Peter works hard at a fulltime job and preaches when requested. On the occasions that we have been in the same place of worship, I have always felt blessed to hear him. His sermons are Biblical, upbeat, and creative. Thus, when he asked me how I came up with my sermon ideas I was surprised. I told him that I find my best ideas when reading the scriptures and when listening to other preachers; especially brothers like himself. A couple of years later we met again in a church parking lot and the subject naturally turned to sermons. He said, “Before I spoke to you about sermon ideas I didn’t think you should get ideas and material from other preachers. But when you said, “There’s nothing new under the sun,” I realised that it even applies to the material of the other preachers. That was the best advice you could have given me.”
Turn to any page of Solomon’s short Book of Ecclesiastes, and you will hear him repeatedly speaking about “Life under the sun.” He deals with the people, things, and ideas of this life that man counts as valuable and new. Solomon says:
“Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account. (Ecclesiastes 3:15).
More than one Bible teacher has told his class, “If one day when studying the Scriptures, you suddenly discover a new teaching that no one else has found before, it is guaranteed to be wrong!”
There is a lot to be said for creativity. In the Bible are stories, both true and made up, that amaze the mind and move the heart. God has used all manner of literary styles to weave together a library of information that never fails to challenge and change the reader—for better or for worse—their choice!
Despite man’s proud protestations to the contrary, we have not changed since Adam. The only thing that is truly “New Under the Sun” is The New Life in the Son.
That is indeed meaningful!
John Staiger