What will keep you from shipwrecking your life?
As blunt and discomforting as that question may be, it is better to know the pitfalls of life and how to stay on the path of wisdom, righteousness, and life. Ignoring life’s dangers, especially the threat of divine judgment, is a path to unspeakable sorrow and eternal loss. Therefore, the wise will listen to words that promise life and protection from ruin.
To the end of seeking eternal life, this Sunday we will learn how God’s Wisdom protects us from malicious men and wicked women here and now. At the same time, Proverbs 2 will show us how to avoid becoming malicious enemies of God and inviting his eternal judgment. Indeed, lest we think that a little education and a lot of hardwork will make us good people and secure a place for us in heaven, Proverbs has a different perspective.
And as we look at Proverbs 2 this Lord’s Day, we will learn that such life-giving wisdom is something we must seek and something God must give. For without such grace-empowered seeking, we will all make shipwreck of our lives. But thankfully, that path of death is not inevitable. Rather, in Christ, there is a way that leads to life. It is not hidden or mysterious. Rather, it is spoken plainly in Scripture, and this Sunday we will consider this truth.
To prepare for Sunday, please take time to read Proverbs 2, as well as Job 28. Together, these two chapters teach where wisdom comes from and why true wisdom is only found in the Lord.
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday and to meditating of the wisdom of God, which he has given to us in his Word and in the Word made flesh.
For His Glory and your joy,
Pastor David
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Discussion & Response Questions for Proverbs 2
1. What role do we play in finding wisdom (vv. 1–5)? How are we called to search for Wisdom?
2. What role does God play in granting wisdom (vv. 6–11)?
3. What effect does seeking and finding wisdom have on our lives (vv. 12–19)?
4. Conversely, if we don’t find wisdom, what results will that have in our lives?
5. Why does the Father deliverance from men and women (vv. 12, 16)? What does that teach us about living wisely and walking in righteousness?
6. What is the ultimate result of applying this wisdom (vv. 20–22)? What if we don’t listen to this counsel?
7. Practically, how do you make sure you are walking in wisdom? What counselors are you listening to?
8. Do you let people challenge your actions / decisions? If not, why not? What happens to people who refuse godly counsel?
9. How do you make decisions in your lives? In what ways do you see elders and fellow church members as counselors?
10. Finally, what does Proverbs 2 have to say to the person who have made shipwreck of their life? Is there hope for him? How? Where?
3. A Secure House Needs a Good Foundation (Proverbs 2)
Seeking, Finding, and Walking in Wisdom
July 18, 2021 • David Schrock • Proverbs 2
10. Selection Sunday (Proverbs 9)
September 5, 2021 • Dave Ross • Proverbs 9
Selection Sunday arrives every March, and sports fans eagerly fill out their college basketball brackets to try to pick the winners. In the history of what has become known as March Madness, no one has ever selected every winner of every NCAA tournament game. This Sunday, our destination is Proverbs 9, which provides our own Selection Sunday. We see selections to accept an invitation to competing feasts, and invitations are extended to both. Which bracket will you choose? One invitation is to folly. The other invitation is to wisdom. Easy selection? Which invitation does our deceitful heart wish to accept? Which does the world that surrounds us urge us to grasp? May the fear and admonition of the Lord, through His grace and mercy, empower our welcoming of the invitation to wisdom. That invitation leads us to Christ and his wisdom, and a banquet that is beautiful and eternal. In preparation for our service this Sunday morning, outdoors at 8:30 am, read Proverbs 9. Invite neighbors, friends and family to come to OBC with you so they may also hear the Word of the Lord and the invitation to wisdom and Christ’s banquet. And pray for your OBC family and our time together. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Discussion & Response Questions for Proverbs 9 1. Look at how Proverbs 9 is organized with two contrasting feasts and hostesses. Wisdom offers invitations to her feast (vv. 1-6), and Folly offers hers (vv. 13-18). What is central to this text, and why is that significant (vv. 7-12)? 2. Compare and contrast Wisdom (vv. 1-6) and Folly (vv. 13-18). What is similar and dissimilar? a. What is laid out for the guests? How is this different between feasts? b. What does each feast ultimately provide? c. Notice how the same group (the simple) are receiving both invitations. What does this reveal? d. What is noteworthy between the two invitations (vv. 4-6, 16-18)? e. How is this invitation communicated? What strategies are employed? 3. How does the center of this chapter (vv. 7-12) instruct us? What is the end of the scoffer and the wise? 4. Do you reprove/correct/instruct others? If so, how do you see this played out? (vv. 7-9) 5. How can one who is simple or a scoffer come to the fear of the LORD and knowledge of the Holy? How should we understand this in light of the gospel? 6. Consider the world’s macabre feast, and the feast that Christ offers us as He invites us to eat and drink of Himself. How should we respond?
8. A Simpleton, A Seductress, and a Ship of Fools (Proverbs 6:20-7:27)
August 22, 2021 • Rod Fillinger • Proverbs 6:20–35, Proverbs 7
1967 – The Summer of Love. The Beatles sang “All You Need is Love,” while the Mamas and the Papas sang their international hit “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair).” The Summer of Love was a time when “free sex,” drugs, and lots of rock ’n’ roll — the more mind-bending and psychedelic the better — fueled an idealistic Utopian vision for world peace, love, and anti-materialism. It was a time when Harvard University professor-turned-LSD-guru Timothy Leary urged disaffected young people to question authority, reject straight society and “turn on, tune in and drop out.” It has blossomed in the first quarter of the 21st century into the cult of the modern self. Your identity is what you determine it to be. Gender is fluid. Sex is no longer confined to an intimate marriage relationship between a (biological) man and a (biological) woman. Authority is rejected as authoritarianism. Restraint and self-control are repression and oppression. As we have emphasized throughout our summer series from Proverbs 1–9, wisdom from God in his Word is not just a theory. Our Bible text this week, Proverbs 6:20–7:27, continues the theme of embracing the Word of God as the way of wisdom and life, while rejection of his authority is sin and folly and leads to death and destruction. This week we will look at another warning given to avoid sexual sin. This warning is illustrated through a parable that dramatically illustrates for us the folly of sexual immorality. We need this wisdom; we need the one who is wisdom to not be deceived by peer pressure or the culture around us. By the mercy of Christ, we can avoid being simpletons seduced by the culture or those around us to yield to the seductress. In Christ we can live a brighter, more loving, more fruitful life to the glory of God. In Christ alone, Pastor Rod ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Discussion & Response Questions for Proverbs 6:20-7:27 1. List, compare, and contrast the qualities or characteristics of the two women in chapters 6 and 7, Wisdom and the Seductress. 2. How does the teaching of Proverbs about sexual purity and marriage compare with the teachings of Paul (1 Cor. 7) and Jesus (Matt. 5:27–30)? 3. What is the role of the family in sex education? How should parents go about teaching their children about sex (see 5:1; 6:20; 7:1)? 4. How can Wisdom protect you from sexual immorality? 5. Why is Wisdom more important than a husband or wife? 6. Contrast the way in which the Bible speaks about human sexuality with the way in which sexual matters are portrayed in worldly media. 7. How does knowing you have a place in the final marriage supper of the lamb (Revelation 19:6–10) empower you to say no to sexual temptation today? Questions for Self-Examination: 8. Is what you are doing with respect to sexual thoughts and actions simply wrong? Do you sexualize or lust after people you know are forbidden? 9. Are you captivated by sex? Are you driven by it, obsessing about it? Do you find yourself acting impulsively or compulsively with respect to sex? 10. Do you hide what you are doing? Have you created a secret garden of sexual sin? Do you use sex as a refuge from boredom, stress, loneliness, or pain? 11. If you are tempted or ensnared, how will you bring these things to light? What brother in Christ (if you are a man) or sister in Christ (if you are a woman) can you confess your sin and seek their prayer and counsel?