Podcasts about proverbs proverbs

IntroductionHebrews is an amazing book. It is a book of contrasts. It contrasts the Old Covenant given through Moses with the New Covenant first prophesied through Jeremiah in the Hebrew Scriptures and later inaugurated by Yeshua at the last supper, a Passover seder, and at the cross. It was written to Jewish people not long before the second Jewish Temple was destroyed by Rome in 70 AD. Some scholars believe that it was addressed to Jewish believers only, to Jews who were born again but weak in their faith. For several reasons, which I hope to cover with you as we go through this book, I do not believe that. I believe the epistle was indeed written to born again Jews who were weak in their faith, but also to Jews who might be interested in Yeshua but had not made a profession of faith in Him. And I also believe that the author certainly hoped that the epistle would be read or explained to Jews who had no apparent interest in following Jesus; this latter group may have included people who practiced traditional Judaism - the Temple was still standing when Hebrews was written - some who were serious about their religious practice and some who may have gone along with the practice of the Jewish religion because of pressure from their peers. And this book has great application for all of us today, both Jew and Gentile.Let's begin today by reading and then discussing the first verse of the epistle. All Scriptures in this series will be from the NIV unless otherwise stated.Hebrews 1:1 “1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,”God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways. What does that mean? There were 16 writing prophets, men sent by God to proclaim His word and to make a written record of what they said. These written records survive today as the prophetic books of the Tanach or Old Testament. One of those prophets was not sent to the Jewish people although they must surely have known of his message. That was the prophet Jonah who was sent to proclaim the need for the people of Nineveh in Assyria to repent of their sins and indeed they did so and God did not bring disaster upon them.So, many prophets were sent over a great many years - hence, “at many times”; the Analytical Lexicon of the New Testament gives a translation for this as bit by bit. That makes sense to me. We have a very patient God. He doesn't give us His truth all at once because He knows that we couldn't handle it. Bit by bit might be a good thing for us to keep in mind as we share God's truth with people. We want to be careful not to feed a person who only has the ability to consume one piece of bread with a 7 course meal. We need to take our Heavenly Father's example and His truth bit by bit, at least in the beginning.And the message was also given in various ways. What does that mean? The great law giver, Moses, considered by many Jewish people to be the greatest prophet of all, and who wrote the Torah, the first 5 books of the Bible, wrote about the first Passover in ancient Egypt and the need for a blood sacrifice to preserve life. The shed blood came from lambs. Those things pointed to the first coming of our Messiah, the Lamb of God, and to the cross.But Moses also wrote about something that came even earlier. That was the very first mention in the Bible of a deliverer, our Messiah, who would in the future crush the head of the serpent who at Satan's direction deceived Eve and so led Adam and Eve to disobey God which caused something to happen that we call The Fall. God intended for us to live forever but because of the disobedience of our first parents all of us are born spiritually dead and have limited physical life spans. Let's read about this:Genesis 3:14–15 NKJV So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”The Seed that the LORD is talking about here, her Seed - the Seed of the woman - is the deliverer, the Messiah, whom we now know is the Lord Jesus. This is the first time in the Bible that a Deliverer is mentioned. This is the first foreshadowing of the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.The LORD speaking through Moses again said something of a profoundly prophetic nature in Deuteronomy:Deuteronomy 18:18–19 “I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.”These verses speak of a future deliverer who like you, meaning like Moses would deliver His people from slavery and death but the deliverance of the future deliverer would be permanent. This was a prophecy about Jesus, Yeshua, and of His earthly ministry.Another prophecy of a future deliverer is in Psalm 2 where the LORD talks about His Son:Psalm 2:7–8 “I will proclaim the Lord's decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.”And the Lord gives us a further hint of His coming Son in the book of Proverbs:Proverbs 30:4 “Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son? Surely you know!”Folks, God the Father has a Son and He has told us about Him in the Old Testament.And then we have a prophecy given to King David from the prophet Nathan who was not one of the 16 writing prophets, but was a prophet nonetheless. Listen to the Lord speaking through Nathan to David:1 Chronicles 17:11–12 “When your days are over and you go to be with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.”The Lord is here speaking of the throne of the Messiah Who will be King of Israel and Whose throne will be established forever. That will begin when this present age is over and Messiah, the Lord Jesus, will reign for a thousand years from Jerusalem. That time will follow the rapture and the 7 year tribulation. That time is drawing nearer every day. Maranatha! Come quickly Lord Jesus!Then there was Isaiah who told of the Messiah who would come by virgin birth and who would be God Himself and God with us:Isaiah 7:14 NIV Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.Immanuel means God with us and that's exactly who Yeshua was when He walked among us 2,000 years ago. Folks that prophecy was fulfilled about 700 years later when He was born in Bethlehem. And Isaiah also prophesied this:Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”This prophecy has only been partially fulfilled as of the date of this message - November 2025 - but rest assured that it will be completely fulfilled soon when Messiah Yeshua returns to rescue Israel, to judge the world, and to set up His 1,000 year reign.Later in his book, Isaiah prophesies about a person who would come, a Servant, who would suffer and die for our sins. This was indeed a prophecy about the Lord Jesus. He comes first as a suffering servant and only later as King and ruler, at His second coming, which we expectantly wait for now. Those of you who attend a traditional Jewish synagogue might wonder why this Suffering Servant of Isaiah, chapter 53, is not mentioned or taught about. This portion of Scripture is not included in the weekly Haftorah readings in the synagogue. This prophecy is so clearly about Jesus the Messiah that it is abhorrent to many Jewish leaders especially the Rabbis. That is why it is not taught.And then the LORD sent Jeremiah the prophet through whom the LORD promised a new covenant:Jeremiah 31:31–34 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.””What a wonderful promise from the LORD through Jeremiah. That New Covenant was inaugurated at Jesus' death and it will be completely fulfilled after all Israel is saved at the end of the 7 year Tribulation.Romans 11:26–27 “and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written: “The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins.””And there are many more examples that I could give you but I don't want to tire you out.We will be talking about the New Covenant in this series because it is re-stated in the letter to the Hebrews. The prophecy of the New Covenant was made a reality when Jesus the Son of God gave His life and shed his blood for us on the cross.So we begin the New Testament book of Hebrews. It is an exciting book and one that is full of contrasts. It is also a book that cannot be understood without a knowledge of the Old Testament and that is why we've been talking so much about these Old testament prophecies today. Yes, “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways,”My friends, none of these prophecies and the sequencing of these prophecies could be done by man. It's not a possibility. Just as the set time for God to send His son to earth, there was a set time, a time set by God, for each of the prophecies that we've discussed in this message to happen. Galatians 4:4 talks about the set time. I'd like to read it to you:Galatians 4:4 “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,”Next time we will see what God has done and is doing in these last days. We'll look further into the book of Hebrews:Hebrews 1:1–2 “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.”Folks, for those of you who do not know Jesus and have not accepted Yeshua as your personal Lord and Savior, especially my Jewish brothers and sisters but also my Gentile brothers and sisters who are likewise special, I beg of you: please call upon His name and ask Him to save you today. Please don't wait! You could die today and be separated from God for eternity. You don't want that.Until the next time, my friends. God bless you. This is a public episode. 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Look around you, it was with wisdom that the world was created, follow wisdom with humility, and you will be truly blessed by God.

Pastor Jon teaches on Proverbs 30.

Proverbs is about how, having put our faith in Jesus, we should live that faith in the day to day life. It is truly Wisdom for Life expressed in short, pithy statements that offer advice or an observation of the world. Therefore, Proverbs are not promises, but guidance. In understanding the Proverbs we want to carefully understand the meaning and implication behind each one. As we study the Proverbs topically, a picture of God, ourselves, and our relationship with God will emerge.

Online Service Sunday August 17, 2025Grace Community Church 5102 Old National Pike Frederick, MD 21702 Pastor Jon Keeler-Lead PastorPastor Kyle Barnette-Pastor of DiscipleshipPastor Paul Wareham-Community PastorWorship Set List-Promise Keeper-Hope DarstThe Lord Is Good-StillCreekMedley-10,000 Reasons, More Precious Than Silver, We Exalt Thee, Agnus DeiYet Not I But Through Christ In Me-CityAlightWelcome! Thank you for joining us today. Please check out our event on YouVersion to follow along with today's message.Make sure you head over to our website: http://www.gracetoday.org​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Email prayer requests to: GracePrays@gccfred.org

Over the last few weeks on the program, we've been discovering how it is that God speaks to us today and how we can get about hearing Him when He does speak. The question is – when it's something big or important – how can we make sure that we've heard Him right? Because the last thing we want to do, is to get it wrong, right?   The Counsel of Others It's great to be with you again today in this last message in the four part series that I have called, “How Can I Hear God Speak to Me?" And today we are going to take a look at how God sometimes speaks to us through the people around us. Just the other night I was asked to spend some time facilitating a discussion amongst the elders, the church council, of a particular church, not far from where I live. It seems that what had been going on was that there was conflict amongst some of the leaders and that's not good. Leaders of God's people shouldn't be in conflict – they should act in unity. The Apostle Paul, writing to his friends at the church in Philippi said this – Philippians chapter 2, verse 2: Make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love and being in full accord and of one mind. We were chatting about the fact that God has made each one of us differently – Romans chapter 12 – some of us are prophets, others servers, others teachers, encouragers, givers, leaders, carers. And I can tell you, a leader is going to have a totally different view of the world compared to say, an encourager or a carer – that's because leaders are wired one way, the encourager is wired another way and the carer is wired yet another way, on the inside. That's the way it is, because we are different. We see things differently and often, that's the source of conflict. Now, in this meeting, one of the elders of the church; an older man with a great deal of wisdom asked the sixty four million dollar question. He said, "Okay, so we are all different, with different points of view – then how are we meant to discern the will of God, out of all those different views?" And that my friend, is a very, very good question. One of the things I'm prone to do is to race out and just do things – without listening to the advice of other people. It's because my personality type is the "leader". I'm an action person. I work on the theory that if I make ten decisions today and get just seven of them right, I'm way ahead than if I only made three decisions but got them all right. And my good friend Keith Henry, with whom I co-authored the book, “My Personality GPS”, he makes this point about leaders – he says that one of their natural weaknesses is they often fail because they don't listen to advice. Those detail people – you know the sort – they analyse everything to the "enth" degree – those detail people naturally drive me nuts because they slow me down. I want to get on with things and they want to analyse things first. But you know what I have learned? I have learned that without those detail people, I am going to fail at things because God is in the detail. The detail matters! And part of my growing up; my process of maturing is to value and to listen to the detail people because they are really, really, really important to me. And I have come to realise that often God will speak to me through the gifts and the abilities of other people, even – let me say – people who in the natural have a tendency to drive me nuts. I love that – God has such a great sense of humour in dealing with our own immaturity. Okay, what does God's Word have to say on this issue – this answer to the sixty four million dollar question? When there are all these different perspectives, how are we supposed to discern God's will? Well, there are a few fantastic bits of wisdom on this very thing in the Book of Proverbs – Proverbs chapter 15, verse 22, says: Without counsel plans go wrong, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs chapter 18, verse 2: A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing personal opinions. Proverbs chapter 20, verse 18: Plans are established by taking advice; wage war by following wise guidance. Isn't that great stuff? What God is saying to us here is that, if we rush off in a fit of pride because we think we know best, well, there's every chance that our plans will go off the rails. But if we humble ourselves, instead of being more interested in our own opinions and listen to the advice of others, that's how our plans are going succeed. I have to tell you this is something I have had to learn and I have learned it the hard way and the more I have learned it, the more I have succeeded. We were recently planning something really new in the ministry of Christianityworks – quite different and quite new. And so we pulled together a group of very different people to plan and implement the project. Very different people, I have to say and with all that I am, I believe we heard God speak through this process. And with all that I am, that's exactly what I think God meant for us to do. “Without counsel plans go wrong, but with many advisers they succeed.” It's awesome stuff! It is so easy to fall into conflict when teams of people are working together or at least trying to and yet, everyone sees things from a different perspective. And the key to discerning God's will is mutual submission - that requires wisdom. Have a listen to what God has to say about His wisdom; the wisdom that comes from above. James chapter 3, verse 17: The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. The bit I really like in there, that strikes a chord with me, is the bit that says "willing to yield" – willing to get off its high horse, listen to the skills and views and gifts and abilities of other people as godly men and women that God has put around us. It's when we yield that we hear the voice of God. Let me say it again: it is when we yield that we hear the voice of God. And there is a reason for that: James chapter 4, verse 6: Because God opposes the proud but he gives grace to the humble. So often we want to hear God speak; we want to discern the will of God: "God, what are You doing? God, what's next? God, this is a tight spot, how do I deal with this?" And yet we ignore the good advice of the godly men and women that God has put around us. Hello!! Why? Because we are proud! Let me say this loving but directly – immature and foolish and proud, because as it says in Proverbs chapter 18, verse 2: Like a fool, we take no pleasure in understanding but only in expressing our own personal opinions. We all know people like that – we have all done that. We get on our high horse; we think we are right and we are not interested in listening to anyone else. And to stop doing that we need to humble ourselves. Sometimes, as we saw last week on the programme, God speaks to us supernaturally, other times He speaks to us through the ordinary and the every day. Both are equally valid! And one of the great delights of my heart, something that I have grown to truly love is to hear God speak through the lives and the mouths and the skills and the abilities and the gifting and the experience of other people because by His grace He has taught me to get off my high horse, to shut up and to listen.   Dreams and Visions Right now I want to go on and chat about dreams and visions, because that's something the Bible; the New Testament talks about. But are they real? Does God really still speak through dreams and visions today or is this a phoney notion? I think they're reasonable questions to ask when we are enquiring as to how God speaks with us. Now maybe you are thinking, "Dreams and visions – aw, for goodness sake! Where is this joker coming from? Is he for real?" Well, my response is simply this: my heart; my passion is to dive into God's Word, the Bible, to read it, to understand it as best I can and to live it. I'm a simple kind of guy and that's how I approach life. And one of the things that happen is that God often does things in ways that I, with my rational Western mind-set, perhaps wouldn't have chosen had I been in His big shoes. Well, fortunately for you, I'm not – that's the up side. But perhaps the downside is that if we accept God at His Word, then we have to accept that He is going to do things His way, even if they don't always quite make sense to us. So, what does God's Word say about dreams and visions? I am going to share with you a passage from chapter 2, from the Book of Acts. God's Spirit has just been poured out on these Christians and they are all talking in different languages – they are behaving as though they are drunk – literally. You can read it for yourself – the fifth book in the New Testament; the Book of Acts chapter 2. Not surprisingly, the other Jews in Jerusalem at the time were pretty critical of this sort of behaviour. They are accusing these Christians of being drunk, so Peter the Apostle, stands up to explain. Acts chapter 2, beginning at verse 12: All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' See, what's going on here is that the unexpected is happening. These Christians are falling over as though they're drunk; they are speaking in different tongues. And to silence the sceptics, Peter gets up and says, "You think this is amazing? This is nothing! Wait to see what else is going to happen." And then he goes on to quote the Old Testament prophet of Joel. Remember this is Jerusalem in the first century – everybody listening knows the Scripture that he is quoting. And he promises that the Holy Spirit will cause people to have dreams and visions and prophesies – all ways that God is going to speak with us. "It's in the Bible", Peter is saying, "so don't shoot me; the messenger." And if I could personally echo that same sentiment to you, here and now – if you somehow feel uncomfortable with the notion of dreams and visions and prophesies and me talking about it – friend, it's in the Bible, so please, don't shoot the messenger. Do you know that many, many Muslims who come to put their faith in Jesus Christ, report that they saw Jesus coming towards them in a dream. In fact, this is a really, really common occurrence. Has God ever spoken to me in that way? No, He hasn't. I hear God in different ways and that's fine. We are all different and God knows that and He speaks to us in different ways. But I have been impacted by this – absolutely. When my wife, Jacqui, first visited our church – this was before she was my wife, in fact, none of knew who she was – she came on a Sunday morning; a service when I was preaching. And she came back again on the Sunday evening. Now, in the evening, our pastor Phil was scheduled to preach that night. You may have heard me speak about Phil before – he is a practical, very down to earth kind of guy. He gets up; he is about to preach and he looked towards Jacqui – he didn't know her name; none of us knew her and he said to her, "Look, God's given me a vision for your life." And he went ahead and he described this picture; this vision he had had in a huge amount of detail. That was a pretty gutsy thing to do, I thought. Well, Jacqui is pretty quiet and shy so she didn't react. Months later though, we discovered that this was an incredibly difficult time in her life and that she had been wanting God to speak to her and that vision that Phil described to her that night, was a huge turning point in her life's journey. In fact, if Phil hadn't communicated that to her that night, she probably wouldn't be my life today. In many parts of the world, people have no problems at all with the idea that God speaks through dreams and visions and prophesies, but somehow, we Westerners, with our rational, materialistic mindsets, struggle with the idea. Let me come back to where I started. We should test everything like this against God's Word. Sometimes, people will come to us with stuff that isn't from God but sometimes it is from God and if God tells us in His Word the Bible, that all along it's been His plan to speak to us through dreams and visions and prophesies, well, I don't know about you, but I think we should be listening. Yes, it's open to abuse! In Colossians chapter 2, verse 18, Paul talks about this – about people who: ... dwell on visions, being puffed up without cause by a human way of thinking. That's why we test everything against God's Word. But friend, God does things in ways that perhaps, you or I wouldn't have done and I hunger to hear Him speak and I delight in hearing Him speak. When, how, that's His choice. Our job is to listen.   Ducks in a Row Well, here we are almost at the end of this series that I have called, “How Can I hear God Speak to Me?” And over the course of these four messages, we have looked at eight different ways that God speaks to us today. (1) The Bible, firstly, God's Word, (2) secondly, God speaks to us in times of prayer; when we get still before Him. (3) Thirdly, God speaks to us through preaching and teaching – God anointed, Spirit-filled, faithful, Christ-centred preaching. (4) He speaks to us through signs and wonders, (5) through prophets. (6) Sometimes He speaks right out of the blue – (7) other times, through the counsel and the gifts and abilities of others and sometimes (8) He speaks through dreams and through visions. And you know, you add that up and what you discover is that God is speaking rather a lot – principally, primarily through the authority of His Word, the Bible; the living Word of God. That's why we put it right up there at number one. If numbers two through eight purport to be God speaking, then they had better be consistent with number one, the Word of God. If they aren't, then they are not from God – it's as simple as that. Let's make no mistake – God is not in the business of contradicting Himself. God is not in the business of changing His mind. But He is interested in our lives – in the nitty gritty of our lives and He knows that sometimes we need His guidance. And because He loves us, it stands to reason therefore, that He is going to speak specifically into our lives as any father would. I heard a pastor; a man whom I respect greatly, stand up and preach a sermon, not too long ago, in which he basically said that God, these days, only speaks through His Word, the Bible, and through no other means – not through prophets, not through signs and wonders, not through anything except the Bible. Uh!! Well, the first thing is ... the first thing is that it's not what the Bible says. Each of the other ways that God speaks with us that we have looked at over these last few weeks – numbers two through eight, that I just listed previously – in that list we just went through, each of those is straight out of God's Word, the Bible. But afterwards, when I went and asked this pastor a couple of questions, it was interesting. The first one I asked was: "Well, how did you come to be an ordained minister in this church; in this denomination?" And his answer was: "Well, because I felt called!" And friend, that's exactly the right answer – in fact, it's God's calling that's the only answer. So my next question was: "Well, how did you discern that calling; how did you come to the conclusion that God was calling you into His ministry?" And he then proceeded to tell me about this and that, all the things we have been talking about in two through eight – through other people, through preaching, through voices out of the blue. Yet, he didn't want to acknowledge that God speaks that way, even though this man had discerned his calling into ministry that way. It stands to reason that if we feel led by God to do this or to do that, we somehow must have heard Him speak that into our lives. That's what this series of messages has been all about. We are going into God's Word and learning from Him how it is that He chooses to communicate with us. But learning to discern His calling; learning to put the pieces together sometimes isn't easy. Along the way I have made mistakes and I'm sure you have too and when it comes to the big decisions in life, that's a bit of a scary prospect. What if we think we are hearing from God but we're not, in choosing a wife or a husband or in choosing a particular career or ministry or in maybe, heading off to so some distant foreign land to become a missionary? You get the point! I mean, I do believe that sometimes – often times – God's leading leads us right into the wilderness for an experience of the wilderness, when we are expecting instant success. That's okay; I'm not bothered by that. The issue, simply uppermost for me, is if I am going to head off in this direction or in that, then I want it to be the direction that God has chosen and ordained and prepared for me. That's all! Whatever way it is, I want it to be God's way. How do you discern God's will amongst the noise and the distractions of life? A prophesy, a dream, a passage from the Bible leaps out at you, "Man, were they from God or am I just imagining this?" Before the days of global terrorism, as a frequent flyer, I was often invited up into the cockpit of a plane, to sit in the jump seat and watch take-offs and landings. They were the good old days. One time I was returning during the night to Sydney, on a flight from New Zealand and I was in the cockpit of a Boeing 767 which gives you a great view out of the front windscreen – better than most other commercial planes of the time. And flying into Sydney, well, it's a pretty big city – there were so many lights. I thought, ‘How are the pilots going to pick the runway out amidst all these lights?' I mean, I know they were flying by instruments but eventually, they had to see the runway. And then all of a sudden, we turned and the plane levelled off and the runway came into view. This bright, straight row of lights – I mean, you just couldn't miss it. All those lights in a row, clearly, unmistakably showed the pilots which direction to fly in and how to land once they were off their instruments into visual mode. And for me, it's the same thing with discerning God's will. He speaks to us in different ways at different times and learning to understand Him is a process, as it is in any relationship. But when I feel Him leading me down a particular path, inevitably what happens is, two or three or four things kind of line up in a straight line – a Scripture verse that sets my heart on fire and just won't go away and then someone else comes along with a word; a prophesy and they don't know what is going on; they don't know what I'm thinking and dreaming. And then some event – that door over there that I thought was open, slams shut in my face and this one over here, to my surprise, opens up. And all of a sudden it's like those lights on the runway – they end up in a bit of straight line, like little ducks in a row that point you in a certain direction. And sometimes, oftentimes, you can't actually see them until you start heading down the path. In fact, that's mostly the case – we have to step out first in faith, often letting go of the past, before God reveals what is coming next. That's why it's called ‘stepping out in faith'. But friend, time and time and time again, I have seen my God just line those little ducks up in a row and when I see that, I start to head down that path; prayerfully, eyes open, asking God to open doors if it is His will and to slam them shut, if it's not. Sometimes there is opposition and that's where faith comes in. But above all, I always remember this: God is a faithful God, He knows my heart; He will not lead me down a path that He doesn't want me to follow. Yes, sometimes He will take me to the wilderness; yes, sometimes He needs to prune me and cleanse me so that I can bring Him more glory. That's fine and that's His choice. I just want to make sure I'm following in His direction. And whilst I have run into the occasional dead end along the way, you know, as I look back ... look back over the last decade and a half of walking with Jesus, I can see how He has guided me to where He wants me to be. Friend, God is a faithful God. God is still speaking to us today, through His Bible, through prophesies and dreams and visions and other people and He's speaking to us in so many different ways. Can I encourage you to stop, to spend time with Him, to listen to Him, to learn to discern His voice? Jesus said we would hear His voice and we would know that it's Him. And as we grow in that and we discover how we can hear God's voice, friend, that is such a wondrous thing. God is still speaking to His people today!

Pastor Jason delivers a message on generosity from Proverbs 11.

Tune in as Elder Ben Montgomery delivers a message from Proverbs 4.

Pastor Jason delivers a message from Proverbs 7.

Tune in as we begin our summer series on wisdom from the books of Psalms and Proverbs.

DOWNLOAD KEYNOTE SLIDES Sermon Summary: "Live in the House of Wisdom" by Dr. Bryan Hudson Pastor Bryan Hudson delivers a powerful and practical message rooted in the wisdom literature of Scripture, particularly the book of Proverbs. The central theme of the sermon is an invitation not merely to admire or visit wisdom, but to live in the house of wisdom—to make it our dwelling place and guiding principle. Purpose of Proverbs (Proverbs 1:1–3) Proverbs is given to teach wisdom and discipline, to understand wise insights, and to help people do what is right, just, and fair. Discipline is emphasized—it's not what others do for you, but what you choose for yourself. Discipline leads to order, consistency, and purposeful living. The Structure of Wisdom (Proverbs 24:3–4) Wisdom builds the house Understanding establishes it Knowledge furnishes it with pleasant and precious things This creates a metaphorical structure: Wisdom = the house, Understanding = the foundation, Knowledge = the furniture. This priority counters worldly assumptions—knowledge is not enough; it must be applied through wisdom and guided by understanding. Illustration of Wisdom with Cooking Knowledge is like having the recipe and ingredients. Understanding is knowing how to use them. Wisdom is putting it all together effectively and appropriately. Path Principle and Decision-Making Proverbs teaches to ponder the path of your feet (Proverbs 4:26). Life is about the paths we walk, not merely our intentions. Just as walking on a moving walkway takes you in a fixed direction, so do life choices—you arrive where the path leads, regardless of your good intentions. Living in God's Wisdom vs. Worldly Lack There is both abundance and lack in the world—not only materially but spiritually. There's a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord (Amos 8:11), despite abundance all around. True abundance is not material wealth, but spiritual richness, rooted in wisdom and relationship with God. Warnings and Encouragement Covetousness is a danger—desiring something just because someone else has it. Jesus was not poor, but He lived simply. True wealth is in wisdom and purpose, not possessions. Don't lower yourself or dilute your wisdom to fit in—let others rise to the level of truth and light. Mind of Christ God's ways and thoughts are higher (Isaiah 55:8–9), but they are not unattainable—we must rise to them. Believers have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), giving access to divine wisdom. Final Call: Choose Wisdom Daily God's wisdom is a path, not just an idea. Living wisely leads to stability, fulfillment, and God-directed success. Don't just visit the house of wisdom—live there. Closing Prayer Dr. Hudson ends with a prayer of thanksgiving, asking God to help believers live in the house of wisdom and guide others into the same. Summary Phrase: "Let's not just visit the house of wisdom—let's live in it." This message is both instructional and deeply spiritual, calling believers to a lifestyle rooted in God's wisdom, discernment, and understanding.

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Send us a textSend us a textFollow VISION Calvary Chapel:Website | https://visioncalvarychapel.com/Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/vision_calvarychapel/Subscribe | https://www.youtube.com/user/visioncitychurchFacebook | https://www.facebook.com/visioncitychurchTwitter | https://twitter.com/visionoc#visioncalvarychapel#visionformycity#garidbeeler

Send us a textFollow VISION Calvary Chapel:Website | https://visioncalvarychapel.com/Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/vision_calvarychapel/Subscribe | https://www.youtube.com/user/visioncitychurchFacebook | https://www.facebook.com/visioncitychurchTwitter | https://twitter.com/visionoc#visioncalvarychapel#visionformycity#garidbeeler

December 5th 2024 . Ryan Hamby

Pastor Chris Waldvogel  ~  Last Sunday of the Church Year                                             Mission and Stewardship Emphasis: Giving Money (Part 3 of 3)   Old Testament:  Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 Epistle:  Jude 20-25 Gospel:  Mark 13:24-37 The post November 24, 2024 ~ “Using Wealth Wisely: Insights from Proverbs” ~ Proverbs 22:1-9 appeared first on Beautiful Savior Fargo.

Pastor Chris Waldvogel  ~  26th Sunday after Pentecost                                             Mission and Stewardship Emphasis: Spending Money (Part 2 of 3)   Old Testament:  Daniel 12:1-3 Epistle:  Hebrews 10:11-25 Gospel:  Mark 13:1-13 The post November 17, 2024 ~ “Using Wealth Wisely: Insights from Proverbs” ~ Proverbs 6:6-11 appeared first on Beautiful Savior Fargo.

Pastor Chris Waldvogel  ~  25th Sunday after Pentecost                                            Mission and Stewardship Emphasis: Earning Money (Part 1 of 3) Old Testament:  1 Kings 17:8-16 Epistle:  Hebrews 9:24-28 Gospel:  Mark 12:38-44 The post November 10, 2024 ~ “Using Wealth Wisely: Insights from Proverbs” ~ Proverbs 8:12-21 appeared first on Beautiful Savior Fargo.

How do we become wise?

Dr. John Hannah teaches from Proverbs 30 on the limitations of human wisdom, the prayer of a wise man, and four applications of wisdom from the animal kingdom. Lesson Notes

Polishing the Pulpit 2024 - BransonClarke Smith - Two for One - Wise Words from the Proverbs - Proverbs 16:22 and 16:24

Polishing the Pulpit 2024 - Branson Rodgers Stearsman - Two for One - Wise Words from the Proverbs - Proverbs 16:9 & 18

Polishing the Pulpit 2024 - BransonDismuke Webster - Two for One - Wise Words from the Proverbs - Proverbs 16:6

Polishing the Pulpit 2024 - Branson Hahn Gallagher - Two for One - Wise Words from the Proverbs - Proverbs 16:3 and 5

Polishing the Pulpit 2024 - BransonGarner Cain - Two for One - Wise Words from the Proverbs - Proverbs 16:1-2

Sunday July 7th, 2024 with Chris Gore

Proverbs: Three Themes of Proverbs

Solomon Challenges His Son In Four Areas It seems that Solomon is interupting his teaching on immorality to discuss other things.  Perhaps he is pointing out that we are a "package"...every area of our lives matter. Be a man of character v. 1-5 Be diligent and industrious v. 6-11 Be aware of what God hates v. 16-19 Arrogance Lying It is mentioned several times Destruction Of the innocent Of Unity and peace All of these are sins against others God hates when we sin against others

Life and Family Lessons Proverbs 4 The challenge is for the son to get wisdom v. 5ff It brings understanding It brings life It is found in the Godly instruction of parents who teach, train, and rule It helps our kids to avoid wickedness v.  14 Wickedness is a path - a well-traveled trail Wickedness is a way - a direction Wickedness is a walk - one step at a time What are some ways to impact our children with truth? Teach Talk Live Love We should expect a favorable outcome Life and health v. 22  

Life and Family Lessons in Proverbs 3 We should continually be focused on teaching and training truth "My son" is repeated over and over again 1:8, 10, 15 2:1 3:1, 11, 21 4:10, 20 5:1 6:1, 20 7:1 It is wise to remember that Solomon teaches in chapter one that it can be too late  Wisdom, righteousness and the fear of the Lord Are god Are better Are only available for a limited time Too late is always said...especially when it cmoes to getting these We should continually be focused on seeking, finding, and living truth Trust in the Lord v. 5 Fear the Lord v. 7 Honor the Lord v. 9 Enjoy the Lord v. 4, 8, 13, 18 We should expet our homes to be blessed as a result v. 33

This is Bob McAndrew's first talk on Friday night at the Black Mountain Men's Retreat in North Carolina. In this message he introduces the book of Proverbs and asks three questions: What is a proverb? What is the purpose of Proverbs? What is the motto of Proverbs?

We skip ahead this episode to chapter 4.  Don't worry, Dave and Bethlie explain why at the beginning of the podcast!2 Show Notes: We must be wise about anything that is influencing us to be wrong here Entertainment undermines Proverbs 4:23 Amuse = no think We don't think when we are being entertained; we don't reason and we aren't lead to conscious decisions of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and discretion. Indirectly we are being told what to think and feel and choose That is a dangerous issue for our culture We must be willing to limit our influence in favor of that which helps us to think Limit Social media Movies Reels Emphasize Hearing the Word of God Reading the Word of God Reading good books Talking and visiting with other Godly believers Accountability is a good thing Availability is too

Dave & Bethlie continue the series on Proverbs. This week they continue in Proverbs chapter 2 and discuss some sensitive topics regarding sexual activity before marriage and other issues regarding immorality.  If you have little ones around, we suggest you pop those air buds in. Thanks for downloading and listening!    

Dave & Bethlie continue the series on Proverbs. This week they continue in Proverbs chapter 2.  This episode discussed the issue of imorality. Immorality is a broad word that includes everything from pornography to pre-marital sex to homosexuality to adultery.  It is anything outside of the clear boundaries set for us by God in His Word. The point Solomon is making.... He is communicating and commanding and commending truth to his son. We must communicate We must command We must commend Solomon had a goal to convince his son to choose wisdom and apply understanding.  he want to convince his son to pursue the Lord so he will have wisdom, knowledge,, and understanding.  He wants to help his son have God's blessings.    

Dave & Bethlie continue the series on Proverbs. This week they continue in Proverbs chapter 2.  This episode gives actionable steps that parents can take in providing good influences in the lives of their children. As teenagers they were both encouraged to read a Proverb a day.  That practice has continued into their adult lives.  In fact, Proverbs has become a cornerstone of their fmaily devotions and time for them to discuss, share ideas, and learn together.   Take a look at the show notes below and follow along! Find ways to provide good influences Develop relationships that influence your kids well We used Chick-fil-A We used work opportunities We used great books We used good movies We used people we know Help your kids to find good relationships With family With other adults (usually in a working or training situation) With other teens of your choosing Do hard things when necessary

  Dave and Bethlie continue the series on Proverbs.  This is second second in a three part series on chapter 2 of Proverbs.  As teenagers they were both encouraged to read a Proverb a day.  That practice has continued into their adult lives.  In fact, Proverbs has become a cornerstone of their fmaily devotions and time for them to discuss, share ideas, and learn together.   Take a look at the show notes below and follow along! Part 2 Protecting ourselves and our kids from evil influences/friends Proverbs 2:12 The evil influence identified Illustration of a contractor who hides problems and covers errors and lies about it Especially if this person claims to believe This is a bad influence. Protect your kids from this v. 12 Speaks perverse things (twisted) v. 13 Always is doing wrong v. 14 Rejoices at things that are wicked v. 15 Always devious and crooked The steps that lead to protection Teach truth v. 11. Truth is the protector from all evil. - MacArthur Teach our kids to say NO 1:10 Teach our kids to avoid 1:15 Teach our kids to stand Change schools if need be Withdraw our kids from sports Set some things in stone It is ok to make a decision based on an uneasiness Better to be uneasy, act on it, and find out it was unwarranted That to be uneasy, let it go, and later wish you would have reacted No overnights No alone with other teens in a car No influence that makes you uneasy No contacts without your approval Little or no social media Little or no multi-player video games Keeping your kids “analog” very well may result in them entering adulthood without emotional baggage, with a happier more contented heart, and without a porn battle or full-blown addiction. Can't use video games until you have finished homework, finished chores, had devotions, and walked or run at least 2 miles. Have them write a position paper and include a list of standards for time, accountability, and pre-determined breaks from everything. Never give a teen a smart watch Teach teens to earn privileges Show teens the better way Teach Remove our kids from these influences

We encourage you to read Proverbs 2 and then listen to this episode as Dave and Bethlie discuss Proverbs 2.  In a world riddle with deception, crying out to God for wisdom is vital.    

Why were the Proverbs written? Dave and Bethlie begin this series through Proverbs exploring why Proverbs was written.  Don't miss this foundational episdoe as we begin the new year and new season!    

Find more daily resources: churchproject.org/daily

Find more daily resources: churchproject.org/daily

Find more daily resources: churchproject.org/daily