Neighbor Nights in July: Continue to remind your group to look for ways to reach out to their neighbors.
Rachel and Jeremy Hollie: Continue to give your group the opportunity to help support the Hollies as they make their transition back here from the mission field. The envelopes will be in your box again this week.
Fall schedule begins August 4: LIFE, AWANA, and other activities will resume beginning August 4. More information will be coming soon.
Bible Study Session
THE TARGET: Focus on what adults should leave knowing, understanding and doing.
Adults will affirm their pursuit for meaning in life and identify one blessing God allows them to enjoy that brings satisfaction.
Suggested Resources:
- In advance, for Option One under LOOK UP: Slice a lemon and place on a plate to display. If you really want to get creative, consider bringing lemonade and various desserts made from lemons.
- Consider using the following picture I have placed on a PowerPoint slide if using Option Two under LOOK UP. Click to download.
- MyStudyBible.com: Preview the following video to help you gain a perspective on Ecclesiastes 1. You could also consider using this video as a summary of the study at the end of your session as well. Click to view video.
- MyStudyBible.com: Click on the following link to read an introduction to Ecclesiastes. This will help you keep your perspective on the purpose of the book. Click to read.
- Heads Up: As you read the first few verses of chapter one you will see the word "Teacher" with a capital T. This is a title referring to the author, Solomon, and not to God. It can also mean Leader of the Assembly, preacher, or public speaker.
LOOK UP: "Soft Methods" to draw attention to the study as adults are arriving, visiting, and gathering for bible study.
Option One: (From the ETB Leader Guide Teaching Suggestions, p92)
- In advance, write the following on the marker board: "Everything is meaningless! Life is futile; it's empty, it's vain!
- Once most of the group has arrived, ask what they thought when they read the statement on the markerboard.
- Call attention to the lemon wedges. How many of you don't like to eat a lemon by itself? Why? How many of you ask for lemon with your water when eating out? Why? How many like desserts made with lemon? Name some.
- Say: At first glance, a lemon seems like a poor choice of fruit. But when used in other ways, as in baking or making lemonade, a lemon proves to be a tasty treat. At times, situations in life seem sour—all bad, with little to no meaning like a lemon too tart to eat but excellent for lemonade. Life can often appear hopeless but also hide an abundance of blessings.
Option Two: PowerPoint Picture of Eeyore and Tigger from Winnie the Pooh.
- In advance, display the picture of Eeyore and Tigger.
- Once most adults have entered, ask the group to identify which character they would like to emulate, Eeyore or Tigger, and to explain why.
- How do people sometimes describe someone who is sad, depressed, and negative all the time? (An Eeyore)
Transition:
As we begin our study of Ecclesiastes, we hear from a person, King Solomon, who had it all, at least from the perspective of life “under the sun”—that is, from a strictly human point of view. Yet, the more King Solomon explored the things we humans often value most, the more he discovered those things cannot answer our deepest need: to find the purpose for which God made us. Things seemed pretty hopeless and futile for him until he gained proper perspective. (He was sounding like an Eeyore or someone who had eaten a lemon!)
LOOK IN: Ideas for unpacking the text.
Life Can Seem Pointless
Read Eccl. 1:1-4
Overview Context:
Ecclesiastes 1:1-2 serves as an introduction to the entire book. Solomon describes himself as the Teacher. This is a Hebrew term that does not occur in any other book of the Bible. Although the precise meaning is uncertain, it may refer to "a public speaker" or to " an assembly leader." Solomon is giving personal reflection and counsel to Israel, particularly the young and affluent. He drives home the point that life without God is pointless. Any attempt to find meaning apart from God therefore is vanity and doomed to failure.
Discussion Options:
- For most of us, the processes of life can become mundane. Our routines of day-after-day and week-after-week tasks can turn into drudgery and seem to have no point. What in your life often becomes mundane for you? What do you do to counteract those feelings? (ETB Leader Guide, p92)
- What is the benefit of routine?
- Why do some activities make one lose hope about life?
- How can you help someone see hope in life’s drudgery and routine? When have you given everything you have to something, then felt as if the entire process was pointless and of no value?
- Let's answer the question in verse 3. What does a man gain from all his efforts and accomplishments? Is it an exercise in futility?
- How would you describe the word "futility" or "vanity"? (It occurs 30 times in Ecclesiastes. It can mean "vapor" or "breath." It denotes the fleeting visible vapor produced by a person's breath on a cold, winter day.)
- If it is futile, then why put forth the effort?
- In what ways to you want to leave a mark on this world? Have you ever wondered if your dream was futile? What did you do to determine if it was or wasn't?
Transition:
Solomon continues in verses 5-11 to explain that the sun continues to rise, the rivers continue to flow, the oceans never fill, the winds continue to blow, yet man's life is temporary.
- Remind the group of Job's quest for understanding. His circumstances seemed hopeless, but in the end, his relationship with God was stronger. We can learn from Job, one who lost everything, and now Solomon, one who had everything.
- Sometimes we invest so much of ourselves into a project at work, home, or church that when our perceived importance of it is ignored or disregarded, our efforts seem pointless. We must realize that even when something becomes routine or seemingly pointless, our status with God is not affected. We are still blessed by Him.
- We must remind ourselves, too, that human life is transitory. It is a never-ending parade of generations. Any attempt to find meaning in life apart from a faith relationship to God will always result in futility! Any quest for meaning in life apart from God is a waste of time.
Experience Seems to Affirm Futility
Someone Read Eccl. 1:12-14; 2:1-3
Someone Read Eccl. 1:12-14; 2:1-3
Discussion Options:
- Identify the areas of experience that affirmed futility for Solomon. (wisdom and pleasure - i.e. laughter, enjoying life, wine, etc)
- How would you describe wisdom? How is it different from knowledge? (Knowledge comes from acquiring information, either by experience or by study. Wisdom is the appropriate use of that knowledge. The better the application of the knowledge, the greater seems to be the wisdom of the individual.)
- Why did Solomon view the pursuit of wisdom a miserable task given to men by God? (The notion that simply gaining more and more knowledge is the secret to life’s meaning falls flat in the end. Having achieved more wisdom than other people, Solomon discovered his quest for wisdom was hopeless. No mortal individual has the ability and capacity to attain complete wisdom.)
Transition:
The pursuit of wisdom had failed to satisfy the Teacher’s search for the meaning of life. Since his efforts to solve the riddle of life with his mind caused increased depression, he made a commitment to satisfy his sensual pleasures. Here the Teacher summarized a test that he gave himself.
Discussion Options:
- What was Solomon's finding so far? (The experiment was a total failure.)
- What is an all-too-common result of pursuing a life of pleasure?
- If one pleasure quits satisfying, what do most people do? (They look for something more pleasurable.)
- Is it wrong for Christians to have fun? Explain answer.
- What should a believer's perspective be on pursuing wisdom and pleasure? (Keep them in proper perspective and balance)
Transition:
Pleasure only brings a smile for a moment. The excitement of any given activity quickly fades. Then people must find something new to gratify their desire.
- Racing from one pleasure to another does not accomplish anything of lasting value.
- Each new pleasure soon ends in disappointment and evokes an insatiable yearning for more.
- Many times these desires drive us to things that are more and more ungodly. (Illustration: If this is a young adult group, consider discussing how this was illustrated in the movie, The Hunger Games - The quest for seeking pleasure in competition led people to be willing to sacrifice lives for the pleasure of competition. Another more recent example is the death of Cory Monteith, of the series Glee-click to read article; he was at the top of his career; yet nothing fulfilled him. His search for pleasure or peace drove him further into drug use.)
Trust in God’s Blessings
Read Eccl: 2:12-14,24-26
Read Eccl: 2:12-14,24-26
Discussion Options:
- Verse 12 refers to Solomon's legacy that will be passed on to his predecessor. Solomon asks the question, "What will the man be like who comes after the king?" Have you ever considered what you will pass on to the person who follows you? Who could that be in your life? (son, daughter, leader, etc).
- What does Solomon say his predecessor will do? (He will do what has already been done.) What does this say to you regarding what we are to pursue?
- What is the advantage of wisdom over folly? How is it like the advantage of light over darkness?
- Have you ever heard the term, "He has his head screwed on right?" How does that illustrate verse 14?
- If one fate comes to both the wise and the fool, what is the advantage of becoming wise?
- Verse 24: What do God’s gifts of food, enjoyment of good things, and work tell us about God? (God does want us to enjoy what we have accomplished and been given; only it should be in proper perspective and not morally or biblically wrong.)
- In verse 25 Solomon asks another questions, "Who can eat and who can enjoy life apart from Him?" What does this say about life without Christ? (see verse 26)
- Discovery Study Guide, p59: How might knowing that we should find pleasure in the simple activities of life-if you see them as gifts from God-release you to enjoy going to a ballgame or out to dinner, for example?
Transition:
As the Teacher reflected on wisdom, madness, and folly, he considered the future. The Teacher realized that future generations might not remember a great scholar any more than he remembers a homeless beggar.
- Solomon concluded that some advantage was to be gained in wisdom. It clearly was preferable to folly. He compared this preference to the advantage light provides over darkness. Yet human wisdom had limitations. Ultimately the same fate awaits both the fool and the wise person. Both will die.
- Finally Solomon offered another preliminary conclusion derived from his experiment. While the obsessive pursuit of pleasure is futile, a person should seek to enjoy life. Life is a gift from God. Likewise God gave food, drink, and other sources of pleasure for people to enjoy.
- Therefore, the ability to take pleasure from food and the finer things of life was a divine blessing.
- This is not a philosophy of hedonism; nor does it involve neglect of other duties because there is a time for everything under the sun. But a life without enjoyment is no life at all. A healthy fear of God is to keep things in balance.
Read Eccl. 2:25-26a.
Ask: How does a personal relationship with Jesus Christ bring meaning and purpose to life? How have you experienced God’s blessings in your life because of your relationship with Jesus?
Ask: How does a personal relationship with Jesus Christ bring meaning and purpose to life? How have you experienced God’s blessings in your life because of your relationship with Jesus?
Explain: These verses describe the source of joy. It is a life that is found by placing our trust in Christ. When we are pleasing to Him, even the smallest amount of wisdom, knowledge, and joy brings fulfillment.
Summary:
Ecclesiastes shows us that, since we and our works are futile—that is, destined to perish—we must not waste our lives trying to justify our existence with pursuits that ultimately mean nothing. Put simply, Ecclesiastes examines major endeavors of life in light of the reality of death.
The key is this: As with Job, Solomon concludes that the blessings of life do not constitute the meaning of life. Without God, a person cannot truly derive joy from human existence. God makes the difference. Those people who have a faith relationship with the Lord can truly enjoy life to its maximum.
Summary:
Ecclesiastes shows us that, since we and our works are futile—that is, destined to perish—we must not waste our lives trying to justify our existence with pursuits that ultimately mean nothing. Put simply, Ecclesiastes examines major endeavors of life in light of the reality of death.
The key is this: As with Job, Solomon concludes that the blessings of life do not constitute the meaning of life. Without God, a person cannot truly derive joy from human existence. God makes the difference. Those people who have a faith relationship with the Lord can truly enjoy life to its maximum.
Look Out: Hitting the target and applying it to daily living.
Discussion Options:
- What activity do you engage in regularly that you still question its value? What prevents you from quitting? (DSG, p58)
- How do you determine if something is worth continuing?
- How does today's study help you determine what to pursue and what not to pursue?
- What questions does today's study bring to mind about some of the routines, pursuits, and activities in which you are involved?
- Discovery Study Guide, p60: Serving others gives us pleasure. What activity do you accomplish through your church that brings you satisfaction?
