation, and the dangers of wasting our time.
It’s tempting to assume that since everything is meaningless, everything must be then unimportant.
So why not just have a good time, right?
SLIDE 2 Eat your food and drink your wine, because there’s an inevitable end to it all!
There’s a common future for everyone, whether you are righteous or wicked, good or bad.
As one Bible commentator put it, “everyone has a mixed experience of life.”
As followers of Jesus we have a unique perspective on that experience, but our unique behaviours and beliefs do not always change our circumstances.
SLIDE 3 The narrative of life will always be challenged: success is not ensured for the rich and talented, but time and chance happen to them all.
Exercising wisdom and righteousness also don’t guarantee a good life!
We cannot control what happens. A situation can always get better, but it can always get worse.
So the temptation is to try and grasp on to whatever joy in this life we can find.
SLIDE 4 A millenium before Ecclesiastes was written down, a similar temptation was found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, a poem whose earliest version was written around 2100 BC in Mesopotamia.
In the third column of the tenth tablet, the grieving king Gilgamesh is being urged to embrace life’s fleeting joys instead of chasing after immortality.
SLIDE 5 He’s told to let full be his belly, and make merry, and smoke and feast and dance and play; to wear fresh garments and make sure he’s bathed.
It’s parallel wisdom to what we read in Ecclesiastes 9.
So there’s a parallel temptation that’s easy to fall into.
To live large and loud, and without consequence.
To try and grasp whatever scraps of joy in this life we can find.
SLIDE 6 But the king in the poem is also urged to enjoy his wife resting on his chest, and his little one holding his hand.
To not just find and grasp joy, but gratefully accept it, as a gift that’s given to him.
SLIDE 7 So yes, let’s eat our food and drink our wine, but let’s remember that it is now that God favours what we do.
That this life under the sun - and whatever joy it has - is a gift, and a blessing, from the heart of God himself!
SLIDE 8 Life under the sun has a beauty all its own.
Because is there anything better than when a little one holds your hand?
Or you get to spend time with someone you love?
Or enjoy good food and drink with them?
Life under the sun is God’s creation, and in Genesis he declared life to be good.
So good he declared it worth saving!
Part Two - Mission/Application
That is how Reformed Christians are meant to live life under the sun - as a gift worth saving.
SLIDE 9 In 2025 we spent two sermon series talking about our story.
We focussed on creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.
It’s the story of God and his people through that Reformed lens: that God created the world and intended it to be good, it then fell into sin, and so by the grace of Jesus Christ he is redeeming all things back to the way they are meant to be.
Then someday it will all be fully restored, forever.
We’re in that period of redemption, of dealing with the effects of the fall and working to correct them. That’s the justice work we talked about last week!
But in the grand narrative, that’s one part.
In the whole vast experience of God’s story, our individual lives occupy a mere 9-10 decades.
SLIDE 10 Our time is fleeting and precious.
But because it’s fleeting it’s not so precious that it shouldn’t be enjoyed!
It’s like growing up in a house “the good room” that you’re never allowed in (ours was ironically the living room, despite so little living happening in it).
Years ago a children’s author commented that she loves it when she sees her books with cracked spines and ripped covers and stained pages, because it means they have been read and re-read.
It means that they have been used.
It means that they have been loved.
So should be our lives. They should have evidence of actually being lived! Of being loved.
So eat your food, but eat it with gladness.
Drink your wine, but drink it with a joyful heart.
SLIDE 11 Because no one knows when their hour will come, and because these are gifts that God has given you for life under the sun.
Because he loves you.
And that is what gives life its meaning.
SLIDE 12 Some of you may have heard of the Dominican Sisters of Mary, who are based in a convent in Ann Arbor, Michigan; they started becoming famous this year as their podcast became more and more popular.
People have been drawn to their insights into convent life, and pleasantly surprised by the joy they express.
The convent’s tagline is actually “happiness awaits”.
Last week, a woman named Sister Hyacinth was interviewed, reminding listeners, reminding children of God, that “you were made for freedom, and you were made for happiness.”
And that that is found in the blessing of Jesus Christ, and in his glory.
God created your life with purpose and meaning and beauty and joy.
As his children, we need to know that, believe it, and live like it.
No matter what happens next in life.
Sister Hyacinth's own story of that happiness actually begins at Queen’s, where she was studying political science.
(SLIDE 13 She actually lived at Newman House, the Catholic ministry house which is only two doors down from Geneva House, the CRC ministry house and centre of Momentum Campus Ministries! )
But she also points to the events of 9/11 as being crucial in her calling story.
In the aftermath, she decided she no longer wanted to delve into politics, and needed a distance from political discourse.
She needed to find her unique purpose and meaning and beauty and joy under the sun.
SLIDE 14 9/11 was actually a defining moment for a lot of people around her age, and a little younger, like myself.
I was in grade 8 when it happened, and for many of us it was the first time that we were made very aware of the turmoil that existed in the world, because it was suddenly a lot closer to him.
And it was happening just as we were becoming teenagers, and starting to grow up.
So many things changed after that, in the world and in our teenage lives.
We realized that nothing was guaranteed.
But if you look at the expanse of the 20th century and into the 21st, there have been many historical reminders that nothing is guaranteed.
SLIDE 15 Evil times fall unexpectedly on all of us.
An archduke was assassinated in 1914.
The first home TV set was installed in 1928.
Wall Street crashed in 1929.
Poland was invaded in 1939.
The atomic bombs were dropped in 1945.
The towers fell in 2001.
MySpace introduced social media to the masses in 2003.
Generations thought that life was bubbling along smoothly until something changed it forever.
And maybe you’ve seen that in your own life: there’s been an unexpected diagnosis, a job loss, a death, a move, a change in relationships.
Life turns upside down.
As fish are caught in a net and birds are taken in a snare, so we are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly on us. (And yes, I think that social media contributes to evil times!)
I think that’s partly why the public profession of faith that we practise in the CRC and that we got to witness this morning is such an important milestone.
Because professing your faith does not mean that suddenly you’ve reached a consciousness about God or a state of being where now your faith and life and everything in it is settled and binding.
There is never a complete certainty - that’s why we call it faith!
But still we make this declaration that no matter what happens next, we put our trust in God.
SLIDE 16 And we will embrace the joy that he gives us in this life.
Because life can turn so quickly.
I’m guessing that most of you likely don’t know the name Ann Widdecombe - she was a British MP for 23 years, and a staunch Catholic.
But when she retired from politics at age 63, she actually went on the British version of Dancing with the Stars: suddenly, despite her career in parliament, that was the thing she became most known for!
For younger generations, that’s the only thing she was known for!
She got asked about that legacy on a talk show in 2010, and she said “None of us know how long we’re gonna live. I could die tomorrow. But I could, if I followed my mother…live another three decades. I do not know what’s gonna come up and what I’m gonna do in that time. So I may be remembered neither for politics nor [the TV show] but for something else I can’t even foresee at the moment. And we get one go this side of eternity - one go! It’s not a dress rehearsal - one go. And you make the most of it and you take opportunities that come along that you like and you go for it.”
Eat your food with gladness, drink your wine with a joyful heart. Enjoy life.
Now there is a LOT that Ann Widdecombe has said that I do not agree with.
And obviously other people have said similar things to this.
But her quote always strikes me more than anyone else who tells me to seize the day.
(Maybe because it is one of the few things we’d agree on!)
But her quote is also especially poignant now, because this July, just sixteen years after she said it, while she was still active and in good health, she was tragically murdered in her home.
Her life was cut short completely.
All share a common destiny, but no one knows the hour…evil times unexpectedly fall upon them.
We all only get one go, and we don’t know how long for.
So we could be resigned to that lot, assume everything is meaningless,and just grab on to whatever good we can find.
Or, we can recognize that because everything is fleeting, we should be content and embrace the good things and the joy that we’re given in life.
We should worship - reaching up and reaching out - out of gratitude to God for giving us that joy.
So as we go today, we’re going to close our service and our series with the song “Speak O Lord”. It’s one that we would typically sing as a prayer at the beginning of a service, and more often at the beginning of a message, quite literally asking for God to speak to us a message that we can use - to impart his wisdom during that time.
Ecclesiastes is all about the wisdom needed for life under the sun.
So as this series closes, but as life continues and as we get closer to a new ministry season ahead, it feels right to ask for God’s wisdom to speak to us not just for this specific hour, but for all the days and weeks ahead.
Before we sing, I invite you first to rise, however you are able and comfortable, and receive our closing blessing from Romans & 1 Peter:
People of God - Ebenezer family - “know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
So “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Amen.
By Faith not by Safe - Hebrews 11:1-6 Pastor Paul Gazdik
Slide Heb 11:1-6 together. We all start out in life with dreams of what it would mean to be happy and successful. How many dreamed of becoming a famous actor? Or like me dreamed of being a rock star till I realized I can barely play chop sticks on the piano and am rhythmically challenged. So you reach for something more logical – own business, become a chef, engineer, start a family. Let’s be honest, owning things is a big part of our dreams – the latest tech, transportation, creature comforts, clothes, size & location of homes. And for some of us, we’ve achieved many of our dreams and more. But like the author of Ecclesiastes are battling with the let down of our success. So we keep reaching for the next it, the next fix. If I had a better spouse, job, income. Lived in that city, I’d be fulfilled. We go through houses, spouses, jobs, friends, reinventions of our lives, promising ourselves that at the next level “it” is going to finally be the one. And it never is.
Friend as those created in the very image of God we were meant for so much more than risk aversion and possession accumulation. Hebrews 11 is a divine and timely invitation to live life Slide by faith not by safe. Glad here, dive in.
Slide 11:1 If you’ve ever wondered what faith is, here’s the definitive definition. Reread 1. Here’s the rub, as Slide Erwin McManus puts it: From cradle to grave, we put more confidence in what we have & see, not what we hope for or don’t see. That’s why we will choose a lesser life if we’re not careful. Ever hear someone say “I just can’t stand my boyfriend, he’s such a jerk sometimes”? Then break up! No, he’s all I’ve got and I can change him. That’s confidence in what we have not what we hope for. Why do people keep jobs they hate? More confidence in have than hope. Some of you hate your lives, and you’re blaming God. The reason you have the life you have is because you have more confidence in what you have than in what God can do through a surrendered by faith you.[1] Can we pause here for a moment and confess, this is something we all struggle with to one degree or another? Think of the decisions you made in the last year? Work, school, family, home, leisure, what values determined your choice? Risk and pain avoidance, comfort and safety maximization or a desire to experience life with God and for his glory? By faith or by safe?
Slide 11:2 God rewards those who live by faith. In case we miss the point, the truth is expanded in Slide 11:6. What will my reward be you ask? Live by faith and you’ll find out. It’s called trust. And to be clear, we’re not talking blind faith. Slide 11:3. Faith rests in all the natural, scientific evidence of our very existence. To be clear, the author’s point isn’t how did God create? 7 literal days or did he set the forces of evolution into motion? The point is God brought into existence what didn’t exist. God didn’t stumble upon a universe like one walks into a dark room, finds the light switch and flick it on saying, let there be light. God dreamed and designed our universe and commanded into being. The cross & empty tomb – God’s vision of redemption made reality. You – God’s dream come true. You here as his child of grace – his vision of love. Can you trust God? Absolutely – he’s got your best at heart.
What I love about Hebrews 11 is how it isn’t just pie in the sky theory. The author goes on to give real life examples. Not just 1 or two, but 27! Ordinary people who lived extra ordinary lives. Able, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Rahab. What did they have in common? Not ancestry, DNA, genes, culture, era or gender. What’s the repeated refrain? 2 words that start vv 2 through 32. By faith! Noah who had never seen or experienced a flood devoted his life to building an Ark and preaching to people who thought him insane. Abraham left the comforts and security of home to go to a promised land he had never seen. Moses left the ease and luxury of palace life to become a nomad and to lead a people not wanting to be lead. Rahab put her life in the hands of foreigners, going against her community and heritage. They Lived by faith not by safe. Why did they do this? Slide 11:6. They knew that what God had in store for them was far greater than anything they could make of and for themselves.
My parents were church planters who God called to go to hard places. One of those places was Quebec. At the time it was known as the graveyard of evangelicals. And so by faith they moved to Quebec where I was born and raised. As a teen I didn’t have any Christian friends my age – not in the neighbourhood, not at school nor even at church. This became a deep concern for my parents. So they prayed for a good Christan friend over the summer. They told me about it, inside my attitude was whatever. I believed in God, but not that kind of God. September came, 1st day back in school in grade 10 math class with a teacher I didn’t get along with – at all. I was mumbling some not so gracious things under my breath and a voice behind me echoed back. New kid a school. We hit it off and became best friends. Turns out he was not just a Christian, but a pastor’s kid too. I was stunned. My parents could have pulled me out of school, moved to a city with churches that had youth groups. Instead, they chose to live by faith not by safe, trusting in the God of wonders and redemption who rewards those who look to him. BTW the friendship with John Geleynse changed the course of both of our lives for the better. This is just one example that ended up leading to many more of the joy of living by faith not by safe.
Hebrews 11 is God’s invitation to experience life by faith. To add our name to the list, by faith put your name in. Imagine what God could do through a surrendered you! What joy you might experience despite the hardships? What lasting good might flow in and through you? Hebrews 11 begs the question, of all the dreams you are chasing, the goals you are reaching for, what is born of the Spirit in prayer that makes much of God? Ask, where do I start? Slide 11:6 – by earnestly seeking God. Start with prayer. Instead of praying God bless my plans, keep me safe, help things go smooth, start praying God change my heart, loosen my grip, help me respond to your promptings Holy Spirit. Make my home, work, community, church my mission field. Use the gifts and opportunities you have given me, my very life and breath for your glory and my good. Give moment to pray quietly.
[1] Erwin McManus, Exponential Conference East, May 26, 1016, Orlando, Florida
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