What’s The Point?

Mike Patz • Apr 13, 2026

In the Byzantine empire, the second-most powerful man on the planet was a man named Utropius. He was a counselor to the Emperor but he had fallen out of favor with the Empress. He had abused his power and done bad things, and there was a death sentence on his life. In his panic, he ran to the church, went up to the altar, and grabbed ahold of the horns there. That day the preacher came to the pulpit, and he brought a message from Ecclesiastes, Chapter 1, “Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” Pastor Mike Patz begins a new series, What’s the Point, a look through Ecclesiastes, as we look at meaning, purpose, and the point behind it all. Ecclesiastes comes from the word Qoheleth, meaning The Teacher, and was attributed to Solomon, the son of King David. Though he started out strong, in the end Solomon’s heart was turned away from the Lord. Without God, his life was meaningless- hevel, a vapor, mist, smoke, fleeting, transitory, and hard to grasp. Solomon asked, “What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?” It is very possible to live a very full life but still end empty. Look up, above the sun! “Those who look to Him will be radiant!” (Psalm 34:5) Until you get above the sun, everything under the sun is meanless. The bad news is, there’s nothing new under the sun. The good news is Jesus rules over the sun!