Reprioritizing Our Position (LD 50; Matthew 6:25-34)

Asking the Lord to give us our daily bread could be another way of asking the Lord to make me more successful.  In other words it is the desire that we want to be successful.  The problem that we have as humans is looking beyond this world and believing that our Heavenly Father is more than looking down upon us, but is actually caring for us.  So, when we ask the Lord for our daily bread what are we exactly asking the Lord to provide?

What is True Thanksgiving? (1 Peter 1:3-9)

Thanksgiving is a time where we find our joy by counting our blessings.  There is nothing necessarily wrong with counting our blessings, but what is the basis of our blessing?  Peter challenges us to see that there are trials that we can be thankful for as well.  Why would be thankful for trials?  What hope does Peter give in calling our attention to thankfulness even in the midst of trials?  Or is Peter just telling us to be happy because the Lord commands us to be happy?  

Where is the Joy? (Ecclesiastes 2:12-26)

The book of Ecclesiastes is not a book that opens with the most optimist outlook on life.   Our argument has been that the way to find life is to look above the sun rather than only under the sun.  So, how do we know that the preacher really wants us to look above the sun?  Is there a way that we can have life or joy in this life?  How do we have joy in this life or is just a series of disappointment culminating in death revealing dark humor of a very mean God?