Sermon Based Small Group Lessons
Our American Idols: Entertainment/Sports/Recreation
Dr. Les Hughes
November 2, 2008
Focus Passage
1 I thought in
my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is
good." But that also proved to be meaningless. 2 "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what
does pleasure accomplish?" 3 I tried
cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly—my mind still guiding me
with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven
during the few days of their lives.
4 I
undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks and planted all
kinds of fruit trees in them. 6 I made
reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. 7 I bought male and female slaves and had
other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than
anyone in Jerusalem before me. 8 I amassed
silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired
men and women singers, and a harem [a] as
well—the delights of the heart of man. 9 I became greater by far than anyone in
Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
10 I denied
myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
11 Yet when
I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing
after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
Outline of Sermon (The Life
Changing Lessons)
This
is for the leader’s use. You
don’t have to read through these for the group.
1. The world offers laughter. God
provides joy.
2. The world offers satisfaction for the senses.
God provides satisfaction for the soul.
3. The world provides activities for our hands.
God provides opportunities to serve from the heart.
4. The world provides goods to accumulate. God
provides contentment in Him.
Opening Question
What is your
favorite diversion and what does your family feel about it?
1. Les said that, “The problem with
idolatry is that it focuses on us.” What percent of your time is spent
on yourself as opposed to thinking about God or others?
2. It is said that we spend more on
entertainment than on gasoline, household furnishings and clothing
combined. What is your most
expensive amusement or entertainment?
3. Here are some helpful questions. Think about your forms of entertainment
while your group leader reads these questions.
Questions
to Help Me Evaluate the Health of My Amusements:
1.
Do we do our entertainment at the expense of others?
2.
Is it innately harmful to me or others?
(examples: porn or gambling)
3.
Does my entertainment get more attention than God gets?
4.
Does it take me away from God’s house on weekends?
5.
Does it cause me to neglect more important things than spending time with my
family?
6.
Does it cause me to forget that it’s only a movie or sporting event?
7.
After the entertainment is all over, can you easily go back to life as normal,
or do you need another fix as soon as
possible?
Does
anyone have any conviction from these questions? Share which one you stumbled on.
4. Lesson One says that “The world offers laughter.
God provides joy.” We see in
John 15:11 that God wants our joy to be complete. Tell of a time God has brought you
true joy.
5. Lesson two states, “The world offers
satisfaction for the senses. God provides satisfaction for the soul.” We need self-control to keep us from
indulgence. We shouldn’t use
these to take the edge off of life.
What is your favorite food to run to when you are depressed? Does this keep us from doing something
that would be better for us? What
are some more healthy activities in response to emotional pain?
6. Here are some ideas to help us deal with
our preoccupation with food. Which
of these do you need to practice most?
1. Always thank God for what He provides.
2. Use time to help build relationships.
3. Realize that satisfying our physical senses
will never satisfy our soul.
7. Read and discuss John 6:35 and Eph 5:18.
8. Lesson Three
states, “The
world provides activities for our hands. God provides opportunities to serve
from the heart.” The real
choice we have to make is that our choices be wise choices. One key is to ask, “How much am I
doing for myself as opposed to doing things for others?” What is your percentage of doing for
others verses doing for yourself?
9. Read and discuss1 Tim. 6:17-18.
10. Lesson Four
states, “The world provides goods to accumulate. God provides contentment
in Him.” Read Eccl.
5:18.
What
keeps you from being content?
What
can you do to be build contentment with the right things?
11. When life is over, what will we wish we
had invested our time in? How is
this separate from the way we are spending it now?
What
is God calling you to do as a result of this lesson?