"The Search for Satisfaction"

Sermon Scripture:  Ecclesiastes 1:12 - 2:26

Sermon notes are available for you to follow along below or for download here.

Sermon Notes:

Without Christ, Wisdom Only Brings Grief (1:12-18)

• Wisdom has value, but it will fail to solve the problem of life.
  • The more you learn, the more you realize you can’t change things.
  • The more you learn, the more ___________ you gain.
  • Adam & Eve gained knowledge, but they only learned that they were __________.
• The ________ of the Lord is the beginning of true wisdom. (Prov. 1:7)

Without Christ, Fun Leaves You Empty-Handed (2:1-3)

• A light-hearted approach to life is ___________.
• You can tell a lot about a person by what makes them ___________.
• Wine cannot reveal what is ______________.

Without Christ, Achievement Leaves You Dissatisfied (2:4-8)

• Notice his self-centered pursuits:
  • Six times he uses the phrase “for __________.”
• Notice his selfish pleasures:
  • He chased wisdom, wealth, works, and ___________, and nothing satisfied him.

Without Christ, Influence Means Nothing (2:9-11)

• He comes to the unpleasant realization that his work resulted in no permanent profit.
• The only reward he got was the pleasure of the work itself.
• When you finally reach the top and get the trophy, you find out it’s ultimately meaningless.

Without Christ, Deep Thinking is Depressing (2:12-17)

• Wisdom has some benefits in this life over foolishness.
  • As a gift of God, wisdom is like __________. (13)
  • As a possession of man, wisdom is __________. (14)
• Wisdom is better than foolishness, but in the end, they are both meaningless.
  • The wise and the fool are both eventually forgotten.
  • The Star Student and the Class Clown both eventually _________.

Without Christ, Hard Work is a Waste (2:18-2

• We leave our stuff to those who didn’t __________ for it.
•  We leave our stuff to those who will __________ it.

With Christ, God Satisfies Our Souls (2:24-26)

• Life is meant to be ____________.
• Life is a ________ from God.
  • To the righteous, God gives wisdom and lasting _______.
    
  • To the sinner, he will always gather but never _________.
• Let’s forsake living _________ lives.
• Let’s pursue living __________ lives.

​God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. -- John Piper