Marriage, Media, Proverbs: Living Wisdom, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

We’re just over half way through our study of the ancient, yet incredibly relevant, book of Proverbs. The primary theme of Proverbs is wisdom, but the wisdom of Proverbs (and the Bible) has nothing to do with IQ or life experience, though those are good and helpful. Rather, this wisdom finds it source in letting the living God be the living God to you in every corner of your life (cf 1:7). Today we get to what Proverbs says about cultivating your marriage.

Marriage, Media, Proverbs: Living Wisdom, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

The book of Proverbs shows us that God cares about the nitty-gritty details of our every day lives. The one, true, living God is not detached, aloof, and disinterested. He loves us and wants life for us, not death. He wants us to flourish – in this life and the next – not merely exist. Though nearly 3,000 years old, this ancient book remains incredibly relevant today – even to the modern debate on marriage, gender and roles. This week we look at creation, marriage and women.

Marriage, Media, Proverbs: Living Wisdom, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Last 40 years marriage has seen a dramatic, steady decline in our country and culture. It is clear that there are few things more broken in our day than manhood and womanhood, particularly in relation to marriage and the price of this brokenness is impossible to quantify. We need living wisdom today for our marriages and our men.

Media, Proverbs: Living Wisdom, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Sociologists have noted that friendship is the only relationship that is not a biological or social necessity, therefore it often gets pushed to the finges of our life. Yet, Proverbs tells us that we won’t grow in wisdom without certain types of friends. Friends bring something unique into your life that other relationships can’t because they are unlike every other type of relationship. What are friends? How do be a great friend? Where do get the ability to be a friend like that?

Media, Proverbs: Living Wisdom, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Proverbs makes it clear that wisdom is not merely the result of moral behavior, having the right information, living a certain number of years or having a particular amount of experience. All of those are good and helpful, but they aren’t enough. Rather, Proverbs reveals that wise living is the result of becoming a certain type of person who is, then, able to make the right decisions in life – particularly where the normal rules of life don’t apply. God is in the business of making new people. This week we see that he does that, in part, through growing us in self-control.

Media, Proverbs: Living Wisdom, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Proverbs is about how letting God be God to us effects every dimension of our lives and, ultimately, makes us wise people. He is a good God who cares, not only about our future, but about how we live and navigate life today. He cares not only about big decisions, but also every day matters, like our emotions. What are emotions? Why is it important to understand them? What do we do with them?

Media, Proverbs: Living Wisdom, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Proverbs shows us how letting God be God to us effects every dimension of life. No matter who you are, where you live, what you do there is one thing you do all day long: use words. Beause we do it so much it is easy to underestimate the importance of our words. The reality is that there are few things more important and few things we depend on more every day

Media, Proverbs: Living Wisdom, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

We’ve spent the first four weeks looking at some of the macro themes in the introductory section of Proverbs. Beginning today, we’re going to zoom into various aspects of character and life. Today we’re going to begin by addressing a vice that no one in our city is free from. Often, we can’t stand to see it in others, but are quite often absolutely blind to it in ourselves. It is not a stretch to say that there is not a sin that makes someone more unpopular, yet which is so difficult to pin down and identify in our own lives. What is it? Pride.

Media, Proverbs: Living Wisdom, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

The “heart” is referenced 79x’s in the ancient book of Proverbs, that’s over twice per chapter. Clearly, this is an important topic. It was the Puritan John Flavel who noted that the “greatest difficulty in conversion is to win the heart to God and the greatest difficulty after conversion is to keep the heart with God.” Perhaps one of the most famous Proverbs is 4:23, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” What is the heart? How do we keep it? How do we change it?

Media, Proverbs: Living Wisdom, Sermons | by Pastor Adam Sinnett

Proverbs is for the wise, foolish and simple. That means its for all of us. This book is divided into two parts: 1-9 and 10-31. Chapters 1-9 serve as the introduction for the book, selling us on the value of wisdom and the folly of foolishness. To rightly understand chapters 10-31 we have to come to terms with the major themes of chapters 1-9: wisdom and folly. Last week we look at the path of wisdom. This week we’ll look at the path of folly.