Wisdom (Part 6)

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

Sunday, October 12, 2025

The Book of Ecclesiastes points to a poignant contradiction that exists in every human heart: we have a longing for eternal, abiding things, but the world we inhabit just can't satisfy that longing. It is only by recognizing the limits of our existence in this world that we can find fulfillment.

Bryant Anderson preaching.

Referenced in this sermon:

• Bobby Jamieson, Everything Is Never Enough (2025)
• Byung-Chul Han, The Scent of Time (2017)

Current Series: Wisdom

Some of the most intriguing texts in the Bible are those belonging to the genre known as Wisdom Literature. These books explore some of life's deepest, most pressing, and most unanswerable questions—questions of meaning, happiness, fulfillment, and suffering. While the world has changed immeasurably since these texts were written, the concerns they voice and the challenges they pose are just as relevant today as they were then. The books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job have much to teach us—even today—about what it means to live well in a complex world.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

Wisdom (Part 5)

Ecclesiastes 1:2-9 & 9:7-12

Sunday, October 5, 2025

The Book of Ecclesiastes has a very different take on traditional wisdom—rather than extolling wisdom's virtues, it candidly explores its limits. The author of this unique text tries to zero in on what really gives life meaning in the midst of all of life's uncertainties, and determines that it ultimately all revolves around joy.

Bryant Anderson preaching.

Referenced in this sermon:

• "Taylor Swift's Fairy Tale Is Over" by Spencer Kornhaber

Current Series: Wisdom

Some of the most intriguing texts in the Bible are those belonging to the genre known as Wisdom Literature. These books explore some of life's deepest, most pressing, and most unanswerable questions—questions of meaning, happiness, fulfillment, and suffering. While the world has changed immeasurably since these texts were written, the concerns they voice and the challenges they pose are just as relevant today as they were then. The books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job have much to teach us—even today—about what it means to live well in a complex world.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

Wisdom (Part 4)

Matthew 13:18-23

Sunday, September 28, 2025

Beverly Dempsey preaching.

Current Series: Wisdom

Some of the most intriguing texts in the Bible are those belonging to the genre known as Wisdom Literature. These books explore some of life's deepest, most pressing, and most unanswerable questions—questions of meaning, happiness, fulfillment, and suffering. While the world has changed immeasurably since these texts were written, the concerns they voice and the challenges they pose are just as relevant today as they were then. The books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job have much to teach us—even today—about what it means to live well in a complex world.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

Wisdom (Part 3)

Matthew 13:44-46 & Proverbs 3:13-18

Sunday, September 21, 2025

We are always in pursuit of something. We have lower goals—the day-to-day tasks and targets—and we have higher goals—the big plans and ideals that give definition and purpose to our lives. We don't always think about the higher goals, even though they tend to shape how we spend our time, our energy, and our money. In the midst of all our potential pursuits in this busy life, where does wisdom fit in?

Bryant Anderson preaching.

Referenced in this sermon:

• David Brooks, The Road to Character (2016)

Current Series: Wisdom

Some of the most intriguing texts in the Bible are those belonging to the genre known as Wisdom Literature. These books explore some of life's deepest, most pressing, and most unanswerable questions—questions of meaning, happiness, fulfillment, and suffering. While the world has changed immeasurably since these texts were written, the concerns they voice and the challenges they pose are just as relevant today as they were then. The books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job have much to teach us—even today—about what it means to live well in a complex world.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

Wisdom (Part 2)

Proverbs 8:22-31

Sunday, September 14, 2025

Wisdom, according to the Book of Proverbs, is not just a nice idea or an important value; it is a basic building block of the whole created order. So if wisdom is integral to creation, then we must be able to discover something of its shape simply by attending to the awe-inspiring world we inhabit.

Bryant Anderson preaching.

Referenced in this sermon:

• "The First Elegy" by Rainer Maria Rilke

Current Series: Wisdom

Some of the most intriguing texts in the Bible are those belonging to the genre known as Wisdom Literature. These books explore some of life's deepest, most pressing, and most unanswerable questions—questions of meaning, happiness, fulfillment, and suffering. While the world has changed immeasurably since these texts were written, the concerns they voice and the challenges they pose are just as relevant today as they were then. The books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job have much to teach us—even today—about what it means to live well in a complex world.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

Wisdom (Part 1)

Proverbs 1:1-7; 3:1-7

Sunday, September 7, 2025

The book of Proverbs is full of chestnuts: little bits of wise counsel, sage advice, and sensible warnings that any of us would do well to heed. But it's at the book's very opening that we find what we are really looking for: the root of wisdom—its foundation and beginning—which is the fear of God.

Bryant Anderson preaching.

Current Series: Wisdom

Some of the most intriguing texts in the Bible are those belonging to the genre known as Wisdom Literature. These books explore some of life's deepest, most pressing, and most unanswerable questions—questions of meaning, happiness, fulfillment, and suffering. While the world has changed immeasurably since these texts were written, the concerns they voice and the challenges they pose are just as relevant today as they were then. The books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job have much to teach us—even today—about what it means to live well in a complex world.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

Miracles (Part 12)

Mark 12:11-25

Sunday, August 31, 2025

Beverly Dempsey preaching.

Current Series: Miracles

Some of the most memorable moments of Jesus's life and ministry are his miraculous deeds—actions that awed crowds and set people to talking far beyond the Galilean countryside. Sometimes we treat these events as mere spectacle: raw demonstrations of God's power and proof of the Christ's divine origins. But there is so much more to these stories. They convey nothing short of the very heart and will of God, and through them we glimpse the greatest miracle of all: God's care and concern for this world and everyone in it.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.

Isaiah 65:17-25

Sunday, August 17, 2025

Beverly Dempsey preaching.

Palms Presbyterian Church is a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. To learn more about us, visit us at palmschurch.org.