All of life is a rich gift from God—both the good and the hard things. So why do we struggle to find contentment? Why do we persistently seek that which we know will leave us empty? Materialism, pleasure, status, relationships. Pursuing them is like chasing the wind. The author of Ecclesiastes invites us to reflect on the ambiguity and fleeting nature of life. We are all seeking meaning, and the answer is both simple and complex—to fear God and enjoy what he has given us in its season. Living a small life is not easy, but we can rest with hope in the sovereignty and justice of a God who will one day make all things right.
Greater Than All Our Words | Grace Church Worship | Spotify | Apple Music
Psalm 19:1 • Romans 12:1 • Job 40:4
Hope of the World | Hillsong Worship | Spotify | Apple Music
John 3:14-17 • 1 Peter 1:3-5 • Titus 2:11-14
Firm Foundation (He Won't) | The Belonging Co & Cody Carnes | Spotify | Apple Music
1 Peter 2:6-8 • Matthew 7:24-27 • Psalm 62:5-8
I Surrender | All Sons & Daughters | Spotify | Apple Music
Matthew 16:24-26 • Matthew 6:19-21 • Luke 22:41-43
Exalted Over All | Vertical Worship | Spotify | Apple Music
Philippians 2:6-11 • Colossians 1:15-20 • Hebrews 12:2
Hallelujah for the Cross | Chris McClarney | Spotify | Apple Music
Colossians 1:13-20 • 1 Peter 2:22-25 • Romans 2:4
Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes are considered wisdom literature. How has your life experience shaped the way you view these books of the Bible? Which book(s) would you naturally lean towards to find truth? Which book(s) would be more difficult? Why?
The author of Ecclesiastes invites us to consider that life is “hevel”—a fleeting, unpredictable vapor. As we begin this series, what does it look like for you to humble yourself and grapple with the following questions: What is my motivation? Where can I find hope?
When we feel the weight of the brokenness in the world and our powerlessness to fix it, many of us self medicate in different ways—food, alcohol, shopping, work, pornography, etc. How do you tend to escape when you feel life pressing in? What does that reveal about how you view God and yourself?
Both Ecclesiastes and Job are grounded in the theological distinction between God the Creator and us as his creatures. It’s vital that we grasp that there is a God, and we are not him.
Solomon begins with the premise that life is meaningless—”hevel.” This idea includes the imagery of life being a vapor—ephemeral, fleeting, insubstantial, and unpredictable.
We must sit in the tension that even though we bear God’s image, we cannot understand the big questions around brokenness and injustice in the world.
Instead of striving for understanding, we should strive to trust God, to embrace the gap between his sovereignty and our limited nature.
Even in the midst of life’s brokenness, we can have hope. We are called to fear God and keep his commandments. The only way to have purpose is to keep covenant with God.
Ultimately, our hope rests in Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross. He was pierced for us so that we would not be pierced. Through that lens, we look forward with hope.
Never Be the Same | People & Songs | Spotify | Apple Music
John 4:13-14 • 2 Corinthians 5:17 • Romans 6:5-11
Reason I Sing | Phil Wickham | Spotify | Apple Music
Isaiah 61:10-11 • Psalm 18:46-49 • Psalm 13:6
In Christ Alone | Passion | Spotify | Apple Music
Jude 1:24-25 • 1 Peter 1:3-5 • Romans 8:38-39
Morning by Morning | Pat Barrett | Spotify | Apple Music
Lamentations 3:22-24 • Psalm 34:4-10 • Proverbs 3:5-6
This We Know | Vertical Worship | Spotify | Apple Music
1 Corinthians 15:54-58 • 1 Peter 1:3-9 • Isaiah 55:8-9
In this passage, Solomon seeks meaning in pleasure and accomplishment. In which of these areas do you look for purpose—work, family, travel, your children’s accomplishments, status, wealth, image, or something else? Where does most of your mental energy go? What does this reveal about your hope?
Lazy people want fulfillment to come easily to them, while motivated people are disappointed when their hard work does not bring fulfillment. Which category do you fall into? How have you seen this truth play out in your life?
Take some time to reflect on what life would be like without the hope of the gospel. How would you try to infuse meaning or substance in your life? What would eternity look like?
When we become obsessed with finding happiness and fulfillment—whether through sex, alcohol, work, family, or any set of circumstances—we are living in denial. We then distract our souls from something more substantial that offers real hope.
We are all bent towards foolishness. Our innate desire is to live life on our terms, unguarded and unrestrained.
Wisdom comes from fearing the Lord—understanding that he is our Creator and we are mere creatures. Humility is vital for us to live wisely.
Solomon tells us through his experience that no accomplishment, status, or significance can fill the void in our souls. There is no good life apart from God.
While there is nothing inherently wrong with work, family, or enjoying what life offers—if you make it the centerpiece of your life, it will leave you empty.
Reason I Sing | Phil Wickham | Spotify | Apple Music
Isaiah 61:10-11 • Psalm 18:46-49 • Psalm 13:6
Promises | Maverick City Music | Spotify | Apple Music
Lamentations 3:22-27 • Deuteronomy 7:9 • Psalm 105:7-11
The One Who Saves | Hillsong Worship | Spotify | Apple Music
Isaiah 12 • Psalm 136 • Psalm 90:1
Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me | CityAlight | Spotify | Apple Music
Galatians 2:20 • Colossians 3:1-4 • Philippians 2:12-13
Same God | Elevation Worship | Spotify | Apple Music
Hebrews 11 • Malachi 3:6 • Hebrews 13:8
Christ Be Magnified | Cody Carnes | Spotify | Apple Music
Psalm 148 • 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 • Romans 6:1-11
We often think that the answer to our problems is wisdom or knowledge, but that does not solve the world’s brokenness. What does it mean for your faith to “be sturdy” when life is chaotic? When difficult moments come, how can you hold your loved ones, accomplishments, and plans with open hands and trust in God?
In the face of the world’s brokenness and injustice, Solomon calls us to live a small life and be content with what God has given us in the moment. What would this look like for you? What worries do you need to release to God? What present joys do you need to embrace?
Religious people think that because they do the right things, then God will work for them. Solomon exposes those props—injustice and suffering come to both the wise and the foolish.
Being wise does not insulate us from the brokenness and pain of this world. Furthermore, we cannot control what happens to all we have accomplished after we are gone.
Solomon calls us to live a small life. We cannot control the world, so we must humbly enjoy the goodness God has given us—a day’s work, a good meal, our families.
Two realities exist–God’s creation is good and he has given us joy; also, the world is fallen, causing frustration. Jesus’ death on the cross is the only thing that makes sense of both.
We must accept that suffering is part of being a follower of Jesus and willingly move into the brokenness of the world. However, we can also have hope in a certain future with him in eternity.
Reason I Sing | Phil Wickham | Spotify | Apple Music
Isaiah 61:10-11 • Psalm 18:46-49 • Psalm 13:6
Faithfulness | Hillsong Worship | Spotify | Apple Music
Lamentations 3:21-26 • Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 • Psalms 36:5-9
Better | Pat Barrett | Spotify | Apple Music
Psalm 63:3-5 • John 4:13-14 • 1 John 2:15-17
Man of Sorrows | Hillsong Worship | Spotify | Apple Music
Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 • 1 Timothy 2:5-6 • 1 Peter 1:17-21
I Will Look Up | Elevation Worship | Spotify | Apple Music
1 Peter 5:7 • Philippians 4:6-7 • Jeremiah 10:6-7
Look What God Has Done | Corey Voss & Madison Street Worship | Spotify | Apple Music
Psalms 77 • Psalm 126:2-3 • Philippians 2:9-11
It’s easy to become frustrated with the broken nature of the world. What does it look like for you to rest in God’s sovereignty even in the face of difficulty and injustice? What fears do you need to release to God?
We can have hope and security in Christ only if we abandon our earthly hopes. What earthly hopes are you holding onto—family, work, retirement, status, your children’s accomplishments? What steps can you take to abandon those hopes?
Ultimately, we must fight our urge to be independent and seek to grow our faith in the goodness of our Father. How can you engage these ideas?
Solomon uses the concept of time to illustrate the nature of our broken world and the lack of control we have over it. Time is like a road we are all trapped on, and it has certain characteristics—life and death, love and hate, war and peace, etc.
This list captures the tension we all live in. We experience both difficult and beautiful things. While we cannot escape or change the world, we can enjoy what God has given us in its season.
In the beginning, God offered humanity a perfect world, but Adam chose a different world. Since the fall, we have been under a curse. No matter how much effort we put forth, there is little return.
God has planted eternity in our hearts. Because we are made in his image, we know that there is an eternal, transcendent reality beyond this world.
The only way we can find hope in the relentless march of time is by looking to Jesus, who entered time and suffered, grieved, and died for us. When we abandon our earthly hope and attach our faith to him, we can follow him out of this world.
These daily readings will help prepare you for the upcoming teaching you will hear this weekend at Grace Church. These passages will create some context for the sermon by showing you Scriptures the teacher might be quoting and some passages that contain related ideas. Our hope is that as you follow this reading plan, it will help you become more defined and directed by Scripture.
Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes are considered wisdom literature. How has your life experience shaped the way you view these books of the Bible? Which book(s) would you naturally lean towards to find truth? Which book(s) would be more difficult? Why?
The author of Ecclesiastes invites us to consider that life is “hevel”—a fleeting, unpredictable vapor. As we begin this series, what does it look like for you to humble yourself and grapple with the following questions: What is my motivation? Where can I find hope?
When we feel the weight of the brokenness in the world and our powerlessness to fix it, many of us self medicate in different ways—food, alcohol, shopping, work, pornography, etc. How do you tend to escape when you feel life pressing in? What does that reveal about how you view God and yourself?
Both Ecclesiastes and Job are grounded in the theological distinction between God the Creator and us as his creatures. It’s vital that we grasp that there is a God, and we are not him.
Solomon begins with the premise that life is meaningless—”hevel.” This idea includes the imagery of life being a vapor—ephemeral, fleeting, insubstantial, and unpredictable.
We must sit in the tension that even though we bear God’s image, we cannot understand the big questions around brokenness and injustice in the world.
Instead of striving for understanding, we should strive to trust God, to embrace the gap between his sovereignty and our limited nature.
Even in the midst of life’s brokenness, we can have hope. We are called to fear God and keep his commandments. The only way to have purpose is to keep covenant with God.
Ultimately, our hope rests in Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross. He was pierced for us so that we would not be pierced. Through that lens, we look forward with hope.
In this passage, Solomon seeks meaning in pleasure and accomplishment. In which of these areas do you look for purpose—work, family, travel, your children’s accomplishments, status, wealth, image, or something else? Where does most of your mental energy go? What does this reveal about your hope?
Lazy people want fulfillment to come easily to them, while motivated people are disappointed when their hard work does not bring fulfillment. Which category do you fall into? How have you seen this truth play out in your life?
Take some time to reflect on what life would be like without the hope of the gospel. How would you try to infuse meaning or substance in your life? What would eternity look like?
When we become obsessed with finding happiness and fulfillment—whether through sex, alcohol, work, family, or any set of circumstances—we are living in denial. We then distract our souls from something more substantial that offers real hope.
We are all bent towards foolishness. Our innate desire is to live life on our terms, unguarded and unrestrained.
Wisdom comes from fearing the Lord—understanding that he is our Creator and we are mere creatures. Humility is vital for us to live wisely.
Solomon tells us through his experience that no accomplishment, status, or significance can fill the void in our souls. There is no good life apart from God.
While there is nothing inherently wrong with work, family, or enjoying what life offers—if you make it the centerpiece of your life, it will leave you empty.
We often think that the answer to our problems is wisdom or knowledge, but that does not solve the world’s brokenness. What does it mean for your faith to “be sturdy” when life is chaotic? When difficult moments come, how can you hold your loved ones, accomplishments, and plans with open hands and trust in God?
In the face of the world’s brokenness and injustice, Solomon calls us to live a small life and be content with what God has given us in the moment. What would this look like for you? What worries do you need to release to God? What present joys do you need to embrace?
Religious people think that because they do the right things, then God will work for them. Solomon exposes those props—injustice and suffering come to both the wise and the foolish.
Being wise does not insulate us from the brokenness and pain of this world. Furthermore, we cannot control what happens to all we have accomplished after we are gone.
Solomon calls us to live a small life. We cannot control the world, so we must humbly enjoy the goodness God has given us—a day’s work, a good meal, our families.
Two realities exist–God’s creation is good and he has given us joy; also, the world is fallen, causing frustration. Jesus’ death on the cross is the only thing that makes sense of both.
We must accept that suffering is part of being a follower of Jesus and willingly move into the brokenness of the world. However, we can also have hope in a certain future with him in eternity.
It’s easy to become frustrated with the broken nature of the world. What does it look like for you to rest in God’s sovereignty even in the face of difficulty and injustice? What fears do you need to release to God?
We can have hope and security in Christ only if we abandon our earthly hopes. What earthly hopes are you holding onto—family, work, retirement, status, your children’s accomplishments? What steps can you take to abandon those hopes?
Ultimately, we must fight our urge to be independent and seek to grow our faith in the goodness of our Father. How can you engage these ideas?
Solomon uses the concept of time to illustrate the nature of our broken world and the lack of control we have over it. Time is like a road we are all trapped on, and it has certain characteristics—life and death, love and hate, war and peace, etc.
This list captures the tension we all live in. We experience both difficult and beautiful things. While we cannot escape or change the world, we can enjoy what God has given us in its season.
In the beginning, God offered humanity a perfect world, but Adam chose a different world. Since the fall, we have been under a curse. No matter how much effort we put forth, there is little return.
God has planted eternity in our hearts. Because we are made in his image, we know that there is an eternal, transcendent reality beyond this world.
The only way we can find hope in the relentless march of time is by looking to Jesus, who entered time and suffered, grieved, and died for us. When we abandon our earthly hope and attach our faith to him, we can follow him out of this world.
So I set out to learn everything from wisdom to madness and folly. But I learned firsthand that pursuing all this is like chasing the wind.
Ecclesiastes 1:17