Proverbs: Life in the Real World
The book of Proverbs is uniquely edifying because life isn’t easy, but it is complicated. There are so many decisions to make and relationships to navigate. Since life is complex, we need more than God’s law to navigate life well. We need wisdom. Therefore, God gave us Proverbs so that we can learn to be wise. Wisdom is skill in navigating the complexities of life in the real world to the glory of God. Above all, Proverbs is deeply encouraging because it draws us into rich intimacy with Jesus Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom” (Colossians 2:3).
Gluttony: it’s more than we’ve been taught to believe and actually reflects a sinful heart posture that’s completely devoid of God’s presence.
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Read sermon transcriptProverbs teaches that God has created the world such that certain ways of living generally pay off and other ways of living generally don’t; these statements are not promises but rather generally true principles and as we continue our journey through this book of wisdom, this week we’re looking at Proverbs on Work. Fortunately, scripture is pretty clear on this one and what Proverbs has to say on work can be mostly summed up in this:
BIG IDEA: A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich (Pr. 10:4).
How can we apply a diligent hand to the word that God has given to us so that we can truly prosper? And, to take it a step further, how can we apply a diligent hand to the whole of our lives?
1. Work hard at the right time
2. Work skillfully in a distracted world
3. Live with the mess without exaggerating it.
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Read sermon transcriptWhat does the Bible say about justice? This question feels especially poignant in the days of catchy hashtags and lawn signs; so, how does God feel about this “buzzworthy” concept? Graciously Scripture is abundantly clear here, and the answer is the Big Idea of Proverbs on Justice: Justice is the Lord’s DELIGHT! We want to delight him, but we have questions. This morning, God, through the Book of Proverbs, will help us answer three questions so that we can, as the prophet Micah says, do just, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God:
1. What is justice?
2. How do we do justice?
3. Why does justice matter?
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Read sermon transcriptOur parenting is downstream from the Fatherhood of God, which brings us to the big idea of Proverbs on parenting: Pattern your parenting after the Fatherhood of God.
How do we do that? Three words capture Proverbs’ vision for parenting:
1. Delight
2. Disciple
3. Discipline.
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Read sermon transcriptProverbs assumes that God has delegated authority into this world and that the presence of this authority should be treated as the hunter safety course treats the rifle. Proverbs also provides extensive instructions about how to honor God when you have authority and how to honor God when you’re under authority because authority is an incredibly powerful gift for accomplishing great things in this world, but when authority is misused it’s as deadly as a rifle. That brings us to what Pastor Matt unpacks the big idea of Proverbs on the topic of authority: Honor God with authority and honor God under authority. Honor God with authority and honor God under authority. This morning we’ll take that big idea in two parts: 1. Honor God with authority 2. Honor God under authority.
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The big idea from Proverbs on decision making: Trust in the LORD with all your decisions and he will lead you on the right path. How do we do that practically? Proverbs doesn’t tell us everything that the Bible has to say about how to trust in the Lord with all your decisions; however, Proverbs provides three unique, massively significant ways to trust in the Lord with all your decisions, so that he will lead you on the right path.
1. Don’t lean on your own understanding.
2. Do lean on wise counselors
3. Trust the LORD.
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Read sermon transcriptThe big idea of Proverbs on pride and humility: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. So, we are going to learn to take hold of humility by allowing Proverbs to answer three key questions:
1. What is humility?
2. Why does humility matter?
3. How do we grow in humility?
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Read sermon transcriptBIG IDEA: Hear and take hold of wisdom in the real world.
1. Wisdom is calling there (8:1-11)
2. Wisdom gives success there (8:12-21)
3. Wisdom was there (8:22-36).
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Read sermon transcriptAs we continue our journey through the book of Proverbs, this week we’re blessed to hear from Pastor Mark as he unpacks Proverbs 7. He’ll illuminate how “Satan plays the long game” and expound on the BIG IDEA: Keep far from the forbidden woman. HOW are we to do this? Here’s the answer: Marry wisdom (1-5) Don’t look for trouble (6-9) See through the lies (10-20) Know it will destroy you (21-23) Don’t start down the path (24-27).
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Read sermon transcriptProverbs in particular and the Bible generally, which is Jesus’ word. Proverbs 4:4 – Let your heart hold fast my words. Proverbs 4:10 – Hear, my son, and accept my words. Proverbs 4:20 – My son, be attentive to my words. That brings us to the big idea of Proverbs 4: Listen attentively to Jesus’ words. Listen attentively to Jesus’ words. But why? Though the centrality of God’s word has fallen on hard times, why should we, as a church family, listen attentively to, keep on believing in, and build our lives on Jesus’ word, the Bible? Proverbs 4 provides three reasons: 1. They’ve stood the test of time (4:1-9) 2. They keep you on the path of life (4:10-19) 3. They guard your heart (4:20-29).
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Read sermon transcriptProverbs 3:13-35 exists to meet us in the midst of our second-guessing to keep us from stumbling on the path of wisdom that we have learned about over the last few weeks. We’re continuing in the incentive mode that began last week: “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding.” (Proverbs 3:13)
Now, what does it mean to be blessed? 3:13 is the first time in the book of Proverbs that this word is used, and it could be briefly described as being “supremely happy.”
The big idea of Proverbs 3:13-35 comes from v.13 and it is this: Blessed is the one who finds wisdom.
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Read sermon transcriptIn Proverbs 3, God, through the voice of a father mentoring his son, incentivizes all of us to apply wisdom to all of life. In Proverbs 2, the father told his son to seek wisdom like treasure because wisdom will protect you. In Proverbs 3, the father tells his son to apply wisdom because it will bless you. Proverbs 2 was defense, but Proverbs 3 is offense. That brings us to the big idea of our passage this morning: Apply wisdom to your life and your life will be full of blessing. Apply wisdom to your life and your life will be full of blessing. This raises two key questions: How do we apply wisdom to our lives? What blessings does wisdom bring? To answer those two questions, we’re going to take our passage in four parts. Apply wisdom to your life and your life will be full of blessing. How? 1. Imitate Jesus (vv. 1-4) 2. Trust Jesus (vv. 5-8) 3. Honor Jesus (vv. 9-10) 4. Submit to Jesus (vv. 11-12).
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Read sermon transcriptOur scripture today comes from Proverbs 1:20-33
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Read sermon transcriptI bet you can’t think of a single wise person or fool who got that way on their own; we all know, your companions can make you or break you. In our passage, God, through the voice of a dad speaking to his son, wisely says to all of us this big idea of our passage this morning: When sinners entice you, do not consent. When foolish friends tempt you, as Nancy Reagan said, “just say no.” In our complex world, how can we possibly do that? Our passage provides four ways to avoid consenting when sinners entice us to join in with them.
1. Hear your parents’ instruction (1:8-9)
2. Imagine where sinners will lead you (1:10-18)
3. Turn to the better way (1:19)
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How To Read Proverbs by Tremper Longman III
Proverbs: Wisdom That Works by Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.
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