Theme:
This week teaches us to receive life instead of mastering it. Joy is not a reward for success but a gift from God. Ecclesiastes invites us to practice holy presence, to delight in what is given without demanding permanence or control. Gratitude becomes an act of faith in a fragile world.

Opening Questions:

• What stood out from Sunday?

• What ordinary, everyday, thing brought you quiet joy this week?

Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 3:1–15; 5:18–20.

Read aloud slowly. Pause. Re-read.

Reflection Question:
Are you in any way resisting your current season? Are you trying to rush it? Escape it? Control it? Or deny it?

Group Discussion:

• Ecclesiastes says we don’t control the seasons. Where do you most struggle to accept that?

• What stood out to you from “He has put eternity in their hearts”?

• What is one ordinary part of your life that you tend to overlook or undervalue?

• What does “receiving life as a gift” practically look like in daily life?

• How can gratitude become a spiritual discipline instead of just a feeling?

Activation:

Ask each person to silently reflect — What season am I in right now?

Encourage honesty:

• A time of pruning?

• Waiting?

• Growth?

• Fatigue?

• Stability?

• Confusion?

Then ask: What gift might be hidden in this season? What might God be forming?”

Prayer:
Giver of every good gift, teach us to receive what You place before us. Open our eyes to the beauty hidden in ordinary days. Free us from the need to control or explain. May gratitude shape our hearts and joy anchor our souls. Amen.