Knowing the Times and Seasons
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Jan 1, 2023
by: John Lee |
Series: Ecclesiastes: Living Wisely Under the Sun
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3 Tags: knowledge, Galatians 4:4-5, timely living, next thing, Preacher, a paradise lost, confusion, brokenness
MESSAGE - Pastor John Lee
Ecclesiastes: Living Wisely Under the Sun
Knowing the Times and Seasons
- A Poem on the Times and Seasons
- Timely Living
- Do the Next Thing
Questions for Further Study or Group Discussion:
- Read Ecclesiastes 3. How many pairs of opposites are given in the Preacher’s poem on time (v. 1-8)? How does this poem direct us in wisdom?
- The Preacher’s response to the poem on times and seasons highlights the limitations of human knowledge (despite our desire to understand) to understand what God is doing in the world. In what ways have you personally experienced this often frustrating reality that the Preacher brings to light?
- What are the two conclusions after reflecting on the times and seasons that the Preacher reaches in v. 12 and 14? How do these conclusions highlight the frustrations of life under the sun? How do these conclusions also contain glimpses of gospel hope that lies beyond the sun?
- One of the ways the Preacher highlights the reality that we are living in “a paradise lost” under the sun is pointing out the fragments of paradise evident yet now smeared with confusion, brokenness, and frustration. In this Ch. 3, the Preacher has highlighted the beauty of a world ordered and rhythmed in times and seasons and yet is filled with the mess of injustice and death (v. 16-22). How can this sobering observation actually be a comforting challenge for us? In what ways does this sobering observation reorient and renew our minds and hearts from hoping and toiling for gain under the sun?
Memory Verse of the Week:
Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (ESV)
