ECCLESIASTES: “MORE TO THIS LIFE”
Growth Group Talking Points
Week Three
Gathering: Discuss some of the fads or trends that have come and gone…and come again in popular culture. What is one that you hope never comes back into fashion again? What is one “out-of-style” piece of clothing or practice that you refuse to give up?
Studying: Read Ecclesiastes 3: 1-15
· From the times and seasons listed in vv. 1-8 select one that you remember with great joy and satisfaction. Which is one that you recall with pain or sadness?
· Describe the Teacher’s view of time in these verses. How do you understand this way of looking at time? Is it descriptive (how things are) or prescriptive (how things should be)? Do you find it oppressive or hopeful? Frustrating or comforting?
· What does it mean to you when the Teacher says that God “has made everything beautiful in its time”? What might this statement teach us about patience, perseverance and trust? To what particular situation in your life can you apply this verse?
· What evidence would you submit that God has “set eternity in the hearts of people? Discuss the meaning and the importance of this belief. Still, what does the Teacher say we cannot fathom? Do these truths lead you to greater faith or frustration?
· Since we cannot comprehend God’s grand design, what does the Teacher again instruct us to do in vv. 12-13? How would you live your life differently if you began to receive every moment as a “gift of God”?
Sending: Reflect on the authority of God declared in vv. 14-15. Allow the reality of our limitations vs. God’s sufficiency to cultivate in you a sense of awe and reverence. Pray in that spirit.