Mars Hill Church - Mobile, AL

We're in week 4 of our What We Value series, and this week we're looking at Gospel-Driven Missions. In Abraham, we see that God's blessings were always meant to overflow to the world. In Jonah, we see a reluctant prophet who lost sight of God's extraordinary grace and therefore kept God's blessings and grace to himself. Thankfully, in Jesus, we receive the True and Better Jonah, who came to seek and save the los...

This Sunday, we launched our summer series, exploring five principles and practices that we value at Mars Hill. Every church has theological imperatives that it holds tightly (ours are outlined in our statement of faith). Additionally, every church also has theological distinctives that shape how it practices its beliefs and identity. We've traditionally referred to these as our three pillars, which serve as umbrella categories...

This week we're studying Ecclesiastes 9:11-18. In these verses, Solomon reminds us, yet again, about the unpredictable and uncontrollable nature of life. The only way through is by lifting our eyes from under the sun (and ourselves) to over the sun (and God). The story he tells to illustrate his point powerfully captures the whole storyline of the Bible, the invitation to trust the true and better poor, wise man Jesus, and the ...

This week we're studying Ecclesiastes 8:10-9:6. Under the sun, life is confusing, perplexing, and even frustrating. How do we navigate life when justice is slow and even perverted? When life is unfair? Do we take things into our hands and rely on our own power and wisdom? The Professor once again points out a problem under the sun in order to redirect our attention and trust over the sun to the God who sits on his throne, rulin...

This week, we will examine Ecclesiastes 8:1-9. We all live under some type of authority, whether parents, teachers, bosses, government leaders, or other decision makers. How should we respond to the ruling authorities, especially when they are inconsistent or even self-serving or unjust? The Professor, like Paul in Romans 13:1-7, will urge us once again to look over the sun and trust God, the authority over all earthly authorities....

How do you navigate the difficulties of life? The problem of evil? The reality of suffering? The injustice of the righteous suffering while the wicked prosper? The wounds and betrayal of a child, a spouse, or a friend? The Professor shows us it is not by running from God, but by running to him. It's not by relying on our own limited under-the-sun wisdom. It's by clinging to the wisdom of God, particularly "the wisdom f...

This week, we're looking at Ecclesiastes 5:1-7. Because Ecclesiastes spirals and repeats itself in a number of places, we'll cover 4:4-16 in two other locations during our study. In 5:1-7, the Professor turns from observations about life under the sun to instruction about approaching God. He points out wrong ways we can approach God and encourages us to instead approach with humility, attentiveness, thoughtfulness, and awe....

This week the Professor points out the problem of injustice under the sun. If there is no God then we can't be surprised by injustice, can't have concepts of justice or injustice, and can never have hope in the face of injustice. Fortunately, the professor tips his hand again and points us to the God who judges all things at his perfectly appointed time. And through this revelation and his questions in verses 21-22, we'...

In our text this week, the Professor revisits two themes he has addressed before: wisdom and work/ achievement. As is typical with wisdom literature the text spirals and revisits themes rather than following a straight line. His conclusion is that wisdom is better than folly, yet death comes to all, and our life's work will be left to others. Remember, his goal is to lead us to God through despair. He wants us to see the limita...

The Professor's initial claim was that everything under the sun, apart from God, is vanity and chasing after the wind. This week, he examines another place we look to for meaning, purpose, and identity: the pursuit of earthly treasures and pleasure. His final analysis is the same, this too is "vanity and chasing after the wind, there is nothing to be gained under the sun." But like always, he takes us to despair to fo...