So, you are on the road of wisdom… Now what? This Sunday we will examine how King Solomon’s repeated appeals to his son to “pay attention” do not stop after his advice to “find the path of wisdom” is received. The emphasis in chapter 4 changes from “find” the path, to “Stay on” the path. What is the difference between knowledge, wisdom, and sight? Do they mean the same thing? Do you need one before you can get the other? Our text this week will shine a light on how these things can work together in our lives to keep us going straight on the path of life, avoiding the detours that lead away from the light and into the darkness.
For His Glory and your joy,
Pastor Jeff
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Discussion & Response Questions for Proverbs 4
1. Do you see the three sections of instruction in Proverbs 4 (vv. 1-9, 10-19, 20-27)? How would you summarize these words of instruction?
2. What does Solomon teach about how his father David instructed him? (vv. 3-9) How might this instruct us for how we disciple our children?
3. How have these things (vv. 3-9) come to pass in Solomon’s life? How do these things not come to pass in Rehoboam’s life?
4. In looking at the second instruction (vv. 10-19), how would you compare and contrast the path of the righteous vs the way of the wicked?
5. What does it look like to teach and to lead your children in the path of righteousness?
6. In considering the third instruction (vv. 20-27), notice how Solomon speaks holistically about the ears, heart, mouth, eyes, and feet. Why speak in these different ways?
7. What is distinct and unique about the heart?
8. How does Jesus speak of the path that leads to life? (Matthew 7:13-14).
9. What gospel realities do you see in Proverbs 4?
5. Inside Insight (Proverbs 4)
August 1, 2021 • Jeff Dionise • Proverbs 4
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?