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Group Discussion
Questions for facilitating dynamic discussion
Human Flourishing
February 28,2026
Week 3: Mental Health
Jeff Griffin
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
Top universities say they’ve finally discovered the six keys to a deeply satisfying life. Amazingly, King Solomon beat them to it by 3,000 years! Among the factors listed as important to human flourishing is mental health, which we look more closely at this week.
What is your favorite season? Would you be happy to have that season year-round?
1. For a quick overview of where we’ve been and where we’re going in this series, list the six domains necessary for Human Flourishing Jeff shared in week 1 (Meaning & Purpose, Life Satisfaction, Mental Health, Close Relationships, Financial Stability, Character & Virtue).
2. Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. List the times that are positive. What are the negative ones? Which of these seasons feels most prominent in your life right now? How so?
3. Have you ever considered how our attitude toward time (past, present, future) plays a role in our mental well-being? Read Matthew 6:34. What hard emotion or mental health struggle does this describe? What “time” is it focused on? Depression can also cause us to improperly focus our thoughts. Which direction in time does depression often turn (the past)?
So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. ~ Matthew 6:34 (NLT)
4. It’s easy to look at this passage in the generic: people are born, people die. People keep and people throw away. And then when trouble strikes us, we’re caught off guard. Why me? We think. But here Solomon is in essence saying, “why not?” Reread the first eight verses to yourself, inserting “for me” in each one (a time for me to be born, a time for me to die, etc.). How does it sit with you to read it that way? How might that perspective help when the next season in your life arrives?
5. Now read Ecclesiastes 3:10-11. What are the three things Solomon says God offers to help us flourish, as Jeff described in his sermon (look for beauty, long for heaven, wait for answers)? Think about your current season: which of these provides you the most encouragement?
Mental well-being isn’t about denying the realities of life, but understanding that circumstances good and bad will come our way. Pray that each one in your group would be able to anchor themselves in the truth and beauty of God’s character and God’s plan.
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” ~ John 14:27 (NLT)