Alive Youth Church Weekly,
I want to draw your attention to scripture.
Specifically, to the book of Ecclesiastes, found in the Old Testament, right after Psalms and Proverbs. And I laugh sometimes cause Ecclesiastes feels like the forgotten middle child. We talk about Psalms and Proverbs a lot, but we don't find ourselves flipping the page a few more times to Ecclesiastes very often.
Ecclesiastes is part of what theology scholars call Wisdom Literature. Books like Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes explore how life works, why life is difficult, and what it means to live wisely for God. You wanna see how life can be difficult, give Job a read. But I love the way the writer ends the book of Ecclesiastes. The second-to-last verse summarizes the whole book by saying, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
We don’t read scripture just to gain information. We read it so God can shape our hearts and our lives.
The Bible helps us hear God’s voice through His Word. It shows us what God is like and what is actually true. And it slowly aligns our lives with the way He calls us to live.
Every time we open our Bibles, we’re giving God space to shift our perspective, challenge the things we believe, and guide our next steps.
It’s more than just reading a book.
It's more than a chore.
It's more than a check mark to be a good Christian.
It’s allowing God to form us through His Word.
Ecclesiastes 7:8 says:
“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.”
Most of us love the beginning of things. New ideas, new goals, new energy. Starting something feels exciting. I am coming up on my second wedding anniversary, and people often talk about the "honeymoon phase". Some say it lasts a year, some say two, or five. But they often attribute the beginning of the marriage as the happiest, the best, and like the whole thing is rose colored, sunshine and rainbows. Hence the nickname "honeymoon phase".
Alive Youth Church,
Last week was a great week, and it’s been amazing to see you all showing up, engaging, and growing together.
As always, we prioritize scripture. Hearing it, knowing it, and letting it shape how we live. Keep showing up, keep asking questions, and keep looking to God in all the little moments this week.
I want to draw your attention to scripture.
Specifically, to the book of Ecclesiastes, found in the Old Testament, right after Psalms and Proverbs. And I laugh sometimes cause Ecclesiastes feels like the forgotten middle child. We talk about Psalms and Proverbs a lot, but we don't find ourselves flipping the page a few more times to Ecclesiastes very often.
Ecclesiastes is part of what theology scholars call Wisdom Literature. Books like Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes explore how life works, why life is difficult, and what it means to live wisely for God. You wanna see how life can be difficult, give Job a read. But I love the way the writer ends the book of Ecclesiastes. The second-to-last verse summarizes the whole book by saying, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
We don’t read scripture just to gain information. We read it so God can shape our hearts and our lives.
The Bible helps us hear God’s voice through His Word. It shows us what God is like and what is actually true. And it slowly aligns our lives with the way He calls us to live.
Every time we open our Bibles, we’re giving God space to shift our perspective, challenge the things we believe, and guide our next steps.
It’s more than just reading a book.
It's more than a chore.
It's more than a check mark to be a good Christian.
It’s allowing God to form us through His Word.
Ecclesiastes 7:8 says:
“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.”
Most of us love the beginning of things. New ideas, new goals, new energy. Starting something feels exciting. I am coming up on my second wedding anniversary, and people often talk about the "honeymoon phase". Some say it lasts a year, some say two, or five. But they often attribute the beginning of the marriage as the happiest, the best, and like the whole thing is rose colored, sunshine and rainbows. Hence the nickname "honeymoon phase".
Ask anyone who has been married for longer than ten minutes, and they'll tell you that how you end is much more important than how you start. But to get to the end, it's about every day leading up to it.
I use this as an example to say: Getting to the end is hard work, but well worth it, and it far beats the alternative of giving up.
This verse in Ecclesiastes reminds us that finishing well actually matters more than starting well.
A lot of people start things with passion, but when it gets slow, difficult, or just ordinary, it’s easy to lose momentum. That’s where patience comes in. Patience is what carries us from the excitement of the beginning all the way to the end.
The verse also points out that patience is connected to humility. Again, ask anyone who has been married for longer than ten minutes, and they will tell you there is very little room for pride in marriage and that there is a lot of room for humility and patience. Humility is the opposite of pride. Pride wants quick results and recognition. Patience is willing to trust the process and just keep showing up, having humility in the journey you are in with God.
And I understand that I am a youth pastor whose audience is a majority of unmarried middle school and high school students. Not to mention, I've only been married two years, I don't pretend to think I'm even close to having everything figured out. I use marriage as an example here because marriage is meant to reflect Christ’s relationship with us. So students don't take this as I'm only relating it to marriage, don't disregard it. This is about much more; this is about life.
In our relationship with God, faithfulness over time matters. Quiet consistency often does more than short bursts of motivation.
Anyone can start something.
But God forms people who keep going.
So, I have a question for you?
Several actually.
Is there an area in your life where God might be inviting you to stay patient and keep showing up instead of giving up?
Where are you expecting quick results and recognition?
What does trusting God look like for you in those situations you thought of?
This verse in Ecclesiastes reminds us that finishing well actually matters more than starting well.
A lot of people start things with passion, but when it gets slow, difficult, or just ordinary, it’s easy to lose momentum. That’s where patience comes in. Patience is what carries us from the excitement of the beginning all the way to the end.
The verse also points out that patience is connected to humility. Again, ask anyone who has been married for longer than ten minutes, and they will tell you there is very little room for pride in marriage and that there is a lot of room for humility and patience. Humility is the opposite of pride. Pride wants quick results and recognition. Patience is willing to trust the process and just keep showing up, having humility in the journey you are in with God.
And I understand that I am a youth pastor whose audience is a majority of unmarried middle school and high school students. Not to mention, I've only been married two years, I don't pretend to think I'm even close to having everything figured out. I use marriage as an example here because marriage is meant to reflect Christ’s relationship with us. So students don't take this as I'm only relating it to marriage, don't disregard it. This is about much more; this is about life.
In our relationship with God, faithfulness over time matters. Quiet consistency often does more than short bursts of motivation.
Anyone can start something.
But God forms people who keep going.
So, I have a question for you?
Several actually.
Is there an area in your life where God might be inviting you to stay patient and keep showing up instead of giving up?
Where are you expecting quick results and recognition?
What does trusting God look like for you in those situations you thought of?
Alive Youth Church,
Last week was a great week, and it’s been amazing to see you all showing up, engaging, and growing together.
As always, we prioritize scripture. Hearing it, knowing it, and letting it shape how we live. Keep showing up, keep asking questions, and keep looking to God in all the little moments this week.
Don't forget about the middle children books of the bible. And that's coming from a youngest child over here, so you know this is for real. The whole bible is God's Word. We read it so God can shape our hearts and our lives. And Ecclesiastes is a well-known middle child; you just wait for when we crack open the book of Habakkuk.
THE BEST NIGHT OF THE WEEK - SUNDAY - 6:30PM
I’m excited to see you next week.
Let’s keep growing together, learning from God’s Word, and encouraging each other. You belong here, and God has big things for each of you.
-Isaac Fehlen
Youth Pastor
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