Proverbs. It is a book that is both eminently familiar and overwhelmingly foreign.

While individual verses come to mind, verses like, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding . . .” (Proverbs 3:5), I suspect most of us have not considered the book as a whole. What is the message of Proverbs? How should we read it? Is it just list of helpful tips for living? Or does it reveal to us the very wisdom of God? How should we study a book that holds so many disparate words of wisdom? And is it possible to preach the book verse-by-verse?

On Sunday we will begin to answer some of these questions, as we enter a new sermon series. From now until Fall, we will spend the summer focusing on Proverbs 1–9. What is sometimes called the Prologue to the Proverbs, we will consider the wisdom that God has for us in these chapters. Tackling topics like sex, money, righteousness, relationships, parenting, and work, we will discover what God’s wisdom looks like and how we all can grow in wisdom.

To prepare for Sunday, please read Proverbs 1 as well as our introductory blog post. Let us pray that God gives us wisdom and conforms us into the image of Christ through our study of Proverbs 1–9. Sunday, we will begin by looking at Proverbs 1:1–7. May the Lord teach us to fear him and to walk in his ways.

For His Glory and your joy,
Pastor David

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Discussion & Response Questions for Proverbs 1:1-7

1. As you come to the book of Proverbs, what are your general impressions of the book? How have you read it? How has it informed your Christian life?
2. Who wrote the book of Proverbs? And why does that matter?
3. Who is Proverbs is for? How should we read it?
4. Who are the two audiences that we find in verses 1:3–6? And how does knowing those two audiences inform our reading?
5. What is the fear of the Lord? And how do we grow in the fear of the Lord?
6. How does this book apply to the original audience? To Christ? And to us?
7. How does knowing the various stages of interpretation help us resolve problems in the text?
8. After studying the first seven verses of the book, how might your approach change to the book of Proverbs?
9. What are you most excited about / interested in as we begin this new sermon series?