"Is Life Meaningless?" Ecc Pt 1 Series

Is Everything Meaningless?

Ecclesiastes part 1

Hands on illustration:

Have a timer with on the pulpit – set it for 30 minutes in front of everyone. The lesson from the timer is what motivated Solomon to write the book of Ecclesiastes because time was running out for him and for many others. It made him think about eternity and where he was going. The lesson from the timer is this for us today:

* 562 children died in 3rd world poverty ridden countries in the 30 minutes this timer ticks.

* 5 people died of aids in the US in the 30 minutes.

* 18 people in the US died from injuries in the last 30 minutes.

* 2 people in the US committed suicide in the last 30 minutes.

* 4 people died of a heart attack in the US in the last 30 minutes.

When the timer goes off share how many people have died in that time frame and ask them to think about how many people lived useless – meaningless lives! They wasted their time and have nothing to show for their lifetime. How many senseless deaths have occurred in the last 30 minutes across the world.

Opening thought:

We started here on Sept. 21st and have seen God do awesome things at New Life Community Church. We have jokingly stated that God sent us to the Promise Land because New Life has been filled with wonderful experiences and awesome opportunities to see lives changed by the power of the Gospel. I have often sat and pondered how quickly this time speed by? I stand before you today and think about how my kids are all grown up and how soon we will be experiencing the empty nest syndrome. My little girls have grown into wonderful women of God. Life has continued to move forward and it has brought many opportunities, blessings, hardships, teaching moments, miracle moments, prayerful moments, sorrowful moments and times of loss and gain. So many memories even right now are flashing across my mind. Memories are time etched into our minds!

Reflections on time gone by:

Memories of time are frozen in our minds and they are picture frames of happiness – sadness – and joy. They bring pieces of learning to our lives – they help us grow and to think clearer. They etch lessons and concepts into our hearts to be drawn on again and again in the future. They help us to learn and to grow in life. They are precious moments of time that will never be forgotten or discarded. They are to be used by us tapered with wisdom and insight from God. I have learned many things in my 10 years since I have been here – I have learned to fail forward, to lead more like Jesus, to prayer more fervently, to trust God more completely, to die to my self more daily, and most of all to use my time wisely because once it is gone - it is gone.

This last lesson is what I would like to talk to you about today.

Thesis: Solomon proposes some questions to us in Chapter one and he says, “Is everything meaningless? Is life one big bore! Can you agree with me that life can be boring and even senseless?” The answer to these questions is really dependent on your relationship with God and how you view the precious commodity of you time.

Opening Illustration: “I am bored!” from sermon spice!

Have you ever heard the phrase from someone “I am bored with life – because I feel like I am doing nothing of eternal value or worth. So then the bored person goes out and does something stupid instead of finding a meaningful existence! Lets look at this clip.

Scripture Text: Ecclesiastes 1

1The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:

2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”

says the Teacher.

“Utterly meaningless!

Everything is meaningless.”

3 What does man gain from all his labor

at which he toils under the sun?

4 Generations come and generations go,

but the earth remains forever.

5 The sun rises and the sun sets,

and hurries back to where it rises.

6 The wind blows to the south

and turns to the north;

round and round it goes,

ever returning on its course.

7 All streams flow into the sea,

yet the sea is never full.

To the place the streams come from,

there they return again.

8 All things are wearisome,

more than one can say.

The eye never has enough of seeing,

nor the ear its fill of hearing.

9 What has been will be again,

what has been done will be done again;

there is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there anything of which one can say,