Been there, done that. Now what?: Peace

Series: Been There, Done That
Peace by Ted Beasley - October 7, 2007

Today Ted wrapped up this series on Ecclesiastes with one of the bottom lines in our search for meaning in life: Peace.

1. So what about peace? Start by trying to get an illustrated picture of what peace is like. Come up with some words that describe what peace “feels” like. Can you think of a time you really felt at peace? If so, when was that (and if relevant, how did you get there?). (10 minutes)

2. Now, try a question to set up a key concept in the message: What percentage of your life is genuinely filled with peace? (and before you answer… remember the self-serving bias that Ted talked about… the tendency we all have to categorize ourselves in more favorable categories – i.e., the survey of teen-agers where 0% categorized themselves as “below average” in interpersonal skills. Hmmmmmm). Spend some time talking about why peace is often the exception in our lives. (5 - 10 minutes)

3. Ted set up a framework (roughly based on an Harvard Business Review article by Bruch and Ghoshal's called "Beware the Busy Manager") that both helps us understand why we might be missing out on God’s promise of peace and to help us get it. The framework looks at both a person’s level of energy and their level of focus on the right things to spend that energy doing. According to the framework there are four basic types of people:

• Distracted: High energy but low focus… going from one thing to another (with too many balls in the air to have clear direction – or peace)
• Procrastinator: Low energy and low focus… would rather not do – anything (but with no sense of accomplishment or peace)
• Disengaged: High focus but low energy…knows the right way to go but has run out of steam to get ther (and lost the sense of peace and purpose that moving forward provides)
• Purposeful: Got it… moving toward God and able to chose between the things that move them forward and the things that just move them anywhere.
  
  Because this is all a bit conceptual, start by taking some time to just talk about each of these orientations in the group. Try to nail down what they are like in a non-“spiritual” context. Try to personally related to each one. Maybe there are different aspects of your life where you have different orientations (i.e., procrastinator at work but very purposeful about friendships). Discuss this until you feel you have a good idea of what these approaches to life are like. (10 minutes)

4. Next do some spiritual application. If you are in a group, pair off and talk about your spiritual orientation. Is there one that best fits your spiritual history? Has that always been your orientation? If not, what stages have you gone through? Which orientation is the best fit for your spiritual walk right now? Take time for each person to talk about their roadmap. If either of you feel that you’d like to move further into peace, brainstorm with each other about different things you could do to move toward being more “purposeful”. Remember to keep in mind each person’s orientation. (15 minutes)

5. If you're in a group, take 5 – 10 minutes to share any insights that came out of the one-on-one discussions.

6. End with some personal reflection. Did the discussion give you any idea of a small step you want to take toward God and His peace? Is there something you can start this week? If so, write down your step(s) and then pray that God will help you move toward the peace you can have when you’re on the road toward Him and taking the steps to get closer. (2-3 minutes)


Bible verses from the lesson:

This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live.
Ecclesiastes 9:3

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them."
Ecclesiastes 12:1

Find peace before the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop, when the grinders cease because they are few, and those looking through the windows grow dim.
Ecclesiastes 12:3

when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades; when people rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint.
Ecclesiastes 12:4

when the almond tree blossoms and the grasshopper drags itself along and desire no longer is stirred.
Ecclesiastes 12:5

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.
Isaiah 32: 17-18

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Matthew 7 :13-14

Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.
Ecclesiastes 11:6

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. . . So then, if you know the good you ought to do and don't do it, you sin.
James 4:14,17

I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to them, creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace, to those far and near," says the LORD. "And I will heal them."
Isaiah 57:18-19

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the [duty] of every human being.
Ecclesiastes 12: 12-13

Jesus tells a crowd, It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade.
Mark 4: 31-32

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.
Acts 3:19

Get more - go further:

Remember - each Sunday's message is available by5 PM on the day of the message. Past messages are also available for listneing and download. Just go to Gateway's Sunday Messages. Free CD's of the messages will be available after the services at Gateway the following Sunday.

Check out the following books and others that are relevant at Gateway's on-line Bookstore (and in the Gateway "Garage")

• Safest Place on Earth by Larry Crabb
• The Purpose Driven Life and God's Answers to Life's Difficult Questions by Rick Warren
• S.H.A.P.E.: Finding and Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose for Life by Erik Rees
• Breaking the Idols of Your Heart by Dan Allender
• Search for Significance by Robert McGee

Small Groups - Taste of Community "sampler" groups are starting soon. Or look for an on-going group to join at the Group Finder site.

One Body - Take a look at Gateway activities, lots of different ways to get involved at Gateway, along with a test to gauge your talents and spiritual gifts at the One Body Gateway website.

Way of Christ - spiritual growth resources at Way of Christ Next-Steps Website

Been there, done that. Now what?: Pleasure

Series: Been there. Done that. Now what?
Pleasure by Ted Beasley - September 23, 2007

This week we continue to look at the meaning of life from the book of Ecclesiastes focusing on the pursuit of pleasure. It seems to be common to think of enjoying something pleasurable in one of two ways: as either something we should aim for or something we should feel guilty about. Which of those is God’s view? Neither one. Whew. As Ted told us – God wants us to enjoy this life. Let’s use the things we enjoy as the starting point for dicussion.

1. Think for a moment about all the things that give you pleasure. If you’re in a group, go around the group and list as many things as you can in a couple of minutes. If you are by yourself, just make the list on your own. I bet it’s a big list… or I sure hope it is. (Ted quoted John Eldridge saying Christianity is "an invitation to desire".) Now, stop and go back through the list and talk about which of those pleasures are gifts from God and which aren't. (10 minutes)

2. Ted talked about Solomon getting to the end of the book of Ecclesiastes (which is really the diary of his personal quest for understanding), and concluding that a life lived in search of pleasure was "meaningless". So what about this? What makes a pleasure “good” – a gift from God, and what makes it “meaningless”? Spend some time talking this through. If you have any examples of a pleasure that has been both of these things… either at different time in your life or for two different people in the group, explore that as a way to better understand the role of pleasure in God’s plan. (10 - 15 minutes)

3. In the message Ted reconciled the two different ways of thinking about pleasure by explaining that pleasures are good if they point us to God, as the source of their goodness. Let’s explore some of this on a personal basis. If you are in a group, pair off and spend some sharing something wonderful that has happened to you in your life. Can you identify one or two times or things that were/are incredibly special to you. Share those things with each other. Then pause moment and pray together. Each of you take time to thank God for what He made and what He gave you in whatever words feel most natural to you. (10 minutes)

4. One of the things that Ted urges us to do, is to not let God’s enjoyable gifts take inappropriate control of our life or our motivations. We need to be responding to the Giver, not the gifts. So, as you think about the list of pleasures your group generated, and you reflect about the things you enjoy, is there anything there that feels like it could be too important to you… something that makes you put that before other things that you know would be more in-line with God’s will, or even God Himself? If so, or if you are not really sure, try sorting it through out loud with your partner (if you feel comfortable sharing, of course). Then pray for each other for insight and or grace to make changes. (And if neither of you have anything to talk about in your life now, maybe you have had something like this in the past that you can talk about, and then thank God for the realignment of the role of that pleasure). (10 minutes)

5. Next, in the larger group, take some time to brainstorm with each other about different ways to make sure God’s gifts stay in the right “place” in our lives… or different ways to get them to the right place if they become too important to us. (10 minutes)

6. Conclude the time with some personal reflections. Is there something that you feel God wants you to reconsider about your relationship to something you enjoy? Also, think about the week ahead, are there pleasures in your life you can plan to “share” with God , inviting Him to be part of the enjoyment and thanking Him for putting that thing in your life as you enjoy it. Write down at least one thing that you will “enjoy” with God in the coming week – and a first step you will take if you think change is needed. (5 minutes)


Bible verses from the message:

I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless. "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?" I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives. I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well—the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
Ecclesiastes 2:1-9

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve…everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 2:10-11


He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.
1 Kings 11:3

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.
Psalm 145:15-17

I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
John 10:10

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.
James 4:1-2

(God is telling his people to bring 1/10th of their crops or flocks to a predetermined spot to offer them as a gift to God.) But if that place is too distant and you . . . cannot carry your tithe . . . then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice.
Deuteronomy 14:24-26

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.
Ecclesiastes 9:10

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12

Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.
John 7:38

Related Next-Step Resources:

Check out the following books and others that are relevant at Gateway's on-line Bookstore (and in the Gateway "Garage")

• The Purpose Driven Life and God's Answers to Life's Difficult Questions by Rick Warren
• S.H.A.P.E.: Finding and Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose for Life by Erik Rees
• Breaking the Idols of Your Heart by Dan Allender
• Search for Significance by Robert McGee

Take a look at Gateway activities, lots of different ways to get involved at Gateway, along with a test to gauge your talents and spiritual gifts at the One Body Gateway website.

Check out spiritual growth resources at Gateway's Way of Christ Next-Steps Website

Prior Sunday message are now available by 5 PM on the day of the message (listen or download MP3at Gateway's Sunday Message Archive) . CD recordings of the messages will be available at Gateway the following Sunday.

Been there, done that. Now what?: Purpose

Series: Been there, Done that. Now what?
Purpose by John Burke, September 16, 2007

Finally a message on a topic that is not too important. What a relief. This one was just on the meaning of life. OK – so it’s a little important. In truth – it’s a huge topic and it was a big message - one worth pushing into deeper. Turns out that the person the Bible says was the “wisest man that ever lived” had some thoughts on the subject (if you’re thinking it’s John, sorry... in this case it was Solomon). Probably worth hearing what he had to say on the topic too....

1. John started with a powerful question: “Where is your life going?” Maybe a bit strong for a warm-up question for a group, but we can trade on it to generate some thoughts/discussion. Spend a few minutes talking about the following questions: (10 - 15 minutes)

• Do you think most people could answer that question if asked?
• For those that could – what kinds of answers would you expect to hear?
• For those who couldn’t, why do you think it could be a hard question to know the answer to?

If you can, keep a casual list of responses to refer back to at the end.

2. Now, continuing on the theme of the questions above, it seems that whether we have a clear idea of where we’re going or not, most of act like we are going somewhere fast, and have some ideas about the routes we should travel. (John called this the “dash” that represents our life between the day we’re born and the day we die.) What are some of the most common routes people take to try to fill their dash with meaning and happiness? (5-10 minutes)

3. Solomon launched a personal quest to understand the meaning of life and happiness and then shared his travel journal with us in the book of Ecclesiastes. John talked about Solomon’s journeys into knowledge, achievement, pleasure, wealth, and fame. What did Solomon conclude about the different paths he traveled?: “It’s all meaningless.” (see Bible verses below). WHEW! Pretty heavy. We’ll come back to this later.

John told us about a train set he had when he was a kid. So, what about you? Think for a minutes: Was there something you really thought would make you happy when you were young – but only discovered that, once you had it, the “buzz” only lasted for awhile? A Barbie doll? Cabbage Patch Kid? Red Ryder B-B gun (Ralphie?) Whatever. What was your happy pill? My bet is that there was nothing inherently wrong with those things… so, why didn’t the happy last? Discuss this some… even if the answer seems obvious at first. Are there any general lessons we can draw about why we don’t get lasting happiness out of so many of the things we THINK will make us happy – even from this simplistic example? (10 minutes)

4. Going back to Solomon now: Was he right? Is it all meaningless? If so, why? If not, what could he have meant? (10 - 15 minutes)

5. Because this question is so central to us, it’s really important to take some time to ask real questions about our own real dash – the one we’re living right now. Think about the question at the beginning: “Where is your life going?” Where do you want it to go? Are you trying any of Solomon’s methods to get there? Will it work? These are heavy questions – certainly not ones that are easy to answer. But take 2-3 minutes to write down your first thoughts. And if you think God is telling you there is more to think about later – write down when you’ll do it. Make it a commitment to God to come back and have that conversation - and be sure to look at the Bible verses below to see what Solomon's answer was.

If anyone wants to ask the group for prayer on anything related to these questions, be sure to take some time at the end to pray for each other.

Bible verses from the message:

I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 1:13

"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless."
Ecclesiastes 1:2

“I thought to myself, ‘Look, I have grown and increased in wisdom more than anyone…[but] with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.’”
Ecclesiastes 1:16, 18

“I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees…”
Ecclesiastes 2:4-6

I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 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 2:10-11

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! So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure.
Ecclesiastes 2:8-10

Those who love money never have enough; those who love wealth are never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.
Ecclesiastes 5:10

I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart...God does it so people will revere him.
Ecclesiastes 3:10-11, 14

Remember your Maker while you are young, before the days of trouble come and the years when you will say, "I have no joy in them,"… Remember Him before the silver rope of life is broken and…the dust will return to the earth as it was. And the spirit will return to God Who gave it… The last word, after all has been heard, is: Honor God and obey His Laws. This is all that every person must do.
Ecclesiastes 12:1,7,13

I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever.
Ecclesiastes 3:12-14

“But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Deuteronomy 4:29

Related Next-Step Resources:

Check out the following books and others that are relevant at Gateway's on-line Bookstore (and in the Gateway "Garage")

• The Purpose Driven Life and God's Answers to Life's Difficult Questions by Rick Warren
• S.H.A.P.E.: Finding and Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose for Life by Erik Rees
• Breaking the Idols of Your Heart by Dan Allender
• Search for Significance by Robert McGee

Take a look at Gateway activities, lots of different ways to get involved at Gateway, along with a test to gauge your talents and spiritual gifts at the One Body Gateway website.

Check out spiritual growth resources at Gateway's Way of Christ Next-Steps Website

Prior Sunday message is usual available by the Tuesday following the message (audio available at Gateway's Sunday Message Archive)