CONVERSATION STARTERS
Conversation Starters help us dig deeper, connecting Sunday’s sermons with our Monday lives. These prompts have been designed to help Community Groups grow in their relationship with God, with one another, and with their neighbors. Please know that these questions are meant to be a resource to you. You do not have to follow them verbatim or get through them all. We trust you to know your group and to ask the questions based on your group needs.

In Ecclesiastes 1:1-18, verses 1-11 make the point that secular life apart from God is pointless for humans. He begins the book of Ecclesiastes by declaring that everything is pointless or vain under the sun in our physical world. Then, in verses 12-18, the Teacher makes the point that life is meaningless under the sun apart from God.

1. What stood out to you from Sunday’s sermon?

2. READ ECCLESIASTES 1:2-4 Why does this passage claim that everything is vain or meaningless in life?

3. Was there a time in your life when you struggled to find meaning and purpose? And how did you navigate that season?

4. What are the areas of your life now where you seek to find meaning apart from Jesus? How can you integrate the Lord Jesus into this area of your life?

PRAYER PROMPT
Pray that Jesus would show you that your life apart from His is meaningless, and that He would lead you to depend on Him in every area of your life. Also, pray that as you grow in your awareness about the brokenness of our world that you would be reminded of the hope we have in Jesus through the gospel in the midst of your sorrow.

Title: Life Up in Smoke
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 1:1-18
Speaker: Bill Gorman, BillG@cckc.church

> Progress escapes you

> Satisfaction eludes you

" It’s so simple, and yet its power is deeply encoded within us. Give a 3-year-old the french fry she is reaching for and see her satisfied expression. But then, after a couple of seconds, watch the wanting return. And that’s the actual problem, isn’t it? The Stones’ song should really have been titled “(I Can’t Keep No) Satisfaction.” It’s almost as if our brains are programmed to prevent us from enjoying anything for very long."
- Arthur Brooks

“Success is having to worry about every damn thing in the world, except money.” - Johnny Cash

> Understanding evades you.

“Everything seems simple until you think about it.”
- Audrey Niffenegger

> Life under the sun is smoke. But there is life over the sun.

> Face the signs - don’t ignore them
> Expect the frustration - don’t be surprised by it
> Live for something more - don’t forget there is life over the sun