Remember Your Creator While Young
Solomon's final words call young people to orient their entire lives around God before hardship and decline make that choice more difficult.
See what this sermon became →Browse 7 real sermons on wisdom from 3 churches across the MinistryHelper network, each turned into a full set of devotionals, discussion guides, and study content.
Solomon's final words call young people to orient their entire lives around God before hardship and decline make that choice more difficult.
See what this sermon became →
Solomon's ancient wisdom draws a clear line between what we can control and what we must entrust to God.
See what this sermon became →
Solomon's experiment with pleasure, achievement, wealth, and status reveals that lasting happiness cannot be found in any of them.
See what this sermon became →
Pastor Craig addresses questions on abortion, marijuana, sexual sin, politics, and hearing God's voice using biblical principles rather than cultural opinion.
See what this sermon became →
Solomon tests the limits of human wisdom to show that knowledge alone cannot give life its meaning.
See what this sermon became →
Solomon's ancient poem about life's seasons offers practical guidance for believers who find themselves in seasons they did not choose.
See what this sermon became →
Solomon's ancient memoir confronts the emptiness of a life spent chasing satisfaction in the things of this world.
See what this sermon became →Each one was written from a different sermon on wisdom, in that pastor's own voice. Pick a sermon and read all five days free.
“Solomon knew that feeling. He was one of the wealthiest, wisest men who ever lived. He had tried everything life under the sun could offer, achievement, pleasure, knowledge, power. And at the end of it all, he said it felt empty.”
Read all 5 days of the devotional“So much of our anxiety comes from trying to control things that were never ours to control in the first place, other people's choices, the economy, our health, the future. We exhaust ourselves managing outcomes that God alone holds.”
Read all 5 days of the devotional“That gap, between what you expected and what you actually felt, is one of the most disorienting experiences in life. It can make you feel broken, like something is wrong with you. Why can't you just be satisfied?”
Read all 5 days of the devotional“The pastor described it simply: the more you know God's word, the more you become like Jesus, and the more you're around wise people, the more you'll recognize his voice. That's not a complicated formula. It's just a life lived close to him.”
Read all 5 days of the devotional“Understanding the Truth Have you ever chased something hard, a promotion, a relationship, a goal, finally got it, and still felt strangely empty?”
Read all 5 days of the devotional“Have you ever looked at your life and thought, This is not what I signed up for? If so, you're in good company, and you're asking a question as old as wisdom itself.”
Read all 5 days of the devotional“Understanding the Truth Have you ever worked hard to get something you really wanted, and then got it, and still felt a little empty inside?”
Read all 5 days of the devotionalReady-to-lead discussion questions, each set drawn from one sermon on wisdom. Open one and take it to your group this week.
“The sermon described 'fearing God' not as cowering in terror but as living with a reverential awe, like people who live near an active volcano and order their entire lives around that reality.”
Open the discussion guide“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Open the discussion guide“Question: Think back to something you were absolutely convinced would make you happy, a job, a relationship, a purchase, an achievement, a vacation. When you finally got it, what happened?”
Open the discussion guide“A Note to Facilitators: This week's sermon covered several sensitive topics, marijuana and alcohol, abortion, sexual past, and hearing God's voice. People in your group may carry personal experiences related to any of these areas.”
Open the discussion guide“This guide is designed for a 60-90 minute meeting. You likely won't get through every question, and that's perfectly okay! Follow the energy of your group.”
Open the discussion guide“This guide is designed for you, whether this is your first time leading a group or your fiftieth. You don't need to have all the answers.”
Open the discussion guide“Solomon tried everything to find satisfaction, wisdom, work, wealth, wine, relationships, and concluded that none of it ultimately satisfied. The pastor said the world is constantly making 'promises of satisfaction guaranteed' that it cannot keep.”
Open the discussion guideFor groups that want to go further. Each guide works through one sermon on wisdom passage by passage.
“Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon, likely in the later years of his life, looking back on a reign of extraordinary wealth, wisdom, power, and, honestly, spiritual wandering.”
Open the deep study guide“Solomon isn't saying life is worthless; he's saying life is brief and unpredictable, like a breath on a cold morning. This reframes everything: if life is a vapor, how we spend it matters enormously.”
Open the deep study guide“Solomon's problem was not that he enjoyed things, but that he pursued them for himself and instead of God. The repeated phrase "for myself" in verses 4-6 is the theological heart of the passage.”
Open the deep study guide“This session explores the unifying question beneath a wide range of difficult topics, who or what gets the final word in our lives? The sermon moved through questions about substance use, abortion, sexual past,”
Open the deep study guide“Solomon spent 12 chapters dismantling every false answer so that his final word would land with full force: Fear God. We have the advantage of reading Ecclesiastes on the other side of the cross, where the One greater than Solomon has already come.”
Open the deep study guide“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.”
Open the deep study guideShort quizzes that check whether a sermon on wisdom landed. Each one was built from that sermon's actual content.
“According to the sermon, what does the pastor say the phrase 'remember your creator' actually means, beyond just not forgetting?”
Take the sermon quiz“In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25), what excuse did the servant who buried his talent give to the master?”
Take the sermon quiz“In the E. Stanley Jones illustration about the man whose every wish came true, what did the servant whisper back when the man said he'd rather be in hell than stay in that boring place?”
Take the sermon quiz“What does Pastor Craig say is the 'question underneath all the questions' throughout the entire 'Asking for a Friend' series?”
Take the sermon quiz“In the closing illustration, how did a lost little girl in London explain how to get her home?”
Take the sermon quiz“According to the sermon, what is the ultimate answer to Solomon's closing question, 'Who can enable a man to see what will happen after he dies?”
Take the sermon quiz“How many times is the word 'vanity' used in the 12 chapters of Ecclesiastes, according to the sermon?”
Take the sermon quiz7 sermons from 3 churches
Watch it happen live. About a minute. Nothing to sign up for.