Don't Overthink It

Don't Overthink It

Made for More: Part 3
Ecclesiastes 11-12
August 30, 2026

Remember your creator in your prime, before the days of trouble arrive, and those years, about which you’ll say, “I take no pleasure in these”...

... So this is the end of the matter; all has been heard. Worship God and keep God’s commandments because this is what everyone must do.

~ Ecclesiastes 12:1, 13

Craig J. Sefa Don't Overthink It

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As we wrap up our series on meaning and purpose, the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that it is far simpler than we tend to make it. “Worship God and keep God’s commandments because this is what everyone must do.”

Another way to put it might be: “Love God, Love Neighbor.”

Or even more simply: “Love, and do what you will.”

Listen to the full sermon above and take some time to slowly meditate on the two short readings below, asking the question, “What is one next step God is inviting me to take right now?”

Pause. Listen. Respond.

Do It Anyway

By Dr. Ken M. Keith, written on the wall at Mother Teresa’s Home for Children in Calcutta

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you.
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.
Give the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God;
it was never between you and them anyway.

Love and Do What You Will

Saint Augustine of Hippo

If you keep silent, keep silent by love:
if you speak, speak by love;
if you correct, correct by love;
if you pardon, pardon by love;
let love be rooted in you,
and from the root nothing but good can grow.
Love and do what you will.

Practice: Do It Anyway

Choose one small act of love this week that has no guarantee of fixing anything. Done not because it will resolve the darkness, but because it’s what faithfulness looks like inside it.

Connected and Alone

Connected and Alone

Made for More: Part 2
August 23, 2026

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their hard work. If either should fall, one can pick up the

other. But how miserable are those who fall and don’t have a

companion to help them up! Also, if two lie down together, they can stay warm. But how can anyone stay warm alone? Also, one can be overpowered, but two together can put up resistance. A three-ply cord doesn’t easily snap.

~ Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

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Craig J. Sefa Connected & Alone

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The writer of Ecclesiastes observes the futility of working hard without end only for ourselves and never being satisfied. It would seem human nature has not changed all that much over the past few millenia.

The problem is not hard work, but the endless nature of our work and our inability to be content. If we were asked what was more important between our family and friends or our work, most of us would say our relationships matter more. But if we take an honest look at our calendar and the amount of physical and mental energy we spend, work would win out almost every time.

All the way back in the Garden we find God saying that it is not good for humans to be alone. Yet we find ourselves so often toiling away in isolation, longing for genuine community and companionship but always feeling like we don’t have the time or energy to invest in the people who matter most to us.

Thomas Carter describes the same crisis of meaning in our day that the wisdom teacher in scripture observes in his. He writes:

The deeper issue is that modern society has become extraordinarily effective at explaining how things work while becoming increasingly uncertain about why they matter. Science reveals mechanisms. Technology expands power. Psychology analyzes behavior. Each contributes something valuable. Yet none fully answers the question of purpose. None tells us what kind of life is worth living. None explains why beauty moves us, why love matters, why sacrifice is noble, or why truth is worth pursuing.

As a result, many people live within a vast vacuum of meaning. They possess unprecedented access to information but little wisdom. They enjoy remarkable comforts yet experience profound dissatisfaction. They are connected to thousands through technology yet feel deeply alone. They can commnicate instantly across continents while remaining strangers to themselves. The result is drift. People drift from church. And prayer. And reflection.

Life becomes a sequence of distractions interrupted by occasional moments of anxiety. Entertainment replaces contemplation. Consumption replaces vocation. Busyness replaces meaning. The soul becomes restless without fully understanding why.

Our crisis of meaning, then and now, does not come from a lack of belief, but from a lack of presence. We are starving for connection with God, with one another, and even with our true selves. If you want to do something that matters, start by simply showing up for someone else. Being present makes all the difference.

Practice: Life Together

This week, name one person you’re living for, whether they know it or not, and one person who might be walking a similar road as you. Reach out to one of them. Call. Visit. Share a meal. Simply enjoy being together.

Chasing After the Wind

Chasing After the Wind

Made for More: Part 1
Ecclesiastes 1-2
August 16, 2026

When I observed all that happens under the sun, I realized that everything is pointless, a chasing after wind.

~ Ecclesiastes 1:14

Craig J. Sefa Chasing After the Wind

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adapted from an article by Joe Boyd

For many of us, we were taught that Christianity is mostly about preparing to leave earth someday. This world was temporary. Broken. Fallen. Real life was lived later, not now.

As we grow, we sometimes realize that we never fully learned how to simply be alive here. How to enjoy ordinary life without guilt. How to experience wonder without needing certainty attached to it. How to love this world instead of merely enduring it. And that creates a real psychological crisis.

If your purpose is mostly tied to “what happens next,” it can sometimes make life in this world feel pointless.

But here’s the truth. Nobody knows with certainty what waits for us beyond the grave. This life is all we know for sure. Your mere existence is nothing short of a miracle. Today is actually part of eternity.

So, what’s the point of living?

This is the ultimate question of humanity. The real question we are asking isn’t so much, “What is the meaning of life?” but rather, “How do I move on when I realize what I thought was the meaning of life no longer feels certain?”

We all go through seasons in life where our purpose feels unclear. But here is the bigger truth beyond our fears, insecurities, and feelings of uncertainty. All these questions that now seem unresolved were always there.

We just ignored them or reframed them because we chose to believe we had all the answers. But we didn’t. Nobody has all the answers. Nobody ever will.

Nothing at all has changed except the story you were telling yourself.

Well, one thing has changed.

You have.

You’ve grown older. Wiser. More experienced. More alert. More attentive. More curious. You’ve broadened your scope. Set your eyes higher on the horizon. You’ve dared to admit you don’t have all the answers. You haven’t done anything wrong. You did the most natural thing anyone can ever do.

You were born again.

Being born again is just as disorienting and scary and painful and emotional as it was the first time you were born. You just don’t remember your physical birth. None of us remember our first birth because it was too traumatic.

But now you’re ready. You can handle it. You can be born again. And this time you get to remember it.

Birth is always disorienting. Learning to breathe in a larger world takes time. Asking “why?” is a natural part of growing up. Becoming more aware of these impossible questions may just mean you’re finally beginning to live.

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Practice:

Pay attention to the little gifts that make life worth living. Each evening this week, before sleep, pause and ask one question. Not “what did I accomplish,” but “what did I actually receive today.” A conversation. A meal. The beauty of an ordinary moment that you noticed.

Offer a prayer of gratitude for this gift.