Merging God’s Wisdom with Real Life: Our summer study in the Proverbs
Have you ever read the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament? There’s lots of quotes and sayings that go all over the place. But do you know why Proverbs is in the Bible? Here’s how the book opens to help us understand why this is here for us:
Proverbs 1:1-7 (NIV) The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
This Sunday, June 13, we are beginning a summer series of messages that will come out of the Old Testament book of Proverbs. We are calling it, “Proverbs: Merging God’s Wisdom with Real Life.” Why is it called this? Essentially because the book of Proverbs is God’s counseling to us, and counseling is a merger of God’s wisdom with the things of life we have to deal with.
It’s interesting. I have often been a critic of people who taking a simple quote or verse out of the Bible and use it as a basis of their life’s theology. I have referred to these as “Coffee Mug Quotes” that we live by. As good as those quotes may be, by themselves they can lack a depth of understanding. Yet here we are, for the weeks of summer, taking a Proverb quote, then teaching out of it. Why? Because the Proverbs are different. They are God’s advice to us.
Here’s what I am asking you to do throughout these weeks of summer:
- Read the book of Proverbs this summer: Dedicate yourself to reading through the Proverbs over the next couple months (there are 31 chapters, so you can take your time).
- Learn how to study Proverbs on your own: You will grow a great deal in learning how to learn to read and study Proverbs on your own. We are going to tackle only a few proverbs over about eight Sundays. There are many, many more.
- Prepare for each Sunday before the teaching: Take a look at the InnerView article that is written each week to help get you ready for the coming weekend’s teaching.
- Contemplate and meditate over the point of the teaching: Take notes—and spend some time contemplating the biblical truth that comes out of the message.
- Have a conversation with someone about the topic: Talk about it, whether with a small group you are in, during a coffee visit with someone, or in a conversation at home. Talk through what you have learned.
Proverbs is truly one of the counseling books of the Bible. This is God’s Word merging God’s wisdom with our real, practical, nitty-gritty lives.
Let’s have a great summer of study. See you on Sunday morning at 10 a.m.
