Preaching the Word: Ecclesiastes—Why Everything Matters

by Philip Graham Ryken

Publisher:

Crossway

, 2010

Overview

The book of Ecclesiastes is "about life, the way it really is," writes commentator Philip Ryken. Readers throughout the ages have been drawn to the way it honestly wrestles with the tedium of work, injustices in this life, the ravages of age, and the inevitability of death. But its wisdom, according to Ryken, is in teaching people to trust God with life's questions even in the midst of struggles. Pastors, writers, speakers, and students will find this Preaching the Word commentary to be a helpful resource in their teaching and studies. Ryken explores what will happen if we choose the world's offerings instead of God's and teaches valuable lessons about what it means to have a God-centered worldview.

This is the twenty-sixth volume of the Preaching the Word series—noted for its clear exposition, readability, practical application, and unqualified commitment to biblical authority. Ryken's commentary will not only enrich any individual study of Ecclesiastes but will equip Christian leaders in communicating its universal application to a wide audience.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Here is another reason to study Ecclesiastes: it will help us worship the one true God.” (Page 15)

“The word hevel comes to express the absurdity and futility of life in a fallen world.” (Page 19)

“What makes the difference between joy and sorrow? God makes the difference!” (Page 72)

“Ecclesiastes is Solomon’s sermon to people gathered for the worship of God.” (Page 18)

“The Preacher is not giving in to despair but is beginning to see the difference it makes to live with God instead of without him.” (Page 72)

Product Details

• Title: Ecclesiastes: Why Everything Matters
• Author: Philip Graham Ryken
• General Editor: R. Kent Hughes
• Series: Preaching the Word
• Publisher: Crossway
• Publication Date: 2010
• Pages: 320

About Philip Graham Ryken

Philip G. Ryken (1966–) has served as the president of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, since 2010. He earned degrees from Wheaton College, Westminster Theological Seminary, and a doctorate from the University of Oxford.

Ryken was the senior minister of Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church (where James Boice and Donald Barnhouse served previously) for about 15 years before he became the president of Wheaton College. He has been ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.

Ryken has authored over 30 books, including several volumes in the Preaching the Word Collection, the Reformed Expository Commentary, the Crossway Spiritual Growth Collection, Written in Stone, Discovering God in Stories from the Bible, and Exodus: Saved for God's Glory.