4 weeks through Ecclesiastes helping students grow in wisdom. There are a few things in this life that every single human is drawn toward. We all want power in some form or fashion. We all crave pleasure. We all want to make our lives count. And we all want more money. In this series, we walk through the wise words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes, which lead us to value process and pursue Jesus above all else—because everything else is ultimately meaningless.

Video Messages Included

Week 1 (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18; 2:12-17 NASB)

Intro: We’ve all heard of the phrase “knowledge is power,” and most of us crave power in some form or fashion in life. But it’s possible we’re missing a key value that would help us along the way.

Truth: King Solomon placed a high value on wisdom, and that wisdom from God taught him that power through knowledge leads to vanity. What matters more than power is process—who God is making us as we learn and grow over the course of life.

The Point: Measure how you grow over what you know.

Week 2 (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11 NASB)

Intro: Every human seeks pleasure. It’s almost like God designed us to experience it in some form or fashion. And yet whether it’s toys, rides, or food, too often things that are supposed to be enjoyable don’t satisfy us nearly as much as we hoped.

Truth: Solomon experienced this too. He explored reality to a level most of us never will. Whether it was sinful pleasures or even morally neutral things, Solomon found that nothing on earth really gave him ultimate satisfaction. That’s probably why Jesus told us so clearly when He came to earth that we would ultimately find our deepest pleasure (life to the full) when our goal is pursuit of Him, rather than pursuit of pleasure itself.

The Point: Pleasure is a perk, not the point.

Week 3 (Ecclesiastes 2:18-3:10 NASB)

Intro: No matter how great your accomplishments, what you do in this life will fade and probably disappear in time. In the ongoing war between accomplishments and time, time is undefeated.

Truth: But Solomon shows us that we can still find meaning and purpose in our work. When we purpose our finite, transient work and accomplishments for the glory of the infinite, eternal God, the things we do here have ripple effects into eternity. That means that, as a believer, everything from the small everyday tasks to the big dreams we accomplish have lasting purpose, as long as our purpose is found in reflecting the gospel through what we do.

The Point: Your why matters more than your what.

Week 4 (Ecclesiastes 5:10-20 NASB)

Intro: Huge influxes of money tends to corrupt people and lead to trouble. I’m sure we’d all like to think we’d be different. But I’m not so sure.

Truth: Solomon knew what it was to have a ton of money. And what he discovered was that money makes for a bad life pursuit. It doesn’t bring satisfaction. Rather, what brings joy is doing work you enjoy for the purpose of glorifying God, and enjoying money as a possible perk of that. Seeing money this way is going to free us up to be wise, kind, and generous with both the money we have now and the money we may be blessed with someday.

The Point: Money is a through-you resource.