Meaning

Research shows a strong connection between enjoying our work and enjoying life itself. Yet many of us feel disengaged at work and depleted by life. How can we find real worth in our jobs—and practice true rest when the lines between our personal and professional lives are increasingly blurred?

In a world obsessed with achievement, pleasure, productivity, and self-creation, the book of Ecclesiastes speaks with startling honesty about the human condition ‘under the sun.’ It gives voice to questions many of us quietly carry: What’s the point of all our striving? Why does success often leave us unsatisfied? How do we live meaningfully and with real joy in the face of suffering, disappointments, and death?

Can you imagine sacrificial generosity in the midst of extreme suffering giving rise to overwhelming joy? While this may surprise us, it’s exactly what we find in a moving story about an ancient community of faith. This beautiful example has the power to renew our modern sensibilities about the meaning of life.

What is life really about? How do we not just exit, but live a truly great life, dealing in healthy ways with it’s uncertainty and pain and discover who we really are? With this message we begin a year-long theme of mystery, mercy, and majesty.

In an age of mass vocational disruption, how do we find renewal in our work?

How do build and rebuild our lives–our careers, friendships, families, our personal and public worlds–in a meaningful way so we don’t waste them but instead flourish?