Living Life Backwards: A Study in Ecclesiastes
How do you find meaning in life when you know that you are going to die? (You do know that, right?)
In a world designed to distract us from this reality, it’s easy to stay on the treadmill of life, never stopping to ask: where is all this headed? But, in the wisdom books of the ancient Hebrews, we meet a Teacher who challenges us to live life backwards. By beginning with the end in mind—our own mortality—we discover surprising truths about what really matters in life. For over 2,000 years, the Teacher of Ecclesiastes has guided restless, weary, cynical, and skeptical souls on their search for meaning. Maybe it’s time to step off the treadmill and see if he can help us find what we’re looking for?
Week 1: When Life Stops Making Sense. Ecclesiastes 1
What do you do when life stops making sense? It’s not a question of if—it’s when. And when you find yourself in that place, God has just the guide you need. We don’t know his name; he’s simply “the Teacher.” In Greek, they call him Ecclesiastes.
In this message, we uncover the raw, unfiltered wisdom of this ancient book and its bold declaration that “everything is meaningless.” But here’s the paradox: the Teacher isn’t offering despair—he’s pointing the way to discovering real meaning.
Curious, profound, and sometimes shockingly honest, this journey will challenge your perspective, tear down the illusions we cling to, and open your eyes to what truly matters. Come ready to wrestle with life’s hardest questions and uncover the hope waiting on the other side.
Week 2: What If Getting Everything You Want Still Isn’t Enough? Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:11
If you had the wealth, skill, power, charisma, and know-how to get everything you wanted in life, what would it actually get you? This week, the Teacher from Ecclesiastes shares the story of his infamous “pleasure experiment.” He pursued it all—wealth, career success, fine food and drink, the arts, and even sexual indulgence—looking for something that would give his life meaning and fill the void. But none of it did. None of it could. Now, he doesn’t want you to make the same mistakes he made. If you feel the pull of a longing that nothing in this world can seem to satisfy, maybe this story is for you.
Week 3: Why You'll Never Find Happiness Until You Stop Trying. Ecclesiastes 2:12-26
What if all your efforts to create happiness and meaning are actually driving them further away? In Ecclesiastes 2, the Teacher of Ecclesiastes hits rock bottom, confronting the stark truth: every attempt to create lasting meaning or happiness is fleeting, ultimately undone by the certainty of death. But it’s here, in this moment of despair, that he uncovers something extraordinary. He realizes he doesn’t have to strive to make his life meaningful—because meaning isn’t something we achieve; it’s something God gives. When the Teacher finally lets go of the need to control and define his life, his hands are open to receive life for what it truly is: a gift from God.
Week 4: Eternity in Your Heart: Time and the Meaning of Life. Ecclesiastes 3
Why do we feel the pull of eternity while living in a world bound by time? In Ecclesiastes 3, the Teacher uncovers the profound tension between our longing for something lasting and the fleeting nature of life’s seasons. How can we find peace in this tension? And what does it mean to live meaningfully when the future feels so uncertain? Explore the wisdom of the Teacher and discover how God invites us to embrace life as a gift, woven with eternal purpose.
Week 5: Me or We: Living Less Upwardly Mobile
Where am I going in life? This tends to captivate the modern mind. Qohelet, the author of Ecclesiastes, says that is our very source of pain. Workism is making us miserable, oppression is widespread, and people are lonely. Even wisdom fails in securing fame. In this chapter (4), we’re offered a new question to ask. For our hearts to be indexed away from me, and to focus on we.
Week 6: Listen: An Unexpected Answer to Life’s Biggest Questions. Ecclesiastes 5:1-7
We search for meaning in all the usual places—success, wisdom, pleasure, hard work—but the Teacher in Ecclesiastes finds that none of it fully satisfies. Then, in Ecclesiastes 5, he offers a different kind of answer: Stop talking. Start listening.
Could it be that the key to a meaningful life isn’t found in more striving, but in learning to listen—really listen—to God? Instead of trying to control life or fill the silence with words, the Teacher invites us to slow down, be still, and receive. Join us as we explore how listening to God in worship can change not just how we approach faith, but how we experience life itself.
Week 7: Why Money Is Not the Answer. Ecclesiastes 5:8-20
We’re often told that more money means more happiness, security, and freedom—but the Teacher in Ecclesiastes 5 says otherwise. He warns that wealth can distort our vision, create anxiety, and leave us emptier than before. So, if more money isn’t the answer, what is? Join us as we explore the Teacher’s wisdom on contentment, worship, and finding true fulfillment in God.
Week 8: Remember You Must Die. Ecclesiastes 7:1-6
We spend most of our lives avoiding this one truth: death—but the Teacher in Ecclesiastes 7 tells us it’s the key to wisdom, purpose, and a better life.
Down through the ages, Christians have practiced memento mori—"Remember you must die"—not to live in fear, but to live with clarity and meaning. What if what we’ve been avoiding is exactly what we need to face?
Week 9: Escapism vs. Wisdom: Benefits & Limitations. Ecclesiastes 7:7-22
What can a columnist, a theologian, a philosopher, and the writer of Ecclesiastes show us about search for the good life? In short, wisdom can help us with a lot of things. At the same time….
Join us to “be alienated from what we think we know in order to genuinely grow.” (B.Brock)
Week 10: When God Doesn’t Make Sense. Ecclesiastes 8:9-17
Have you ever asked, or been asked, why do good things happen to bad people? Or, similarly, why do bad things happen to good people? The Teacher is going to survey the moments that show a gap between what we ‘know’ and what we ‘observe’.
The Teacher gets more philosophical in this chapter. And, with the help from a few other Philosophers, we’ll learn how to live wisely when life/God doesn’t make sense.
