Simple (Part 2): Simple Consumption

TO START

This week, our Lead Preaching Minister, Zane, invited us into a part 2 of a series called Simple, a series that challenges us to simplify our lives so that we can hear the good news and invitations of Jesus. This week, we talked all about what we are constantly trying to consume in life through the lens of the writer of Ecclesiastes as he talks about his journey of “testing every pleasure the world has to offer”.

  • What did you give away or set aside to give away at Share Fest this past week?

TO DISCUSS

To begin Zane’s sermon, he pointed us to the reality that pleasure can be defined in a lot of different ways and that we often find ourselves chasing different desires  in different seasons. 

  • What’s a feeling, state of being, accomplishment, etc. that you were chasing in a past season where once you achieved it, it didn’t live up to what you hoped or expected?

To get to the heart of our need to reorient ourselves around what we consume. Read Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

  • If someone was to take an inventory of your life right now (in the same way the writer here does), what great works, achievements and/or collections would others see in your life from the outside?

Even more, Zane encouraged us to consider how consumption affects others by saying, “The Bible is honest with us that uncontrollable consumption without God comes at a cost to the world and others who also live in this world.” 

  • How does your consumption contribute to the groaning of the physical world or the groaning of others who inhabit our world?

To close, Zane reminded us of one of Jesus’s life-altering invitations for us. As Jesus became flesh, he revealed where we will find true fulfillment. Seeking after the kingdom of God, instead of seeking the latest and greatest thing to add to our lives, is where our hearts will find true fulfillment.

  • So, what do you need to consume less of or seek less of so that you can seek more of the kingdom of God?

TO CLOSE

We want to invite your group to close by praying for the Holy Spirit to make each member aware of the things we consume that are working against Jesus’s desire for us to seek the kingdom of God. Invite God to enable your group to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, gentleness and more. Close with this prayer: 

God, help us to live simply,

On earth, help us to seek first your kingdom, 

Not our own wealth or worldly pleasures. 

Teach us to expand your kingdom, not our own.

God, help us to be aware that the way we live and consume the world matters 

It matters to You and it matters to those in the world around us. 

God, help us to live simply.

Amen.

Matt DeLano