Wisdom Calls: Without Wisdom Our Nation Runs on Fumes (Part 11) 

Proverbs Speech (assorted text) 

Fire is one of the most powerful forces in the world capable of fueling engines, heating the cold, lighting the dark, and mesmerizing us with its colorful beauty. While its display is awe-inspiring, it comes with a serious danger: a single spark can ignite miles of destruction, burn down homes, and even consume life itself. Something this powerful must be handled with wisdom. 

Scripture tells us that the tongue is no different. Our words can strengthen, encourage, and give life, or they can wound, weaken, and destroy relationships. With such great influence, wisdom becomes essential for every conversation we encounter. 

Join us this Sunday as we conclude our series in Proverbs and learn how to speak words of life, shaped and sustained by the love of Jesus within us. 

Wisdom Calls: Without Wisdom Our Nation Runs on Fumes

Wisdom or Folly: Which Banquet Will You Choose? 

Proverbs 9 

We make decisions every day, often without even noticing. What time should I wake up? What should I wear? How should I respond to this message? Social psychologist Roy Baumeister even created a term for the exhaustion that can follow: decision fatigue. 

When we talk about wisdom, it can be easy to think of it as nothing more than a series of choices that determine whether we become wise or foolish. One famous quote states that, “our lives are a sum total of the choices we have made”. While Proverbs highlights the importance of our decisions, it also reminds us that wisdom is not something we can achieve through sheer willpower. No one can become truly wise apart from the power and presence of the Lord Jesus. 

Join us this Sunday as we encounter both the call of wisdom and the call of folly, and discover how the presence of Jesus will inevitably lead us to wisdom. 

Wisdom Calls: Without Wisdom Our Nation Runs on Fumes

Proverbs 8 

It’s well known that the very best maple syrup comes straight from the tap of a maple tree. Québec, Canada produces more than 70% of the world’s maple syrup, drawing millions of visitors each year who seek to taste its sweetness right from the source. While maple syrup is easy to find in almost any supermarket, avid maple lovers can quickly detect the difference between true, all-natural syrup and the inauthentic, corn syrup-based imitations. Maple syrup connoisseurs don’t settle for substitutes – they seek out the source itself. 

In the same way, there are countless imitations of wisdom in the world, some of which can sound quite sweet. But Proverbs reminds us that wisdom doesn’t come from human imitation or man-made substitutes. True wisdom comes from the original source: God himself. 

This Sunday we’ll taste the sweetness of wisdom, remember the One from whom it comes, and look to Jesus – the perfect embodiment of wisdom in human form. 

Wisdom Calls: In Praise of the Strong Woman

Proverbs 31 

As humans, we love to celebrate. Even when the world feels heavy or dark, we still find reasons to commemorate birthdays, milestones, and anniversaries. We’ve even created enough national holidays to fill every day of the year – some of the silliest include National Talk Like a Pirate Day, National Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day, and National Nothing Day. 

Scripture does something similar. While the Bible contains stern warnings, hard stories, and painful truths, it also takes time to celebrate! Proverbs 31 offers a beautiful tribute to the strength, dignity, and God-given worth of women. It highlights their character, actions, and the impact they can have on those around them. 

Join us this Sunday as we witness God’s celebration of His creation and come ready to observe, honor, and learn from the God-fearing example of the Proverbs 31 woman. 

Wisdom Calls: Without Wisdom Our Nation Runs on Fumes

Proverbs 7 

There are certain realities in life that are so obvious we rarely think to acknowledge them. A seed cannot grow without water, a car cannot drive without tires, and for some, coffee isn’t coffee if it’s decaf. These are givens – truths that almost go without saying. 

In the same way, God created human sexuality to operate within the framework of wisdom. For Christians, it should be a given that sexual integrity requires God’s wisdom, yet Proverbs 7 shows us what happens when that “given” is ignored. Both believers and unbelievers often step outside God’s design resulting in consequences such as sexual brokenness, confusion, and dehumanization. Without Jesus and the wisdom He offers, the persuasion of the world inevitably leads to death. 

Join us this Sunday as we consider the sobering reality of rejecting wisdom and the freedom found in Jesus’ redemption. 

Wisdom Calls: Without Wisdom Our Nation Runs on Fumes (Part 6) 

Wisdom Protects 

Proverbs 6 

Medieval battle strategies used to look vastly different from the ones we rely on today. What has become electronic and invisible in modern warfare was once expressed through shields, helmets, and carefully forged armor. Every piece was crafted by a blacksmith with a specific purpose in mind: to protect the life underneath and keep the danger of the enemy out. 

In the same way, God has crafted wisdom as a form of protection for His people. Wisdom strengthens our character, shields our path, and keeps out destructive sins that lead to death. God’s perfectly fashioned armor was designed not only to preserve who He made us to be, but to guard us from what threatens to destroy us. 

Join us this Sunday as we seek to know the deep care of our Father, who lovingly equips His people with the protection of wisdom. 

Wisdom Calls: Without Wisdom Our Nation Runs on Fumes

Sexual Fulfillment: Trap or Treasure 

Proverbs 5 

Imagine this: You’re driving home after a long day, ready to collapse on the couch. You pass a billboard that depicts a perfectly crafted, double-patty cheeseburger, waiting for you at exit 5. You resist until you get home, open the fridge, and find only the salad ingredients you promised yourself you’d use. Suddenly that billboard seems a lot more enticing. Five dollars later, the cheeseburger is yours. 

While this is a lighthearted anecdote, it mirrors a much bigger human struggle. When it comes to sexuality, the world is full of alluring messages that promise satisfaction, freedom, and immediacy. Proverbs counteracts these influences with the voice of wisdom that calls us toward something better: a sexuality shaped by covenant faithfulness and lifelong flourishing. 

Join us this Sunday as we explore God’s wonderful design for sexuality and learn how wisdom equips us to see the lie in the alluring voices of our world. 

Wisdom Calls: Without Wisdom Our Nation Runs on Fumes (Part 4) 

How the Gospel Makes us Wise  

Proverbs 4 

In 1994, evangelical author Jerry Bridges wrote a simple yet profound phrase: “Preach the gospel to yourself every day.” The phrase has echoed through churches around the world because it captures something our hearts desperately need. We are easily distracted, easily discouraged, and easily drawn toward lesser things. But the daily act of returning to the gospel anchors our hearts in what is eternally true.

Scripture invites us to see how embracing the truth of the gospel opens a doorway into the kind of wisdom only God can give. This truth can teach our hearts to walk wisely in a world full of noise and distraction.

Join us this Sunday as we continue our series in Proverbs and discover how a deep grasp of the gospel leads us into a life of glorious wisdom – wisdom that our nation desperately needs. 

Wisdom Calls: Without Wisdom Our Nation Runs on Fumes

Proverbs 3 

Our world is saturated with messages of self-reliance. In a single day you might drive past a billboard shouting “Just do it!”, wander through a bookstore aisle labeled “Self-Help”, watch a movie where the underdog climbs his way to the top through sheer grit, and finish the evening with a 30-second clip from an influencer urging you to “believe in yourself.” It sounds exhausting, doesn’t it? 

Thankfully, God offers us a different path. Scripture reminds us that we are not meant to “lean on our own understanding.” Instead, God invites us into His wisdom, the only source that brings true peace and lasting prosperity. 

Join us this Sunday, as we encounter the words of Proverbs 3 and consider the question: what would happen if God became our sole source of understanding? 

Wisdom Calls: Without Wisdom Our Nation Runs on Fumes

Picture this: A woman walks out of a store with grocery bags stacked up both arms. Her hands are shaking, items are slipping, and the door in front of her seems impossible to open. Bystanders step in to help, but she insists, “No, I’ve got it.” In reality, she doesn’t.

It’s easy to feel frustrated imagining this unfolding before you. We want to shout, “Just accept the help!” But this is often exactly how we live. Wisdom calls out to us, offering a better way – a life not crushed under the weight of sin, pride, and self-sufficiency. It seems obvious that we should accept this offer, but strangely, we often act just like this woman: unwilling to humble ourselves and receive what God offers.

Join us this Sunday as we read through the second chapter of Proverbs, seeking to answer the question: Do you want wisdom?