Bethnal Green Mission Church

Qoheleth claims that we should enjoy and accept what God gives humans as our allotted portion or share in life – work, wealth, possessions, food and knowledge. However, this is not as straightforward as it seems. How has ‘accepting our lot’ become a dangerous mantra in the hands of the privileged and powerful? What responsibilities and opportunities come with ‘accepting our lot’ in life, and how can knowing the limits of our lot free us and deepen our flourishing?

Qoholet has a CV of work and achievements to be proud of. Yet, we still find him groping for meaning and enjoyment in the midst of this 'vaporous' life. He repeatedly commends pleasure and joy, despite his struggles, and he sees work, wealth, food and drink as gifts from God. So, what place do ordinary, material and earthly pleasures have in Qoholet's search for the good life? What wisdom can we unearth from his quest and his experience? 

Continuing our series on Love Does, we look at how 'love does not want what it does not have'. What spiritual and practical habits can we cultivate that help us resist the lure of our 21st Century materialistic world which tempts us to desire what we do not have?

In this next addition to our Love Does series on 1 Corinthians 13, James explores what it truly means for love to "endure all things". Drawing on his tattoos, discover how three key perspective shifts can teach us to stand firm in our faith and 'kiss the waves'.

We are looking at Qoholet's seach for wisdom and knowledge. Despite the high value he puts on the acquistion of knowledge and wisdom as we do, he states very clearly, "For in much wisdom is much vexation, and those who increase knowledge increase sorrow". Does Qoholet's view have any resonance for us, who live with a constant stream of knowledge and information at our finger-tips? Is there any merit in his observation that "you are sad because you know too much"? Does his wisdom shed any light on our use of Artificial Intelliegence?

Wisdom is both lauded by Qoholet and our culture as something to be pursued and prized. But Ecclesiates paints a complicated and messy picture of the benefits of wisdom. Wisdom is both powerful and fragile, it gives and it takes away, it is something to appeal to, but also a source of exasperation. What can we learn from Qoholet's picture of the smart and the dimwit? And how does the spectre of death inform our wisdom?

We're talking about our most valuable resource and our greatest enemy - time! In this second talk we examine the two greek words for time and their associated gods - chronos and kairos. We seek to understand how our hyper-speedy world brings a cruelty to our times and seasons and how the wisdom of our sage can help us transform this cruelty into curiosity. 

Ecclesistaes 3.1-13 is one of the book's most well-known chapters, but also one of its most misunderstood. In this riddle-like poem of 28 seasons, time is enigmatic - both something we can inhabit but also something done to us. What is this sage Qohelet saying we should do with time? Today, we look at some of the 'essentials' of what he is saying and not saying and explore how previous readings of these verses have been sometimes unhelpful and damaging. 

Today Heather helps us understand the posture and spirit of love, which 'always looks for the best'. How is this both a challenge and joy as we seek to engage with our world around us?

Qoholet's ancient wisdom echoes modern philosophy and our own human condition, that we long to see gain from our toil, reward for our labour, and profit from our varied experiences. What do we do when there is no gain from life under the sun? How do we manage our culture's pull towards striving and seizing? In this talk we explore some of the unhealthy consequences of our human desire for gain, and some alternative postures and behaviours to temper this.