Sermon Overview & Discussion Questions: "Death the Evangelist"

Overview of Sermon:
In this sermon, the author of Ecclesiastes expresses to the reader that it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting. CJ expounded that wisdom is found in paying careful attention to death. This wisdom needed for living in the present comes from acknowledging the brevity of life and the surety of death and learning to live today in the reality that you will die. This passage brings us face to face with death the evangelist, and it is by reflecting on the house of mourning that we have the best opportunity to evaluate and transform our lives in a way that could never be done by the house of feasting. 
 
Discussion Questions:
 
1. What is your experience with coming to the house of mourning? Living in a culture that wants to avoid death, how does this topic affect you?  

2. At the outset of the sermon, CJ quoted Charles Spurgeon, “Death will not spare us because we avoid him." What is a way that you and/or our culture attempts to avoid death?  

3. This verse is meant to have a positive impact and a discernible, desirable effect on our lives, but often we desire the house of feasting instead of the house of mourning. What wisdom can we gain from coming to the house of mourning that proves it is better for us?  

4. CJ points out that this verse is in no way a diss of feasting, and on the contrary, Ecclesiastes commands us to enjoy God’s gifts we do not deserve. What are some of God’s gifts that you are thankful for, and how do you show gratitude for those gifts?  

5. How can death the evangelist equip or help you to spur on your own evangelistic efforts?