DEEP-DIVE SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE

Based on: "Under the Sun" — What to Do When You're in a Hard Season Primary Text: Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 Series: Under the Sun Time: 90-120 minutes

LEADER PREPARATION

(Read before your group meets)

Overview: Ecclesiastes 3 is one of the most beloved and most misunderstood chapters in the Bible. Solomon's famous poem about seasons is often quoted as comfort — but the chapter doesn't stop there. It wrestles honestly with futility, injustice, mortality, and the haunting question of what comes after death. This session explores what it looks like to hold onto faith when you're in a season you didn't choose.

Big Idea: When we find ourselves in painful, confusing seasons, Scripture doesn't give us an explanation — it gives us a Person to run to and a posture to hold.

Essential Background:

• Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon near the end of his life — a man who had everything the world could offer and found it ultimately unsatisfying. This gives the book unusual authority: he's not theorizing about meaning; he's reporting from experience.
• The phrase "under the sun" is Ecclesiastes' signature expression — appearing nearly 30 times. It refers to life as experienced from a purely earthly perspective, without the lens of eternity. The book is asking: What does life look like if this world is all there is?
• Chapter 3 moves from the famous poem (verses 1-8) into a theological reflection (verses 9-22) that most people never read. The sermon engaged both sections, and your group will too.

Preparation Checklist:

• Read Ecclesiastes 3 twice in two different translations (ESV and NIV work well together)
• Review the word studies below — read them aloud to yourself once
• Think through your own honest answers to the discussion questions
• Identify 1-2 group members who may be in a genuinely hard season right now — pray for them by name before the meeting

Facilitator Encouragement: You don't need to be a theologian to lead this well. Your group isn't looking for a professor — they're looking for someone willing to go deeper together. The questions are designed to do the heavy lifting. Your job is to create space, keep things moving, and stay curious alongside everyone else. You've got this.

OPENING (5-10 minutes)

Icebreaker Question:

Think of a season in your life that, at the time, felt pointless or painful — but looking back, you can see what God was doing. Would anyone be willing to share a brief version of that story?

(If your group is newer or quieter, try this lower-stakes opener instead: "What's a season of the year — spring, summer, fall, winter — that best describes where you are in life right now, and why?")

TEACHING TIME (15-20 minutes)

Share these teaching points conversationally. You're not lecturing — you're setting the table for discussion.

HISTORICAL & CULTURAL CONTEXT (5-7 minutes)

Who wrote this, and why does it matter?

Ecclesiastes is attributed to "the Preacher" (Hebrew: Qohelet), traditionally understood as Solomon, king of Israel around 950 BC. What makes his perspective remarkable is his résumé: the wealthiest man in the world, the wisest man alive, with unlimited power and resources. He wasn't writing about futility as a poor man with nothing. He was writing as someone who had everything — and still found it hollow.

This is important because when Solomon says, "I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward" (v. 22), he's not writing as a naive optimist. He's writing as a man who tried everything else first.

What did the original readers understand about "seasons"?

Ancient Israelites lived far more attuned to agricultural seasons than we do. Their entire calendar — feasts, harvests, planting, rest — was structured around the rhythm of the natural world. When Solomon wrote about "a time for every activity," his readers would have immediately felt the weight of that in their bodies, not just their minds. Seasons weren't abstract concepts; they were survival realities. A bad season meant famine. A good season meant abundance. The point landed viscerally.

The structure of the poem:

The 14 pairs of opposites in verses 1-8 are not random. Ancient Hebrew poetry often used this kind of pairing (called merism) to express totality — birth and death together means everything in between. Solomon is saying: every conceivable human experience fits within God's sovereign design. Nothing falls outside his awareness.

KEY WORD STUDIES (5-7 minutes)

"Season" / "Time" — Hebrew: עֵת ('eth) and זְמָן (zeman) Two different Hebrew words appear in verse 1. 'Eth refers to the right moment — an appointed, fitting time. Zeman suggests a fixed, set period. Together they communicate that God doesn't just know about our seasons — he appointed them. This isn't fatalism; it's sovereignty with a purpose behind it.

"Eternity" — Hebrew: עֹלָם (olam) Verse 11 says God has "put eternity in their hearts." Olam means "the distant future" or "forever" — it's the same word used for God's eternal nature. Solomon is saying that God has wired us to sense that this life isn't all there is. The ache we feel when a season is painful isn't a malfunction — it's evidence that we were made for something more. The sermon's closing point about "looking up" is grounded right here.

"Futility" / "Vapor" — Hebrew: הֶבֶל (hebel) Often translated "vanity" or "meaningless," hebel literally means breath or vapor — something that appears briefly and then is gone. It's not nihilism (nothing matters). It's a recognition that earthly things are fleeting, not worthless. Solomon isn't saying life has no value; he's saying life without an eternal anchor evaporates. This distinction matters enormously for how we read the whole book.

IMPORTANT CROSS-REFERENCES (3-5 minutes)

Have someone look up each passage as you mention it:

• Romans 8:18-25 — Paul echoes Solomon's language about futility and groaning, but adds the hope of future glory. Creation itself is in a "season" of waiting.
• 2 Corinthians 4:17 — "Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." The New Testament answer to hebel.
• Philippians 2:5 — "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." The sermon referenced this in the context of running to Christ during pain.
• 2 Timothy 4:6-8 — The passage read over Jeff Weebi in his final hours: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." The crown of righteousness awaits those who love his appearing.
• John 16:33 — "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." The sermon's closing scripture — Jesus himself answering Solomon's final question.

SCRIPTURE READING & OBSERVATION (10-15 minutes)

Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-22 aloud. Consider having two people alternate — one reading verses 1-8 (the poem), another reading verses 9-22 (the reflection). Use a modern translation like the CSB or NIV.

Observation Questions (take 5-7 minutes on these before moving to discussion):

1. What words or phrases are repeated throughout the chapter?
2. What surprises you — or makes you uncomfortable — in this passage?
3. Where does the tone shift? What changes after verse 8?
4. What questions does this chapter raise for you that it doesn't answer?

DEEP DIVE DISCUSSION (40-50 minutes)

SECTION A: Understanding the Text (3-4 questions)

1. The poem in verses 1-8 lists 14 pairs of opposites. What do you notice about the kinds of activities Solomon includes? Some seem clearly positive (birth, healing, laughing), but others seem dark (killing, hating, war). What do you think Solomon is trying to communicate by including both?

2. Verse 11 says God has "made everything appropriate in its time" — but then immediately says "no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end." How do you hold those two ideas together? What does it mean that God has ordered everything and we can't fully see it?

[Leader Tip: This is the theological heart of the chapter. If the group gets stuck, ask: "Is it possible for something to be ordered and purposeful even if you can't see the purpose?" Let the tension breathe — don't rush to resolve it. That tension is exactly where faith lives.]

3. Verses 16-17 take a sharp turn into injustice: "There is wickedness at the place of judgment, and there is wickedness at the place of righteousness." Solomon observes that the world isn't fair. How does verse 17 respond to that observation? Does that response satisfy you? Why or why not?

4. The chapter ends with a question, not an answer: "Who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?" (v. 22). Why do you think Solomon ends here? What does it mean that the wisest man in the world left the most important question open?

SECTION B: Theological Connections (2-3 questions)

5. The sermon pointed out that Solomon's unanswered question — who can show us what happens after death? — finds its answer in Jesus, specifically in the resurrection. How does the resurrection of Christ change the way we read Ecclesiastes 3? What does Jesus' coming out of the grave give us that Solomon didn't have?

[Leader Tip: Draw the group's attention to John 16:33 and 2 Timothy 4:6-8 here if they haven't come up yet. The crown of righteousness Jeff Weebi claimed from memory is the New Testament answer to Solomon's final question.]

6. The word olam ("eternity") in verse 11 suggests God wired us to long for something beyond this life. Where do you see that longing showing up in people around you — even people who wouldn't call themselves believers? What does that longing tell us about how God made human beings?

7. The sermon described five responses to hard seasons: accept it, run to Christ, learn from it, give to others, and look up. Which of these is most clearly rooted in Ecclesiastes 3 itself? Where do you see each of these responses in the text?

SECTION C: Contemporary Application (3-4 questions)

8. The sermon observed that pain makes us selfish — it causes us to "turn in on ourselves." Have you found that to be true? What makes it so difficult to invest in others when you're the one hurting?

[Leader Tip: This question can get personal quickly. Model vulnerability if you can. Remind the group that the sermon wasn't offering this as a guilt trip — it was offering it as a counterintuitive path to healing. Follow-up: "Has anyone experienced healing that came through serving someone else during your own hard time?"]

9. The sermon said the devil's strategy during painful seasons is isolation — cutting us off from God's word, God's people, and God's Spirit. Where do you see that strategy at work in your own life or in the lives of people you know? What does resistance to that look like practically?

10. The sermon referenced Colossians 3 — "My life is hidden with Christ in God" — as a verse to run to during stress. Do you have a scripture like that? One that speaks directly to your crisis, your soul? If you do, would you share it? If you don't, why might it matter to have one?

[Leader Tip: This question often produces some of the richest sharing of the evening. If someone doesn't have a "go-to" verse, that's a great pastoral moment — encourage them to find one this week. The sermon's point about reading the Bible out loud during crisis is worth repeating here.]

11. Looking at the five pieces of counsel from the sermon — accept the season, run to Christ, learn from it, give to others, look up — which one is hardest for you personally? Which one comes most naturally?

PERSONAL APPLICATION (15-20 minutes)

Invite 2-3 minutes of quiet individual reflection before sharing. Ask group members to think honestly, not to perform.

Reflective Questions:

1. Are you currently in a season you didn't choose and don't fully understand? If so, which of the five responses from the sermon feels most urgent for you right now?

2. The sermon said that when you're in pain, the greater the pain, the harder you should hold on to Christ. On a scale of 1-10, how tightly are you holding on right now — and what would it look like to grip a little harder this week?

3. Is there someone in your life who is in a hard season, someone God might be calling you to walk toward — even while you're carrying your own weight?

This Week Challenge:

Choose one of the following and commit to it before next time your group meets:

• If you're in a hard season: Identify one scripture that speaks to your specific struggle. Write it on an index card, tape it somewhere visible, and read it out loud every morning this week.
• If someone you know is in a hard season: Reach out to them this week — not with advice, but with presence. A text, a call, a meal, a visit. Show up.
• For everyone: Spend 10 minutes this week sitting with Ecclesiastes 3 and asking God, "What are you teaching me in this season that I couldn't learn any other way?" Write down whatever comes to mind.

PRAYER & CLOSING (10 minutes)

Suggested Prayer Focus:

Close by praying specifically into the seasons your group members are carrying. This is not the time for generic prayer — it's the time to name what's real.

Option 1 — Conversational Group Prayer: Invite anyone who wants to pray aloud to do so. Encourage short, honest prayers. Close by reading John 16:33 together as a benediction: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Option 2 — Pairs Prayer: Break into pairs. Each person shares one thing they're trusting God with in their current season. Partners pray briefly and specifically for each other. Reconvene and close together.

Closing Word for the Leader:

Before you dismiss, remind your group: Solomon's question — "Who can show us what happens after we die?" — is not left unanswered. The One who walked out of the grave on the third day has answered it. Whatever season you're in, you are not scratching around in the dust with no hope. You are held by the God who has overcome death itself. The crown of righteousness is real. Hold on.

"There is reserved for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give me on that day — and not only to me but to all those who have loved his appearing." — 2 Timothy 4:8