Beyond the Weekend

August 12 | Proverbs

August 12, 2019

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel. Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline, to help them understand the insights of the wise. Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is right, just, and fair. Proverbs 1:1-3 (New Living Translation)

Read: Proverbs 1:1-7 (NLT)

Listen: Proverbs 1 (NIV)

TODAY’S MESSAGE

Based on the Old Testament book of Proverbs, we begin a new series called The Power of Words. It’s essential to understand what proverbs are and how we use them. Many proverbs are short, two-line couplets that tell us general truths about human behavior. They take a massive amount of wisdom and boil it down to a short statement. These couplets describe the way life usually works and are to be thought about and mulled over.

We use modern-day proverbs all the time. Rather than speak about the importance of financial diversity, we say “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” We encourage people in difficult situations about “every cloud has a silver lining.” In both cases, these two proverbs condense a significant amount of real-life wisdom into a short saying designed to teach us something important.

In this series, we’ll look at a selection of Proverbs about our speech and the words we say. We’ll also see how the teachings of Jesus intersect. The wisdom of these Old Testament sayings is reinforced in the New Testament and just as helpful for us today. By applying ourselves to these proverbs, we’ll do “what is right and just and fair” (Proverbs 1:3b).

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

Pray a prayer of openness as we begin this series. You might say, “Father, I know there are things you want to change in my speech. I need your help to do this. I pray for the courage of the Holy Spirit to change my speech. I pray that everything I say brings honor to you.” Repeat this prayer often as we move through this series.


Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.

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