Vapor

Passage

Ecclesiastes 1:1-18

‍Sermon Summary

The Preacher of Ecclesiastes is the wisest, richest, most powerful person of his day, but he struggles to make sense out of life “under the sun.” The created world and human nature both seem wearisomely unchanging, and the wheels of time eventually grind everyone into dust. He concludes that all is “vanity,” or more literally: vapor. Like a mist, we cannot grasp or control life. And God is the one who gives us this “unhappy business” to be busy with. This analysis is correct but incomplete. Jesus experienced all the vaporousness of life, even death itself, so that we might one day escape it with him. Until that day, his resurrection proves that our suffering can be redeemed.

Discussion Questions (choose any—you don't have to answer them all!)

1. [Optional starter question] What stood out or stuck with you from the sermon?
2. Have you read or studied Ecclesiastes before? If so, did the sermon shift your perspective in any way?
3. What do you appreciate about the Preacher’s perspective? What annoys or unsettles you?
4. The Preacher believes we are not in control of our own lives. Do you find that liberating or terrifying? In what specific ways do you try too hard to control your life?
5. Spend a few minutes naming specific parts of our lives that we are not ultimately in control of. Just use a word or phrase for each, so the group can name a dozen or more.
6. The vaporousness of life is a universal experience, which gives you common ground with not-yet-believers. How would you describe the way Jesus enables you to bear it differently?

Prayer Prompts

• Thank you, Father, for helping me to understand__________
• Forgive me, Jesus, for __________ (cynicism, apathy or arrogance)
• Help me, Holy Spirit, to trust you when__________

Resources Consulted

• Africa Bible Commentary, ed. Tokunboh Adeyemo
• True to Our Native Land, ed. Bryan K. Blount
• The New Testament in Color, ed. Esau McCauley
• Everything is Never Enough, Bobby Jamieson
• A Table in the Mist, Jeffrey Meyers
• Rcovering Eden: The Gospel According to Ecclesiastes, Zack Eswine
• NICOT Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Tremper Longman
• Reason for Being, Jacques Ellul
• A Time to Tear Down & A Time to Build Up, Michael V. Fox
• The Message of Ecclesiastes, Derek Kidner
• Ecclesiastes for Everyone, John Goldingay
• NIV Application Commentary on Proverbs, Ecclesiastes & Song of Songs, Ian Provan
• The Bible Project videos on Ecclesiastes