Gaining Wisdom: A Summer in the Proverbs - The First Congregational Church of Hamilton

Words

August 20, 2023 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • Proverbs 24:26, Proverbs 15:4, Proverbs 16:24, Proverbs 10:17–19, Proverbs 12:25

One of the most underestimated parts of our lives and tools that we have are the words that we speak. Our words are often underestimated in the way they reveal our hearts and the way they can influence the hearts of others. So, how do we better appreciate the power of our words and learn to steward that power well? How do we speak wisely? What characterizes the words of the wise? According to Proverbs, what are wise words?

Work

August 13, 2023 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • Proverbs 3:19, Proverbs 10:4–5, Proverbs 12:11, Proverbs 14:23, Proverbs 22:29

How does Jesus relate to your job? Too often times, we can look at the Christian life as very separate from our everyday work life. When this happens, getting involved in “the work of the church“ can be narrowly perceived as doing things directly related to the ministry that takes place on the church grounds or intentional outreach efforts. As important as that work is, how can we reconnect our Sundays to our Mondays? In this message, we continue in our study of Proverbs, and consider a biblical and practical theology of work.

Envy

August 6, 2023 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • Proverbs 14:30, Proverbs 23:17–18

As we continue our study in the Proverbs, we come to one of the most underrated and unconfessed sins of the heart—envy. What is envy? How do we diagnosis it? Why is it so dangerous? And what are some of the gospel remedies that we’re given to treat it?

Generosity

July 30, 2023 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • Proverbs 3:9

Each week, we've been looking at a particular topic or aspect of life that the book of Proverbs highlights. In this message, we consider the heart and practice of generosity. We learn that the joyful life is the generous life. But how do you reconcile frugality and generosity? Careful saving and generous giving? Through a series of proverbs, this message seeks to tackle these questions while discovering a handful of key principles when it comes to living generously.

Integrity

July 23, 2023 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • Proverbs 2:7

The lack of integrity is a growing issue in our culture today. We hear of issues with academic integrity, election integrity, journalism integrity, and so on. But what is integrity, and why does it matter so much? What is the relationship between the gospel and our integrity? In this message we continue our study of Proverbs and discover the nature, the benefits, and the hope of integrity in our lives.

Creating

July 16, 2023 • Roger Lowther • Proverbs 8:27–31

Wisdom, essential to successfully walk through life, shows us morally what we should say and do. Wisdom also shows us how and what to make and create. This Sunday, we will look at the role of wisdom in the creating and sustaining of the universe and the enormous implications it has for our own making and creating.

Self Control

July 9, 2023 • Dr. Sean McDonough • Proverbs 16:32

Self-control is at the heart of the book of Proverbs; as Proverbs 16:32 puts it, “Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city." Yet we often associate this self-control with drudgery or ‘repression’. Join us as we get a fresh take on self-control, and see how it is key to living a beautiful life with God, other people, and the whole creation.

Conflict

July 2, 2023 • Pastor Kevin Baird • Proverbs 25:21–22

Have any of you dealt with conflict this week, this year, this life? Conflict is like that annoying toilet paper stuck to your shoe. You want to leave it behind, but you don’t really want to touch it. Conflict arrives early in our lives and shapes our souls and relationships as it is related to trust, desire, and fear. We will look at some of the proverbs that give advice on how to think, speak, and act as we encounter the many faces of conflict. My hope is that we will see how our struggles with conflict are best addressed by an ever deeper trust in what God has done for us in Christ.

Trust

June 25, 2023 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • Proverbs 3:5–6

One of the key questions in life, and in the book of Proverbs, is—who will we trust? Will we trust in ourselves or in our God? This week, we’ll be considering one of the most famous verses in the Bible (Proverbs 3:5-6) and exploring the nature, evidence, and result of trusting God. Trust is one of the most important ingredients to any good relationship, but are we really trusting God on a daily basis? How can we tell? Join us as we learn how to trust the goodness and promises of the Lord more in our lives. -

Counsel

June 18, 2023 • Pastor Matt Schuberth • Proverbs 11:14

We continue our summer series called “Gaining Wisdom: A Summer in the Proverbs” by looking at our first major topic of counsel. Our Youth and Young Adult Pastor candidate, Matt Schuberth, will be teaching on the importance and source of wise counsel in our lives. Why is hearing and heeding advice so important? How do you know who to listen to? And how do we grow in this important discipline?

Wisdom

June 11, 2023 • Rev. Jeremy A. McKeen • Proverbs 1:1–7, Proverbs 2:6, Proverbs 3:13, Proverbs 9:10, Proverbs 24:3

Do you feel a need for wisdom in your life? I know I sure do. We begin our new summer series called: “Gaining Wisdom: A summer in the Proverbs.” As we face the complex problems of living life in a fallen world, in many cases, the solutions we need are beyond us. But the good news is that we’re not left to ourselves. God wants to give us wisdom more than we want to have it. The Lord longs for us to understand the true nature of the world, the situations we face, and to possess the skills to implement his will in those situations. Starting this Sunday, we will be looking at a key topic each week that relates to applying God’s wisdom to our everyday lives.