Suburban Legends: God Puts the Kabash on Fun

Series: Suburban Legends
God Puts the Kabash on Fun by John Burke, April 15, 2008

This week, John continued the Suburban Legends series by attacking the notion that God wants you to have a dreary life.

1. There are so many different ideas about what makes life enjoyable… maybe a good place to start is to trade some ideas about enjoyment: Try to spend about 5 minutes each discussing the following questions:

A. Is having fun a bad thing? Why or why not?
B. Do you think God wants you to stop having fun? If not, why do so many people think that?
C. Is there a difference between “joy” and “fun”? If so, what is it?
D. What are some of the main things people think are sources of happiness… or at least paths to the source – their “happy pills”? How well does each one seem to work?

Now, think for a minute about whether any of the things noted in the last question are a main part of your own “happy pill”… and how well they work for you. Briefly write down any thoughts you have on this to think about later. (20 minutes)

2. Let’s see whether anyone in the group has any experiences of being on the wrong path to happiness. To use John’s expression, have you ever banged your head on a dead-end wall at the end of a path your were following for enjoyment? What did it FEEL like? What did you DO when you hit that dead-end? Take some time for people to share about this. (Note – you do NOT need to talk about the "path" you took… just what it felt like to realize it was a dead-end – and what you did about it). (10 minutes)

3. John talked about how we all (almost?) have had some great moments in our lives – and asked us to think about them. So let’s do that. Take a couple of minutes to:
- Picture a moment that was completely fulfilling
- Picture the most beautiful scene you’ve ever looked at
- Picture a moment when you were at your happiest

Now, pick one and remember what it felt like… think of some words you would use to describe that? Pair off and tell your discussion partner about your moment – and use your words. Did the two of you have any of the same words? In the larger group –collect a list of words that fit these moments? (15 minutes)

4. Now staying on topic, but changing gears a bit: John talked about watching his kids play while the adults acted serious. When was the last time you played/had fun like a kid does… with total focus on the enjoyment – but without any of our adult “crutches” – (i.e., alcohol, drugs, or many even food splurges)? Think about what you were doing then and the whole experience. What words would you use for that? Are they any of the same words noted in the list above? Jesus said we were supposed to be like little children to enter His kingdom: does that give you any ideas about God's view of fun or at least "en-joy-ment"? Discuss any observations. (10 minutes)

5. As always, let’s wrap up with some personal application time. The “next step” applications are less clear on this message, but there are probably a couple of questions worth laying out before God. Did you get any sense that you might be trying to find your “enjoyment” in the things that are dead-ends? Or to use John’s analogy… what is the sandbox you are playing in? If so, what could you do about that (do you see any road to Disneyland?) ? Next, John mentioned that our sandbox might have some things that are only hurting and enslaving us. Is God talking to you about anything that started out as fun and are now enslaving us? Take 5 minutes to do two things: Write down any initial thoughts you have on these two questions, and then write down when you will spend at least 10 minutes more on your own talking to God about those things in the next week.

Bible verses from this message:

“I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.”…I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world. I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. I made gardens and parks…I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire…Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.”
Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

“Don’t let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, “Life is not pleasant anymore.””
Ecclesiastes 12:1

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
John 15:11

“Father, I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” John 17:13

“The earth is full of your creatures. Here is the ocean, vast and wide, teeming with life of every kind, both large and small. See the ships sailing along, and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea…The LORD takes pleasure in all he has made!”
Psalm 104:24-26, 31

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights."
James 1:17

[Trust] in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment."
Timothy 6:17

“If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”
John 4:10

“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."”
John 7:37-38

“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
Proverbs 14:12

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Galatians 5:1

Related Next-Step Resources:

• Case for Christ by Lee Strobel (available at Gateway Bookstore)
• Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (available at Gateway Bookstore)
• Letter from a Skeptic by Gregory A. Boyd


• Also check out more information about Christianity at Knowing God available at Gateway's Way of Christ Next-Steps Website


• Prior Sunday message on date (audio available at Gateway's Sunday Message Archive) (the most recent Sunday message is usually available by the following Tuesday at this site)