Wisdom on SermonAudio

Berean Adult Sunday School class. A verse-by-verse study through the twelve minor prophets. This study centers on the book of Obadiah.

My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," and call insight your intimate friend, to keep you from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words. For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice, and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense, passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness. And behold, the woman meets him, dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart. She is loud and wayward; her feet do not stay at home; now in the street, now in the market, and at every corner she lies in wait. She seizes him and kisses him, and with bold face she says to him, "I had to offer sacrifices, and today I have paid my vows; so now I have come out to meet you, to seek you eagerly, and I have found you. I have spread my couch with coverings, colored linens from Egyptian linen; I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love till morning; let us delight ourselves with love. For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey; he took a bag of money with him; at full moon he will come home." With much seductive speech she persuades him; with her smooth talk she compels him. All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an ....

The sermon explores the theological richness found in the sobering reality of human mortality, drawing primarily from Job 14 and Ecclesiastes 7. It argues that acknowledging the brevity and trouble of earthly life serves as a 'treasure of darkness' that corrects the believer's perspective on worldly anxieties. By contrasting the fleeting nature of human existence with the everlasting mercy of God, the message encourages a humble submission to divine providence rather than anxious planning for the future. The preacher emphasizes that recognizing life as a vapor fosters spiritual serenity, detaches the heart from material concerns, and directs the believer's focus toward eternal wisdom and the hope of being present with the Lord.

The sermon examines Paul's argument in Romans against the religious self-righteousness of the Jewish audience, specifically dismantling the belief that the law, physical circumcision, or national birthright guarantees salvation. By employing a diatribe, the text highlights how Paul refutes the notion that external rituals or moral superiority provide a special standing before God, asserting instead that true circumcision is of the heart and in the spirit. The teaching emphasizes that all people, whether Jew or Gentile, are under sin and that no human effort or religious affiliation can substitute for a personal relationship with Christ. This conviction is presented as necessary for the listener to recognize their lost state, leading to the realization that only God's grace and the work of the Holy Spirit can bring about genuine repentance and justification.

We see the importance of speaking truth to one another in love that we may grow more into the image of Jesus.

I. Heeds Wisdom II. Expresses Wisdom III. Values Wisdom IV. Considers God

Wisdom is crying because CHRIST is calling. Are you listening to the cry of wisdom and responding with obedience? (Proverbs 8)