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Proverbs: Words to Live By

Sermon Series from June - September 2020

Above All Else, Guard Your Heart

September 6, 2020 • Mike Bullmore

Sermon Application Questions 1. The meaning of Proverbs 27:19 is not immediately clear. How do you initially respond to the second part of that verse? 2. Do you feel like you are aware, on a regular basis, of how important what is going on in your heart is? What might keep you from being attentive to your heart? 3. At the end of the message, three lines of pastoral counsel were given: 1) We guard our hearts by guarding what we take in. 2) We guard our hearts by guarding what we dwell on. 3) We guard our hearts by how we choose to act. Which one of those felt most pertinent to your present Christian walk?

Strength and the Vulnerable

August 23, 2020 • Josh Mathews

Sermon Application Questions 1. What does strength and vulnerability look like in Proverbs 31:8-9? 2. Where do you sense strength in your life right now? Where do you sense vulnerability? 3. If you're a follower of Jesus, how do you remember what God has done for you? 4. What would/does it look like for you to practice proximate care?

Freedom in Repentance

August 16, 2020 • Ryan Fultz

Sermon Application Questions 1. Is there anyone in your life that models repentance well? What does it look like? 2. Are there any areas in your life that you need to be quicker to confess when you sin (to God and others)? 1. How do you think the gospel can help keep us from both wallowing in sin and concealing sin?

Self-Control and a City Without Walls

August 9, 2020 • Brett Wendle

Sermon Application Questions 1. In what areas of life do you need to exercise some degree of self-control every day? See how many you can name. 2. What area of self-control do you find most consistently challenging? Why do you think that area in particular is so challenging for you? What could happen if you continue to have trouble exercising self-control in that area? 3. Look at Titus 2:11-14. Why does grace train us in self-control more effectively than fear of punishment? How does being more aware of God’s grace to you change the way you will approach your struggle from #2 above?

Walking With the Wise

August 2, 2020 • Steve Moore

Wood, Whisperers, and Wisdom

July 26, 2020 • Mike Bullmore

Sermon Application Questions 1. Is there some situation you are regularly in where you are tempted to “whisper” or to listen to “whisperings”? How might you best void sinning in that situation? 2. The second half of Proverbs 26:22 says that the words of a whisperer “go down into the inner parts of the body.” What do you think that is trying to communicate? What is God warning us about there? 3. Look up and read Proverbs 25:9. What does that proverb tell you about how you should handle something you feel needs to be addressed? 4. As we are going through this series in Proverbs are you finding it challenging or easy to keep in mind that this is God’s grace for us? What helps you to remember that God’s moral instruction is a gracious gift?

To Answer or Not to Answer

July 19, 2020 • Mike Bullmore

Sermon Application Questions 1. Of the two proverbs found in Proverbs 26:4-5, which one are you more naturally inclined toward? Do you think that is due to a character strength or a character weakness? 2. How might you develop your ability to exercise the wisdom in the proverb you didn’t choose in question 1? What specific Christ-like character might need to be strengthened? Humility? Gentleness? Courage? Self-control? Something else? 3. Do you think you can get better at discerning which of these two proverbs should be followed in a particular situation? What would be necessary for that growth to happen?

Closed Mind, Open Mouth

July 12, 2020 • Mike Bullmore

Sermon Application Questions 1. Can you think of a time you were more concerned about “expressing your own opinion” than “taking pleasure in understanding” someone else? What was the effect of that? 2. Which of the four characteristics laid out in the message—self-restraint, understanding, humility, and love—was most compelling to you? What is it about that characteristic that makes you want it? 3. Which of those four characteristics is most in need of development in your life? Is there a proverb that comes to mind that might help you focus on this need? 4. Think about how you see these characteristics show up in Jesus’ life. How does seeing those things in him affect your love for him?

False Balances and Just Weights

July 5, 2020 • Mike Bullmore

Sermon Application Questions 1. Does the strong language of Proverbs 11:1 surprise you? Why do you think God's Word uses such strong language in connection with simple, everyday business dealings? 2. Look back at Proverbs 1:1-3. How does Proverbs 11:1 fit into this category of wisdom? 3. What are ways a 'false balance' might show up in your life? Where are the places you face temptation in this area? Make sure to think over your life thoroughly. 4. Proverbs 1:7 says, 'The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.' Look again at Leviticus 19:35-37 and Proverbs 16:11. How do these verses relate to the truth of Proverbs 1:7? 5. How does it make you feel to know that your acts of honesty are a 'delight' to the Lord?

Words to Live By

June 28, 2020 • Mike Bullmore

Sermon Application Questions 1. Have you ever made the connection between Jesus and Solomon before? Look at Matthew 12:42 and Colossians 2:3. What does the connection made in these verses tell us about how we might hear Proverbs? 2. How does Proverbs 1:1-7 keep us from thinking that wisdom is just something that has to do with our minds? 3. What comes to your mind when you read the words 'The fear of the Lord'? Based on God’s Word, what should come to our minds? How might a verse like Proverbs 14:27 help us here? 4. What is an area in your life right now where you feel you could use some wisdom and/or guidance? Does the Book of Proverbs have anything to say that relates to that area of your life?