Backwards Living--Lesson 12--Set Yourself Up to Live--Ecclesiastes 11

Discussion Questions:

1.  How good are you at taking risks?  How do you know what are good risks to take versus foolish risks? 

2.  What struggles do you have with balancing God’s work with your work?  In the face of so many things that you don’t know, how does one move forward instead of getting stuck in the wilderness?

3.  Why do people tend to get more stiff (less pliable) as the get older?  How does this affect your spiritual life?  What kinds of things help people to stay more flexible and pliable? 

4.  How can Solomon talk about rejoicing in life and life being meaningless and a vapor in the same context?  In a world with so many unknown things facing us, how can one maintain a spirit of rejoicing?

5.  What is the benefit of remembering your Creator and Judge?  How do these two emphases guide one to hold fast to the plan God has for our lives?

Backwards Living--Lesson 11--The Wise & The Foolish--Ecclesiastes 9-10

Discussion Questions:

1.  How have you seen a little folly destroy a lot of good? 

2.  What struggles do you have with maintaining a proper fear of God?  How is fear of God connected to wisdom?

3.  How does pursuing holiness factor into your daily living?  Why is pursuing holiness an important part of obtaining wisdom?

4.  What kinds of things help you to maintain a soft heart and a teachable spirit?  How well do you learn from your mistakes?

5.  How does controlling your speech demonstrate wisdom?  What makes controlling your speech so difficult?  How does the use of social media affect your control over your speech?

Backwards Living--Lesson 10--Time & Chance are a Cruel Master--Ecclesiastes 9

Discussion Questions:

1.  How has time and chance messed with you?  Why do you suppose God has us living in a world where time and chance have the control they do?

2.  How can you tell the difference between God’s testing you versus punishing you?  What is the benefit of each of these?

3.  Why is death such a certainty living under the sun?  How can one use the certainty of death to their advantage?  What kinds of lessons or aids do you receive from knowing that death is imminent?

4.  How does one live with hope in a world of certain and awaiting death?  How can Solomon go so easily from talking about the certainty of death to telling us to enjoy the pleasures of this life that the LORD gives us?

5.  Why do you think Luke tells the story of the birth of Jesus with every character praising God, worshiping God, and rejoicing?  How can we adopt more of this attitude in our own daily living?