Dennis R Wiles 

FBC Arlington 

June 4, 2023 

2023 - Why Does It Matter? 

SUMMER 2023 

Eternity: Why Does It Matter? 

June 1 – August 5, 2023 

Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 

Theme for 2023: Why Does It Matter? 

SUMMER 2023: Eternity: Why Does It Matter 

John 3:16 Signs 

www.fbca.org/john316 

DUMBPHONE – a cell phone that does not include advanced software features (such as email or an internet browser) typically found on smartphones. 

ADORKABLE - socially awkward or quirky in a way that is endearing. 

TRUTHINESS – a seemingly truthful quality not supported by facts or evidence. 

PHONESIA – The act of dialing a phone number and forgetting who you were calling just as the person answers. 

CAKEISM - the false belief that one can enjoy the benefits of two choices that are in fact mutually exclusive -- or have it both ways.  

ETERNITY: Why Does It Matter? 

IMMANENT FRAME/TRANSCENDENCE: Charles Taylor uses the term immanent frame to refer to how in the current cultural context people view everything in terms of a natural rather than a supernatural order. The modern social imagination, which is deeply imbedded in much of our culture, works from the assumption that while people can find significance or meaning in life (immanence), there is no higher, divinely given purpose that has been assigned to them (transcendence). 

-Joshua D. Chatraw and Mark D. Allen, Apologetics at the Cross 

THE SECULAR AGE: Secularity is not simply an absence of belief. Christians often accept this claim and respond by getting their proofs and other rational bona fides. Not so fast . . . Secularism is its own web of beliefs that should be open to examination. 

Tim Keller, Preaching 

LATE MODERNISM: The “self” is still at the center of our cultural reality. The autonomy of the individual and personal freedom both are core values of our culture. There is a distrust in traditional authority and a belief that expression of personal desires is the right of everyone. Skepticism concerning absolute truths and a sense of hopelessness pervade our culture. 

How are Christians supposed to view time? What time is it? 

HISTORY – as Christians, we have a providential view of history. 

PRESENT – we live in the reality of both measured time and meaningful time. 

FUTURE – we embrace the view that time is in God’s hands. 

ETERNITY – we accept the truth that God is eternal, and He has designed us for eternity and His eternal purposes are at work today.