Picture a wise man walking in the countryside. First, he goes past a field of ripening corn. Then he goes past a vineyard with clusters of grapes on the vine. Then he goes past a little vegetable garden. It’s going to be a good harvest, h...

Here is how Proverbs describes the sluggard, or the unproductive person:

He is slow to start
The sluggard does not plough in the autumn (20:4). This draws attention to the long-term effects of putting off the ...

We are looking today at the theme of work, or more precisely, its opposite.

The book of Proverbs introduces us to a tragic character whose life ends in ruin. The name of this character is the sluggard. He is referred to 14 times.</p...

Your words will be a blessing when you have:

An open ear
Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger (Jas. 1:19). Having an open ear means listening to the words of others. It also means lis...

The Proverbs encourage us to speak in certain ways, and to avoid speaking in other ways. Let’s frame four prayers from the book of Proverbs, asking for God’s help with our words.

Lord, help me to speak with restraint</stron...

What you say comes out of you, but it also goes down inside you. It goes to the stomach (18:20). Your own cursing will go deep down into your own soul. They are bitter fruits, and they will make your soul sick. You will eat your own words.

...

We have looked at the way of wisdom in relation to friends and family, and today we come to wisdom in our words. There are more proverbs on what we say than on any other subject. The tongue is the means by which we bring the greatest help or harm ...

The only commands that are life-giving are the words and commands of God. But here is a father who has made God’s words his own: “My teaching. My words. My commandments.” What he commends to his son is what he pursues hi...

Remember that the Proverbs are not promises. Still, this is a stunning statement: Your influence in the lives of your children goes deeper than you may think. It will still be with them, even when they are old!

The thief on the cross lived...

You might be surprised to hear that the largest number of proverbs relating to family life are addressed to parents and to children. Let’s begin with God’s wisdom for children.

Always seek to bring joy to your parents
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Your spouse is a gift from the Lord. These are the words of Solomon to his son Rehoboam, and this wise father commends marriage to his son as a good thing. Marriage is a good gift from the Lord.

We live in a culture that flaunts freedom. “W...

If you have a good relationship with your brother or sister, cherish it and guard it, because Proverbs reminds us that close relationships are vulnerable to deep wounds that don’t heal easily. “A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong c...

The Lord Jesus Christ is the best friend you can ever have.

1. Jesus will always be with you
He says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:4). No one else can say this to you. In every adversity, in life and in deat...

What are the qualities of a true friend? How can you be a better friend? Proverbs gives us a profile of a true friend.

1. A true friend is present
Do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Bette...

Proverbs gives us two ways to guard our friendships:

First, by being considerate
The easiest way to kill a good friendship is to become demanding. Here is a person who becomes friends with his neighbour, but then he ove...

The people with whom you are closest will have the greatest influence in your life. The character of the friends you choose will rub off on you. And the deeper a friendship becomes, the more like your friend you will become. Friendship can bring y...

In Proverbs we are looking at what it means to follow the way of wisdom in five areas: friends, family, words, work, and wealth. Today, we begin by looking at friendship.

“Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire” (18:1). That is, he i...

To “fear the Lord” means to love Him so much that His frown would be your greatest dread and His smile would be your greatest delight.

There is a fear that love removes, and there is a fear that love brings.

The f...

What is your first reaction to “the fear of the LORD”? If you have endured a religion based on fear, you may say, “I had enough of that when I was young; I don’t want anything to do with it now.”

If that is what you feel, look at the good t...

Here are three things that wisdom brings to us:

1. Long life
Long life is in her right hand (3:16). If you eat a proper diet, you will enjoy better health than if you live on junk food. That doesn’t guarantee ...

Proverbs describes what it looks like to follow Jesus Christ. It lays out the life to which wisdom calls us, the life of a disciple of Jesus.

We are going to look at what it means to follow Jesus, what it means to follow the way of wisdom ...

In Proverbs 8, wisdom speaks, but whose voice is this? The answer is found in the New Testament.

Jesus is described as the wisdom of God: “You are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God” (1 Cor. 1:30). “Christ, in whom are hidden...

Wisdom is the skill you need for putting together a successful life—or to put it another way—wisdom is “life skills.” Over these next days, we’re going to look together at what the Bible has to say on practical issues like friends, family...

There are two kinds of grief (or sorrow). Worldly sorrow brings death. You can be full of regret and never change; you can be sorry without repenting. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. G...

The prodigal son was absolutely miserable. But it takes courage to go back home. How do you find the courage to begin the long journey home? You find the courage when you believe that there will be a welcome. And this is the promise of the gospel....

In Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, the younger son gets his money and goes to live as far away from his father as he can. But he squanders his money, and then Jesus says, “A severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need” (15:...

What an obnoxious son! His father asked him to go work in his vineyard, and he said to his face, “I will not.” There’s hostility, rebellion, and defiance! “You’re not going to tell me what to do.”

The grandmothers would be saying, “Oh, wha...

Jesus told a parable about a father who asked his two sons to go work in his vineyard. One son said, “I will not,” but later he changed his mind (repented) and went. The other son said, “I will, sir,” but he didn’t.

The second son’s respons...

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the German Christian leaders who stood against the Nazi regime. Bonhoeffer was an inspiration to many. But when he looked into his own heart he wasn’t so sure. He expressed this conflict in a poem called “Who Am I?”,...

Suppose you spent 8 hours a day sleeping, 8 hours working, 3 hours eating, and 2 hours travelling to and from work. You would have 3 hours leftover. Now, if you gave 2 of those to your family, then you would have just 1 hour left!

Many peop...