New Philadelphia News A Call to Discipleship The influence of the book of Ecclesiastes on popular culture is most obvious in the song “Turn, Turn, Turn” written by Pete Seeger in the late 1950s. The song enjoyed international acclaim in 1965 when sung by the rock band, The Byrds, and it hit #1 on the Hot 100 chart in December of that same year. The song is distinctive for being the #1 song with the oldest lyrics, which come from chapter 3 of the book most scholars attribute to King Solomon: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiastes will likely speak to the human condition as long as we inhabit the planet. As the book’s writer, identified only as “Teacher” proclaims from the opening chapter, all in life is “vanity”; all in life is meaningless. For twelve chapters he leads us on a “tour” of life, seeking meaning in physical pleasure and in work. He concludes that they are lacking. So is wealth, which leaves people wanting more. So is wisdom, for who can fully comprehend what goes on “under the sun”? Finally, in chapter 12, the Teacher reaches his ultimate conclusion: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. (12:13). The Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook explains it this way: “Ecclesiastes tells us that we will not find meaning in life apart from serving God. Regardless of how smart we are or how hard we work, it is only as we serve God that life takes on significant meaning.” What does that mean to us as Moravians? What does it mean to our church as we gear up for a new year of ministry to our world, to our community and to each other? Let’s start with where Ecclesiastes ends: Our meaning – as a church, as brothers and sisters, as Christians – is found through our service. Another way of saying it is this: Our purpose, our meaning, is found in discipleship. This fall, we’ll be emphasizing discipleship in several ways. A display being developed for our Commons
Area will proclaim our commitment to discipleship with three messages: Serve Like Jesus, Love Like Jesus and Live Like Jesus. The messages will be enhanced with images of our congregation’s members doing just that: serving, loving and living like Jesus. Our discipleship will also be the theme of a special campaign that calls us into even more intense and intentional action as we study, work and imagine together what more we might do to serve, love and live like Jesus. Lastly, you’ll hear about discipleship from the pulpit as we discover that discipleship is a choice made by all who hear the voice of our Chief Elder – our lamb – who has conquered and commands, follow me.