For the past four weeks we have been studying the idea of wisdom as portrayed in the book of Proverbs. There we find wisdom as an attractive woman who is calling men and women to build their lives on wisdom, beginning with the fear of the Lord. Generally speaking, when one orders their life this way, things tend to go well in terms of stability, relationships, and personal identity.

But The Teacher in Ecclesiastes sees life a little bit differently. He's a bit critical of the neat and tidy system that Proverbs provides. His warning, however, is not to abandon wisdom but to adjust our expectations of life because we don't live in an ideal world. We live east of Eden, or as the author puts it, "Under the sun."

The question becomes how do Christians navigate a world where it seems like the wicked are rewarded and the righteous are punished? Throughout this short book the clouds break and we see how the author is trying to get us to look beyond the sun to a greater hope that is to come. A hope that is ultimately wisdom made flesh—Jesus Christ.

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In the final sermon on Proverbs, we turn to the Blessing of Wisdom.

The book of Proverbs seeks to place every reader before in the place of Adam before the tree of life and the tree of knowing good and evil. Here, Adam was faced with a choice, and in the same way, we are faced with the same decision every day. Will we receive the wisdom of God and pursue the path of wisdom, or will we seek our own way?

Wisdom calls to us and the wise response is two-fold:

1) Seek the Wise Path and Receive the Blessing of God's Presence (8:17).

2) Seek Wisdom and REceive the Blessed Fruit of Wealth and Righteousness (18-21).

As you stand at the crossroads of a decision this week between foolishness and wisdom, take a moment and look down the path of wisdom at all the blessings waiting for you if you would turn to God and follow Jesus down that path.

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From the beginning of this series we have defined Wisdom as living God’s way in God’s World. We do this by applying the knowledge of God to daily life and by abiding in the presence of Christ.

These chapters today, once again remind us that we daily stand at a crossroads where we can choose the wise path or the foolish path. Here, the author of Proverbs personifies wisdom as an adulterous woman who seeks to allure the faithful from the wise path.

Following her plays to our flesh's desires, but what is at stake if we follow her path?

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Proverbs presents to ways to be human: the wise way and the foolish way. Both paths are marked by a posture, pace, practice, person. In this sermon, Pastor Todd Gray highlights the posture and practice of the wise person when they find themselves under the discipline of the Lord.

The wise person has a distinct perspective on God's discipline, namely, that they view it as loving instruction rather than punishment. Secondly, they delight in the Lord's discipline because they know that the Lord corrects those he calls son or daughter (See Hebrews 12:7-11). Finally, the wise person receives the discipline of the Lord because they know it is shaping them further in wisdom.

None of this is easy, and in the midst of discipline, it is difficult to have the mind that God is for you and wants His best for you. Growing to the point where you can identity the Lord's discipline and thank him for it is proof of wisdom taking root in our hearts.

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In week one, we established that Wisdom has a posture (humility), pace (slow), person (Jesus), and a practice (abiding).

In this weeks message, Pastor Todd dives deeper into what it means to abide in wisdom. Ultimately, to abide in wisdom is to abide in Christ.

The wise sage of Proverbs wrote "As a man thinks... so he is."

Epictetus, a first century Greek philosopher wrote, "You become what you give your mind to. If you yourself don't choose what what thoughts and images you expose yourself to, someone else will and their motives may not be of the highest order.”

Our minds have incredible power to dictate our orientation to the world. Generally speaking, if you fill your mind with negativity, you'll be a negative person—always looking for the bad news. Far from being a message about the power of positive thinking, Paul seeks to reset the mind of the believer, because after all, we have the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:1-4).

Paul's encouragement is to dwell on things that are worthy and from them, right actions will follow, which will then in turn guide us into the Lord's peaceful presence.

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Anxiety was the fastest-growing mental struggle prior to the 2020 pandemic. Since then, anxiety, worry and depression have all skyrocketed.

One sermon will likely not take your anxiety away, but perhaps can start you on a path of peace and healing. Maybe it will be one of many steps on your road to being less anxious. Many will and should seek counseling. Some will need other recommendations from their Medical Provider. But one thing we must not do is ignore the reality of anxiety or underestimate the damage it can cause.

Anxiety requires us to engage in the battle of our minds and hearts and there are a few things we can learn from Paul on how we can engage our anxiety by the power of the Spirit:

1) Embrace the Presence of Christ

2) Turn Your Worries to Prayers

3) Worry Less by Praying More and the Peace of God will guard your heart.

Again, we want to acknowledge the weight of anxiety for many. This sermon is not intended to be a fix-all, but a way to start the path to healing. If you would like more information or resources on how to take the next steps in your path to peace, please contact us at [email protected]. You can also reach out to us there if you have other questions.

Here at the beginning of Philippians chapter 4, Paul addresses the distraction of disunity and discord in the church in a very positive way by calling the people to stand firm in the Lord, unity, and joy.

Paul just finished reminding the Philippians about the reality that they are Citizens of Heaven...

This is a great theological idea, but Paul never leaves a theological idea as purely doctrine for the sake of knowledge, he loves to apply it. Todays passage is the application.

Paul wanted them, as citizens of heaven, to stand firm in what they believed about Christ and in the joy they had in Him.

On the matters of Christ, and His Gospel, which has purchased out heavily citizenship, we must not waiver.

The phrase "in the Lord" is repeated 3 times in these verses and Paul reminds the Philippians to 1) Stand firm in the Lord 2) Agree in the Lord and 3) Rejoice in the Lord.

The primary key is this idea of being "in the Lord." You can't stand firm unless it is in the Lord. You can't be one with others in a deep and meaningful way unless it is in the Lord. You can't rejoice even in the dark times of life unless you are in the Lord.

Are you in the Lord?

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