Everything’s boring, utterly boring—
no one can find any meaning in it.
Boring to the eye,
boring to the ear.
What was will be again,
what happened will happen again.
There’s nothing new on this earth.
Year after year it’s the same old thing.
Does someone call out, “Hey, this is new”?
Don’t get excited—it’s the same old story.
Nobody remembers what happened yesterday.
And the things that will happen tomorrow?
Nobody’ll remember them either.
Don’t count on being remembered. —Ecclesiastes 1:8-11

Introduction

Our

is a gift from God. Who we

Reveal Answer

in this life is our gift to God.

Week 1 - Overcoming Cynicism:

The more you

Reveal Answer

, the more you hurt. —Ecclesiastes 1:18

Your past is not your future if

is involved!

Week 2 - Overcoming Temptation:
Put your

first; make your

Reveal Answer

match your walk.

Refuse to

.

Week 3 - Overcoming Disconnection:
Loving our specific neighbors requires

them

and spending time with them.

Week 4 - Overcoming Pride:

“Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us

Reveal Answer

.” —Thomas Merton

“All who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.” —Jesus

Hold the

for others to go in front of you and stay behind them in line.

Week 5 - Overcoming Burnout:
God works through people: gather professional helpers.

This Week: Overcoming Emptiness

Three thousand years ago,

was the most powerful human alive.

He had multiple homes, every food available, servants,

wives and

Reveal Answer

concubines.

Solomon, the son of David, says you can have it all and still be empty inside. Ecclesiastes 1:1-9

Today’s Trap
More: When you make

money, you want more square footage.

Better: After you have more than enough, you want an

: TV, car, home.

Different: While others get more or better, you are unique, special, rare,

.

The only thing left after different is

. Ecclesiastes 2:1-10a, 11, 17.

Solomon got to the very top. And it was

.

If your life is about what’s in it for you,

“No church will be good enough, no group will be good enough, and God will seem only as good as he’s been to you lately.” —Carey Nieuwhof

A Life Worth Living for: Another Son of David

Roughly a thousand years after Solomon, Jesus said,

“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.” —Matthew 16:21, 24-26

In the act of

, of giving up our lives to Jesus, we find life.

“The only thing more terrifying than dying to yourself is living for yourself.” —Carey Nieuwhof

When you give your life to Jesus who

you, you find the real you!

Jesus Had a Mission Bigger than Himself: Luke 19:29-31

When Jesus rode on the donkey into the capital city, it was a

sentence. Luke 19:37-40

Jesus was fulfilling the prophet Zechariah’s words, “See your King comes to you…gentle and riding on a donkey…” —Zechariah 9:9

This is the

time the Bible records Jesus on a donkey.

In the garden, Jesus knelt down and prayed, “Not

will, but

Reveal Answer

be done.”—Luke 22:39-42

“If you want to beat emptiness, find a mission that’s bigger than you… When you die to yourself, something far greater will emerge.” —Carey Nieuwhof

Action Steps

1. Invite Jesus to be the real
   Reveal Answer
   of your life.
2. Ask, “Which kingdom am I living for?
   Reveal Answer
   or God’s?”
3. Trust God to
   Reveal Answer
   your life this Holy Week.