Don’t Waste Your Life

Lesson 1 — The Endless Chase

Text: Ecclesiastes 1:1–11 Series Title: Don’t Waste Your Life — Finding Meaning in a Meaningless World Main Truth: Life without God is motion without meaning. Theme Verse: Ecclesiastes 12:13

Ecclesiastes 12:13 ESV

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.

I. INTRODUCTION — “The Chase That Never Ends”

Hook (Relatable Question/Story):

“Have you ever worked really hard for something,

finally got it…

and then felt kind of empty after?”

Examples:

Getting that

grade,

trophy,

follower count,

new phone,

relationship —

and then realizing it didn’t fix the emptiness.

It’s like chasing the wind.

You can feel it, but you can’t catch it.

Transition:

That’s exactly where Solomon found himself here in Ecclesiastes.

the richest,

smartest,

most powerful man alive

and still asking, “What’s the point of it all?”

He wrote Ecclesiastes to help us avoid wasting our lives chasing what can’t satisfy.

Big Idea for the Series:

This book asks one question: 

If life is so short and fragile, what actually matters?

Over the next 8 weeks,

we’re going to see that life apart from God is meaningless,

but life with Him is full of purpose.

Ecclesiastes 1:1–11 ESV

1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun? 4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. 7 All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 8 All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. 9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.

SOLOMON’S EXPERIMENT

The Search for Meaning

Solomon set out on a grand life experiment.

He had more wisdom, wealth, and opportunity than anyone else in his time

and he decided to use all of it to answer one question:

“Can I find lasting meaning and satisfaction in this world without God?”

He tested everything life could offer 

wisdom and knowledge,

pleasure and possessions,

work and success.

If something looked like it could bring purpose, he tried it.

But in the end, every path led him to the same conclusion found in verse 2:

“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

Solomon discovered that nothing “under the sun” can satisfy the human heart,

because our hearts were made for something more.

His “experiment” was a warning and a gift

showing us that meaning isn’t found in what we achieve, earn, or experience,

but only in knowing and following God.

Ecclesiastes 1:1–3 ESV

1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. 2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. 3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?

Explaining “Vanity” — The Catching Bubbles Illustration

Vanity: the quality of being worthless or futile.

Theme: The futility of chasing meaning apart from God (Ecclesiastes 1:2 — “Vanity of vanities… all is vanity.”)

Illustration: “Catching Bubbles”

I want to show you what Solomon meant when he said, ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’”

Blow a few bubbles into the air.

Let the group watch them shimmer in the light

beautiful, colorful, floating freely.

“Pretty, right?

They look perfect, light, delicate, even kind of magical.

Okay, who thinks they can catch one without popping it?”

(Let a few students try. They’ll pop immediately.)

You see how quick that was?

You can see the bubbles.

You can chase them.

You can even touch them

but the second you try to hold on to one, it’s gone.

It disappears because it’s temporary.

Now open your Bible to Ecclesiastes 1:2:

Ecclesiastes 1:2 ESV

2 Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

Explain:

“The Hebrew word Solomon uses here is hevel.

It literally means vapor, breath, or smoke.

Picture the air leaving your lungs on a cold morning

you can see it for a second, but it fades away.

That’s what Solomon’s saying life is like

it’s not that life is bad, but that life without God is temporary, fragile, and ultimately hollow.

It’s like chasing bubbles

beautiful for a moment, but gone when you try to hold onto it.

“That’s what Solomon discovered after he’d chased everything

wisdom,

pleasure,

wealth,

success.

All of it looked meaningful for a moment,

but when he finally caught it, it popped.

But when we center our lives on God

the One who gives meaning to everything

we stop chasing bubbles and start building something that lasts forever.

Point 1 — Life Apart from God Is a Cycle That Never Satisfies

Read Ecclesiastes 1:4–8 (ESV):

Ecclesiastes 1:4–8 ESV

4 A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. 7 All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again. 8 All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.

“Solomon looks around and sees this endless cycle

generations come and go,

the sun rises and sets,

the wind blows in circles,

rivers flow endlessly but the sea never fills.

He’s saying, ‘Everything just keeps spinning.

What’s the point?’

It’s like he’s looking at life and saying,

‘We’re all running on a treadmill; lots of motion, but no progress.’”

Illustration: The Infinite Scroll — “Endless, But Empty”

Hold up your phone.

Our generation knows this feeling.

You know what it’s like to chase distraction after distraction.

You can scroll for hours on any given social media platform (Instagram, TikTok, etc.).

You can see thousands of posts, stories, videos.

You can watch other people’s lives play out in front of you…

and still feel lonely.

Still feel like something’s missing.

That’s what Solomon meant when he said, ‘There’s nothing new under the sun.’

There’s always new content, new trends, new faces

but it’s the same emptiness.

You can chase pleasure, success, popularity, or approval,

but none of it delivers what it promises.

It’s like trying to fill an ocean with a garden hose

it never satisfies will never be satisfied.

Bridge to the Gospel

Here’s the good news: You don’t need more content 

you need connection with your Creator.

You don’t need to keep chasing what’s temporary

you need to know the One who gives life meaning.

Solomon’s question, ‘What’s the point?’

finds its answer in Jesus, who said, ‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’ (John 10:10)”

“The emptiness we feel is supposed to drive us to Him — the only One who can fill what’s missing.”

THE LIMITS OF LIFE “UNDER THE SUN”

Ecclesiastes 1:9–11 ESV

9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.

Point 2 — Nothing New, Nothing Remembered, Nothing Lasting

Lets read verses 9-11

Ecclesiastes 1:9–11 ESV

9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. 11 There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after.

Explanation:

Solomon looks at everything happening in the world

all the inventions,

all the ideas,

all the achievements

and realizes something: we keep repeating ourselves.

The faces change.

The technology changes.

But the hearts of people? They don’t.

We’re still chasing the same things,

fighting the same battles,

making the same mistakes.

It’s the same story, just with shinier screens and bigger buildings.

He’s not being cynical here

he’s being honest about man’s condition.

God inspired this book not to make us hopeless, but to wake us up

to show us how empty life can be when we live it without Him.

Main Truth (Repeat):

“Life without God is motion without meaning.”

You can be busy, productive, successful, admired

but if God isn’t at the center, it’s just motion.

It looks like progress, but it leads nowhere that lasts.

Bridge to Application — Making It Personal

“So what about you?

What are you chasing right now that won’t last?”

What’s the wind in your life

the thing you’re hoping will finally make you happy?

What happens when it doesn’t work?

When the grade, or the relationship, or the attention doesn’t fill you up the way you thought it would?

Solomon had everything the world could offer

wealth,

fame,

pleasure,

wisdom

and he still said, ‘It’s all meaningless.’

Maybe the problem isn’t that we’re chasing too little…

Maybe the problem is that we’re chasing the wrong thing.

The Gospel Connection — “The Only One Who Satisfies”

Bridge to Jesus:

The emptiness Solomon describes isn’t an accident

it’s intentional.

God built that hunger into your heart so that nothing else would ever be enough.

The reason we can’t find meaning under the sun is because we were made for something beyond the sun.

We were made for S. O. N. Son.

Scripture Tie-In:

John 10:10 ESV

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Jesus doesn’t just give you existence

He gives you abundance.

He fills the emptiness Solomon was talking about.

He gives purpose to what feels pointless.

He turns motion into meaning.

Gospel Invitation:

So if life has started to feel like chasing bubbles

always moving, never arriving

maybe that’s God’s way of calling you to something better.

The truth is, apart from Christ, your life will always feel like vapor.

But in Christ, nothing is wasted.

Every moment, every struggle, every breath

it all finds its purpose in Him.

Jesus doesn’t just give meaning to life

He is the meaning of life.

CONCLUSION (2–3 min)

Recap:

Solomon’s message:

Without God, everything is vanity, a vapor.

But with God, everything has value

even the small moments.

Challenge:

Ask: If your life were a chase

what are you running after?

Are you living for what fades

or for what lasts forever?