A Man's Futile Search for Meaning (Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:11)

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A Man's Futile Search for Meaning (Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:11)
Pastors James Long, Jr.
Series: Meaninglessness: Study from the Book of Ecclesiastes

Introduction
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Outline
1. FUTILITY and FRUSTRATION - The Futile Search for Meaning (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18)
• Unhappy business - “evil business” - suffering, trials, and troubles
• Everything “under the sun” is fundamentally broken and crooked

2. FLEETING PLEASURES - The Meaninglessness of Self-Indulgence (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11)
Pleasure Tests (practical experiments)
Test #1 - Laughter - Ecclesiastes 2:2
Test #2 - Liquor - Ecclesiastes 2:3
Test #3 - Projects (Secular Garden of Eden) - Ecclesiastes 2:4-6
Test #4 - People, Possessions, and Passions Ecclesiastes 2:7-8
Test #5 - Prestige (Fame) - Ecclesiastes 2:9
Test #6 - Pursuits (Fulfillment) - Ecclesiastes 2:10
His evaluation - EMPTINESS - Utter Disillusionment (Futility) and Despair (Frustration) Ecclesiastes 2:11

3. TRUE and LASTING FREEDOM - The Gospel - Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness (Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:11)
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
Heidelberg Catechism
Q1. What is your only comfort in life and death?
That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with His precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil. He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by His Holy Spirit He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.
Q2. What do you need to know in order to live and die in the joy of this comfort?
First, how great my sins and misery are; second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance.

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