tohuvabohu

I am excited to announce that I completed a major project last week and picked up copies of the finished product on Friday.1

A Bit of Context

During the final week of May, I adapted 14 sermons from my Ecclesiastes series into a book for the graduating seniors in our ministry. They endured 61 messages over the course of three years, and I figured this was the least I could give them. So I holed up in my home study for 16 or so hours a day for three days in order to rework and format the material. I self-published through Lulu, and for what it’s worth, I could not recommend their product more highly.

The first order of books arrived in time for graduation and I presented a copy to each graduate. But the closer I examined the book, the more I regrettably realized how much it looked like something put together in three days.2

I needed help. So I asked Patti Frisk, our school’s secondary English teacher, along with my mom, also a high school English teacher, to edit the book. Each one graciously agreed and went to work with red pens in hand. They returned improved manuscripts to me before June ended, and the ball was back in my court. Thank you, ladies.

Somehow, other projects kept creeping onto my calendar. Since I was eager to clean this meaty task off my plate, I spent the month of November and the early days of December making revisions, adding a chapter, and polishing the layout. I delivered the first copies of the second edition Friday night to the youth staff at our Christmas party.

The Contents

As the table of contents below reveals, roughly one paragraph in each chapter of Ecclesiastes turned into one chapter in my book. The chapters represent what I believe to be the high points of Solomon’s reminders in Ecclesiastes. They were chosen not only to expose the vanity of life, but also to turn the reader to God for true joy under the sun.

1. Vain Repetition (1:1-11)
2. Looking for Life Under the Sun (Pt 1) (2:1-8)
3. Looking for Life Under the Sun (Pt 2) (2:1-8)
4. Enjoying the Process (2:24-26)
5. Everything is Beautiful in Its Time (3:9-15)
6. 15 Minutes of Fame (4:13-16)
7. You Can’t Take It with You (5:13-17)
8. Loathing the Process (6:1-6)
9. Get Over Yourself (7:15-22)
10. Following and Influencing the Man (8:1-9)
11. Act Now Before It’s too Late! (9:7-10)
12. Out of the Mouth of Fools (10:12-15)
13. Basking in the Sun (11:7-10)
14. The End of the Matter (12:13-14)
15. Why Ecclesiastes Needs the Cross (1 Corinthians 15)

Get a Copy

I’m glad this part of the process is done.3 I’d gladly massage each chapter more, but that may be the perpetual tweaker in me, so this will have to do for now. Anyone can order or download a copy for themselves from my storefront on Lulu. The 242 page paperback is $12 plus tax and shipping; the PDF download is only $5.