FBC Youth Sermon Preview

In order for the gospel to be 'good news' there must first be 'bad news'. In Romans 1:18-32 the apostle Paul gives us the bad news: mankind suffers under the wrath of God.

"The gospel is the power of God for salvation to all who believe." This well known statement in Romans 1:16 functions both as Paul's reason for his eagerness to preach and as his thesis for the gospel presentation of the letter. The message drove Paul to preach. Is this power at work in your life?

How do you choose who to date? It's a question most students are asking, and it's a question for which the world has a lot of (not so good) answers. Proverbs 31 helps to give biblical clarity on this important question by presenting the Excellent Wife. What sets her apart? She fears the Lord.

The life of wisdom is not a smooth upward climb, but an ongoing process of correction and renewal. Proverbs teaches us to value this cycle of correction for what it is: life giving and driven by love.

Discussion prompts:
• Why should we value correction? (Proverbs 15:31-33)
• How does our being corrected relate to our status as children of God? (Proverbs 3:11-12; Hebrews 12:7)
• In what concrete ways can we strive to rightly respond to correction?

Life is filled with choices. While the world tells you to look inside and 'listen to your heart', Proverbs teaches that wise choices come from a heart that has been transformed by listening to and learning from God.

Title: Wise-Work: Doing the right thing for the right reasons // Selected Proverbs

We live in a world driven by comfort, entertainment, and ease. Proverbs calls this the life of a ‘sluggard’.
There is a better way, a happier way. And it is characterized by hard work in the fear of the Lord and love of neighbor.

Discussion prompts:

What are we wanting when we choose to act like the sluggard?
When we work hard, what is our motivation? (Humility and the fear of the Lord, or pride and love of self?)
How did Jesus’ wise work free us to grow into wise workers?

Lady Wisdom vs. Lady Folly (aka Life vs Death)

1. What are the differences between wisdom and folly?
2. Which voice are you listening to?
3. Do you desire to listen to wisdom?

Praise is the Point – Psalm 150
Big Idea: Praise is the point.
Praise is the point of the life of worship. As the expression of what we truly enjoy, what we praise exposes what we truly love and enjoy.
Because of this, we need to know and enjoy God in our hearts if we are going to live lives of praise to God. And for this, we need the work of Jesus.

Questions
What do you like to talk about?
What does this say about what you love?
How does Jesus free us to truly praise God?