State of the Church: Our Fourth Turning | Toby Sumpter

It has been said that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes. Ecclesiastes says, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there anything whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us” (Eccl. 1:9-10).

The repeated refrain of Solomon is that all is vanity or “vapor” and “vexation of spirit” or “striving after wind.” A better translation would be “shepherding the wind.” Ecclesiastes teaches that there is a kind of cyclical nature to time and yet there is a beginning and an end: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven…He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end” (Eccl. 3:1, 11). The Christian view of history is more spiral.

We live in days of crisis and turmoil. It remains to be seen what kind of stability will emerge, whether it will be favorable to Christianity or not. Regardless, we are called to be “men of Issachar,” who have “understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chron. 12:32).

The Text: “For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow…” (Ps. 90:9-17)

King's Cross Church is a member congregation of the CREC in Moscow, ID. Visit our website at https://kingscrossmoscow.com.

Follow us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/kingscrossmoscow.