Welcome!
Some digital ground rules:
I’d like kindly to ask for everyone to show up about 10 min early the first time to download the Zoom app, log in, and get audio/video sorted. Try to show up 5 min early for future weeks. Please respect everyone’s time, bandwidth, and attention by resisting temptations to be in other apps/Google everything I say. In fact, just close all your other apps! Google things later. Find a quiet spot with strong internet access. Bring your Bible, pen and paper. When you enter the study you'll be muted, but you can hold down the space bar to talk. If you have a question or comment you can use the "Raise Hand" button in the "Participants" window. You can also use the chat feature to send questions to me. I've set it so that these questions will only go to me.
Preparing for the study:
If you want to prepare for our time together week-to-week, I would recommend that you slowly read the text through as many times as you can manage (I like to print it out and mark it up). You might also ask yourself three questions for gospel-centered devotional reading:
1. Where do I see the brokenness of humanity that requires the grace of God?
2. Where do I see the nature of the gospel and the God who redeems?
3. In light of these things, what would be a faithful response?
Schedule & Notes:
I. Nothing New Under the Sun: Eccl 1:1–11
Outline: PDF | Word Doc
Notes: PDF
II. Qohelet’s Quest for Meaning: Eccl 1:12–2:26
Outline: PDF | Word Doc
Notes: PDF
III. Everything Beautiful in Its Time: Eccl 3:1–22
Outline: PDF | Word Doc
Notes: PDF
IV. The Economy of Hevel, pt. I: Eccl 4:1–7:14
Outline: PDF | Word Doc
Notes: PDF
V. The Economy of Hevel, pt. II: Eccl 4:1–7:14
Outline: PDF | Word Doc
Notes: PDF
VI. Deconstructing Wisdom: Eccl 7:15–11:6
Outline: PDF | Word Doc
Notes: PDF
VII. Reconstructing Wisdom: Eccl 7:15–11:6
Outline: PDF | Word Doc
Notes: PDF
VIII. It’s A Wonderful Life, or: How I Learned to Stop Striving and Fear God: Eccl 11:7–12:8
Outline: PDF | Word Doc
Notes: PDF
IX. Summarizing Qohelet: Eccl 12:9–14
Outline: PDF | Word Doc
Recommended Resources:
Crossway prints super nice ESV “Scripture Journal” editions of individual biblical books. You can get one for Ecclesiastes here. A pastor in Scotland named David Gibson has written a wonderful little book on Ecclesiastes called Living Life Backwards: How Ecclesiastes Teaches Us to Live in Light of the End. It’s warm and rich. If you are interested in a commentary to go a bit deeper, I would recommend Derek Kidner (InterVarsity, 1984) & Iain Provan (Zondervan, 2001). Kidner is extreemly pithy and profound. Provan goes into more depth but it is still accesible and applicable.