The Mattering Things – Ecclesiastes 11:1-10

hillside The Mattering Things - Ecclesiastes 2019

What Blockbuster Video Taught Me About God

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

Ecclesiastes 11:1-10 NASB

1Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days. 2 Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. 3 If the clouds are full, they pour out rain upon the earth; and whether a tree falls toward the south or toward the north, wherever the tree falls, there it lies. 4 He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. 5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.

6 Sow your seed in the morning and do not be idle in the evening, for you do not know whether morning or evening sowing will succeed, or whether both of them alike will be good.

7 The light is pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun. 8 Indeed, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all, and let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything that is to come will be futility.

9 Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. 10 So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.

 

OUTLINE

  • Goonies  11:1-6
  • Grumpy Old Men  11:7-10

 

QUESTIONS

  1. Solomon gives us a perspective of life as an adventure to be lived by faith with God. In what areas of your life do you find yourself living in a safe, predictable and controllable environment in order to shelter yourself from the pain?
  2. In what areas do you avoid serving, community, or putting yourself out there in order to avoid failure or awkwardness?  How does Hebrews 11:6 inform and free us to join God in the adventure He’s writing?
  3. Solomon gives us a second picture of life as a gift that is to be enjoyed. Why do some people get grumpier the older they get? In what areas of your life are you getting grumpier? How could you invite grumpy people into the joy of life? Why does God command joy? Where are you failing to obey His command to enjoy and rejoice in life?
  4. When was the last time you responded to someone close to you in a way that showed you recognized that person as God’s gift to you? What could you do this week to recognize that good gift from God?

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