The wisest man in the ancient world setting out to find the answer to the biggest conundrum of all: the meaning of life.
Part of the Interactive Bible Studies series.
It's the greatest research project of all time. The wisest man in the ancient world, with almost limitless resources at his disposal, sets out to find the answer to the biggest conundrum of all: the meaning of life.
Why do bad things happen seemingly at random to both good and bad people? What is the point of all our toiling and striving if we all die regardless? Is there anything really to be gained?
The brilliant author of Ecclesiastes applies his mind to these and many other perplexing questions with a God-centred honesty and wisdom that speaks as freshly now as it did millennia ago. To a world like ours, so obsessed with the pleasures of the moment, and so confused about whether there is anything that gives meaning to life as a whole, the book of Ecclesiastes has much to say. For Christians who live in such a world, it offers many challenges and equips us to live with hope and faith in a groaning world.
For small groups or individuals, The Search for Meaning is an excellent guide to this challenging book of the bible.
How to make the most of these studies
1. First impressions (Eccles 12:8-14)
2. When wisdom fails (Eccles 1)
3. What to conclude when you can't reach a conclusion (Eccles 2)
4. How to cope when life doesn't make sense (Eccles 3)
5. The sacrifice of fools (Eccles 4:1 - 5:7)
6. The root of all meaninglessness (Eccles 5:8 - 6:12, 8:1-17)
7. Why we can't find the meaning of life (Eccles 7)
8. Why we should live life to the full (Eccles 9:1 - 11:6)
9. The end of the matter (Eccles 11:7 - 12:14)
| Contributors | Tim McMahon |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9781922206053 |
| Format | Paperback |
| First published | January 2004 |
| Dimensions | 155mm x 223mm x 4mm |
| Weight | 0.12 kg |
| Language | English |
| Pages | 72 |
| No. of studies | 9 |
| Publisher | Matthias Media |
The book has been well received by the group and has sparked useful discussion. It also encourages personal meditation about the subjects under study.
My group found this one quite tough going, but I think that was as much because of Ecclesiastes as Tim's approach. There were lots of very worthwhile comments, but also some questions where I couldn't quite work out what Tim was getting at, and others where he did labour the obvious. Ecclesiates is quite a repetitive book, so I wonder if a shorter study book might work better, especially as we struggled to complete some chapters ina single session. What was particularly excellent, however, was the use of New Testament passages to illustrate and balance what Ecclesiastes was saying.
I used this book with a Ladies BIble Study many years ago while living in Namibia and am now using it with a group of Fulltime Christian leaders ... working equally well with new African believers and 'old-timers'.
