Northeast Christian Podcast

Vapor : Fear God

In this sermon, Damian Thompson leads us in wrapping up our Vapor series, which focuses on the book of Ecclesiastes. Damian shares that reading Ecclesiastes is like listening to those who have walked ahead of us and know where the bumps and difficulties are in life. 

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 "Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing whether it is good or evil." 

Damian explains that to fear God is really to respect Him. He helps us understand why we respect God by providing three key points.

1. God is your creator. He is omnipotent and all-powerful in your trials and difficulties.
2. God knows all. He is omniscient and has all knowledge in the midst of chaos. God makes sense of the chaos. In the midst of your chaos, He knows, and He provides peace. 
3. God is everywhere at the same time, always present. So, in the midst of catastrophe, pray when the pain intensifies because God is there. God is your creator, in full control, fighting on your behalf. 

Damian compels us to understand and prioritize God in our lives, respecting Him and His commandments because He chose you. The master of who we are is our measure to love through the difficulties of this life. And this leads to the one last point: be in awe of God. 

Vapor: Get Right With God While You’re Still Young

“Many have remembered God too late, but none too soon—so honor God while you’re young.”

This week’s sermon is part five of Vapor, a six-week series on Ecclesiastes exploring its timeless wisdom and the reality that life is fleeting—like vapor—without God at the center.

Tyler dives into Ecclesiastes’ urgent message: the importance of seeking God while young. No matter how young you are, you need God now. Everything else—wealth, pleasure, status—is meaningless apart from Him.

Vapor: Life is Hard. Then You Die.

This week, Tyler delves into some of the darkest truths in Ecclesiastes, examining how injustice, suffering, and mortality shape human existence. It also offers a stark contrast between a worldview without God (leading to despair) and one with God (providing hope and purpose).

While Ecclesiastes paints a bleak picture of life without God, Christianity offers hope beyond suffering. Tyler presents three key truths that separate a Christian worldview from an atheistic one:

1. God Suffers With Us

2. God is Working Against Evil

3. There Will Be Final Judgment and Justice

Ecclesiastes is honest about suffering, but Christianity offers a way to deal with it. Without God, suffering is meaningless. With God, suffering is part of a redemptive story.

~ Jesus entered suffering to show us that God cares.

~ Evil is not from God, but He is actively working against it.

~ Final judgment ensures that every wrong will be made right. ~ Christian hope is stronger than secular despair.

~ You can trade a worldview of indifference for one of purpose, love, and eternity.

Vapor: Finding Joy in the Simple Things

This week at Northeast Christian Church, Tyler shared insights from Ecclesiastes on finding meaning and satisfaction in life's simple joys as part of the Vapor sermon series.

1. Timing of Enjoyment: The time to enjoy life is now, not when circumstances are perfect. Everyday moments—like a warm coffee or a shared meal—are gifts from God meant to be cherished.
2. Mindset of Enjoyment: Adopting a mindset of gratitude rather than entitlement helps us appreciate life’s blessings. Shifting focus from what we lack to what we have transforms envy into gratitude and discontentment into contentment.
3. Surprise of Enjoyment: Enjoyment is a divine command. God desires our joy, as seen in Jesus' celebratory spirit during His life.
4. Method of Enjoyment: True enjoyment requires discipline and self-control, ensuring it remains an act of worship that honors God.

Call to Joy: Embrace simple, daily joys as gifts of grace through practices like gratitude journaling, shared meals, or quiet reflection. These moments bring meaning to our lives and reflect heaven on earth. Join us for more profound wisdom in the Vapor series as we explore life’s fleeting yet meaningful moments.

Vapor

Tyler opens the series Vapor, drawing from the Book of Ecclesiastes, by exploring two contrasting worldviews: "Over the Sun" and "Under the Sun," using principles of apologetics to examine their implications.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon presents a worldview "under the sun," where life is seen purely through a materialistic lens — as if everything that can be perceived with our senses is all that exists. This perspective aligns with atheism, which dismisses any spiritual dimension, and agnosticism, which questions whether the spiritual realm even matters. Ecclesiastes argues that this view, when fully embraced, leads to meaninglessness and despair. The pursuit of wealth, pleasure, or success ultimately feels empty because, in this worldview, there is no ultimate purpose or divine order behind it all.

However, Ecclesiastes invites us to adopt a different perspective: the "over the sun" worldview. This view looks beyond the material world to a higher reality where God exists, governs, and gives life meaning. By using apologetics — the defense and rational justification of faith — we can see that the "over the sun" perspective offers a deeper, more coherent understanding of life’s purpose. This view challenges the "under the sun" mindset with answers to some of life’s most fundamental questions:

• Purpose: Life isn’t random or accidental; it’s part of God’s intentional design.
• Value: Every human being has intrinsic value, created in the image of a loving and purposeful God.
• Morality: Objective moral standards exist, grounded in the character of a just and holy God.
• Love: We are made to love because we are loved by a God who is love itself.
• Hope: Death is not the end, and there is a final reckoning — a divine justice and the promise of eternal life beyond the grave.

Where do you stand in this debate of worldviews?
Is your perspective shaped more by what’s "under the sun," dismissing the possibility of God or any deeper meaning? Do you find it easy to devalue those you disagree with or shift your values based on circumstance? Do you struggle to hope for a future that goes beyond what you can see and touch?

Using apologetics, we can see that the "under the sun" worldview doesn’t offer a satisfying or sustainable answer to these questions. But the "over the sun" perspective, rooted in God’s revealed truth, gives us a foundation that brings meaning, purpose, and hope — even in the midst of life’s challenges.

Take time to reflect and pray. Ask God to show you where you might be living under the sun instead of embracing the deeper reality of life over the sun.

Bible Series - Ecclesiastes

Welcome back to our first Books of the Bible for 2025! This week’s message was a deep dive into the book of Ecclesiastes, exploring its timeless wisdom and raw reflections on life's meaning.

Ecclesiastes repeatedly reminds us that life under the sun—pursuits of wealth, pleasure, and achievement—is like a vapor, fleeting and ultimately unsatisfying without God. It offers hope, emphasizing the importance of fearing God, obeying His commands, and remembering the certainty of judgment. With Jesus, judgment transforms from fear to comfort, offering eternal hope and the assurance of a meaningful life both now and forever.

“Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!” What do people get for all their hard work under the sun? - Ecclesiastes 1:2-3

That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad. - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Tyler challenged us to reflect on whether our lives are aligned with God’s eternal purpose or caught up in temporary, worldly pursuits.

Worship & Prayer Service | January 5

This week, Tyler invites us to approach faith as an experiment—a journey of exploration over the next 16 weeks to delve into Christian teachings and practices. By Easter, we are encouraged to reflect on how this intentional pursuit has shaped our lives.

 

He emphasizes the transformative power of spiritual exploration, urging us to embrace Jesus and experience the joy, peace, and eternal life found in Him. Drawing from C.S. Lewis, the message reveals how drawing closer to divine truth can bring profound and lasting change.

 

In a world where materialism and atheism often fail to satisfy our deepest emotional and existential needs, spiritual curiosity is growing. Through personal stories, cultural reflections, and theological insights, Tyler underscores Christianity’s enduring relevance in addressing life’s most pressing questions.

 

This is an invitation to embark on a journey of hope, meaning, and transformation. As we take up this challenge, we are reminded that God meets us where we are, guiding us toward the abundant life He promises.

 

"God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." – 1 John 4:9-10

Home for the Holidays - Special Q&A Answering Your BIGGEST Questions

Tyler & the team spend this weekend answering your BIGGEST questions… from church dynamics, theological questions, strategies for spiritual and community growth, and more!

Finding Peace in an Anxious World - Gospel Over Grief

In this message series, we explore how to find peace despite the situations, anxiety, stress, or challenges in this world. Mental health issues are at all-time highs, and the Bible provides answers to anchor us in the middle of uncertainty. Listen to each week of this series and prepare your hearts and minds for true peace this Christmas.

This week, Terrence leads us in a message focused on the Gospel over Grief. Grief is often associated with the loss of a loved one but can take on many forms of loss - a job, a house, a divorce, a dream, and other forms. At these times, we are called to lean into loss and walk through this with Jesus. In this world, you will have trouble, but take heart. You will be heartbroken, and you will face challenges, but there is one who will journey with you through them. In these moments, Terrence encourages us to go to God, saying, " Reconcile me and use me today. I am confident that you will find a way for me in the future."

Hand over your pain. Psalm 25:8 shows the heart of God. He is big enough. We worship Him because he became a man who knew suffering and rose again so that we might find peace in an anxious world. May your struggles keep you near the cross, and may your bad days prove that God is good. May your whole life prove that God is good.

Finding Peace in an Anxious World – Meaning Over Meh

This weekend, Tyler reflects on Luke 2, recounting the birth of Jesus and its profound connection to finding meaning amidst a world of apathy, anxiety, and distractions.

The pervasive issue of "meh"—emotional apathy or languishing—has become one of today’s significant spiritual challenges, alongside a broader lack of purpose. While the holiday season is culturally celebrated as a time of joy, it often amplifies feelings of emptiness, as many find themselves overwhelmed by distractions and trivialities.

However, the message of Jesus's birth reveals a deeper truth: true meaning is found in sacrificial love for God and others. By embracing God’s purpose and living with intentionality and sacrifice, we can counter apathy and discover lasting peace and joy.

This Christmas, let us look beyond the noise and busyness of the season, rediscovering the hope and purpose that come through the birth of Christ.