How to Alphabetically Apply the Book of Proverbs to Your Life - Conclusion

Proverbs 1:1-7 "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, 3 To receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity; 4 To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, 5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Introduction:

One of the valuable reasons for studying the Book of Proverbs is to gain the skill needed to relate to others and to God for His glory. Such a reason is how we can so define wisdom itself - which is the whole point of the book. Oftentimes I find myself in situations where people may ask for advice, or where I need advice on life's pressing issues. Since Proverbs is primarily arranged in a topical form, it is fruitful to comb through the entire book and arrange the verses under topical headings. Today's post concludes the alphabetical listings of topics that can be used in advisory or counseling situations. In the last four posts we have considered topics ranging from A-T. Today we conclude out study by considering subjects beginning with letters U-W. All the verse references below derive from Proverbs.

U.
Upholding your reputation. 25:9-10

W.
1. Verses on fools. 26:1,3; 27:3,22

2. Virtuous woman/wife. 12:4; 14:1; 18:22; 19:14; 31:10-31

W.
1. Wait on God. 20:22

2. We are to feed the hungry. 6:30

3. What hatred does. 10:12,18; 15:17

4. What wisdom does. 3:19,20

5. What love does. 10:12

6. What to do if you make a pledge. 6:1-5

7. What children can do for their parents. 10:1

8. What to do when people are kind to you. 3:27,28

9. Wisdom is preferable and good 23:14-16,23; 24:3-7; 25:11-13

10. Wisdom must not be rejected. 1:24-32; 2:18-19,22,33-35; 5:12-14; 8:36; 9:12-13; 12:8; 17:12,16; 21:16; 28:26,29

11. Wisdom and the things of God. 1:23,33; 2:1-5; 6:1017,21; 3:10,13-18,21,23,33-35; 4:6-9, 11-13; 5:2; 8:35; 9:6,11-12; 10:13-14,17; 11:12; 12:8,14,22,23; 13:14-16; 14:8,15-18,35; 15:2,14,20; 16:16,21-23; 18:4,13,15; 19:11,25; 21:19; 22:17-19,20-21; 23:12; 27:14;29:3

Conclusion:
It is hoped that the reader will take these posts and begin to use them in their own lives or in ministering God's love and wisdom to others. We need wisdom in today's world. May God be glorified through whatever efforts may ripple from these posts. 

How to Alphabetically Apply the Book of Proverbs to Your Life - P,Q,R,S,T

Proverbs 1:1-7 "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, 3 To receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity; 4 To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, 5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Introduction:

One of the valuable reasons for studying the Book of Proverbs is to gain the skill needed to relate to others and to God for His glory. Such a reason is how we can so define wisdom itself - which is the whole point of the book. Oftentimes I find myself in situations where people may ask for advice, or where I need advice on life's pressing issues. Since Proverbs is primarily arranged in a topical form, it is fruitful to comb through the entire book and arrange the verses under topical headings. Today's post aims to offer readers more alphabetical listings of topics that can be used in advisory or counseling situations. In the last three posts we have considered topics ranging from A-O. Today we consider subjects beginning with letters P,R,S & T. All the verse references below derive from Proverbs.

P. 
1. Parental discipline. 22:6; 23:13,14,25; 29:15,17

2. Patience. 14:29; 25:15

3. Pride. 11:2; 13:10; 16:18,19; 17:7

R.
1. Rebuking others in a loving way. 27:6; 28:28

2. Rescue from depression. 24:10-12

3. Results of temptation. 1:11-14,16,18-19; 3:33; 4:15-17,19; 5:3-6; 7:21-23,25-27; 8:10,22,23,32,33; 21:15,17; 25:26

4. Results of righteousness. 10:9-11,30; 12:5-7

5. Rewards for hard work. 27:18,23,25-27.

6. Righteousness vs. wickedness. 29:27

7. Righteousness and its rewards. 10:2,7,9,11,16-21,24,28,31,32; 11:3-4,5-8,10-11,16-23; 12:3,13-14,21,26,28; 13:5-6,9,20,25; 14:2,11,32,34; 15:6,26,28,29; 16:8,17; 20:7; 21:3-4,12,20-21; 22:6; 24:15,16; 25:4-5; 28:1,2,5,10; 29:6

S.
1. Sadness. 15:13

2. Selfishness. 11:24-26,27; 25:28

3. Sharing. 17:2; 18:16; 19:17; 20:16; 22:9

3. Sin. 7:6-9; 9:14-19; 13:21-22,25; 14:9,12,21,34; 20:9

4. Speaking up for those in trouble. 31:8-9

5. Straying from home. 27:8,13

T.
1. Thankfulness. 17:1

2. Truth in relationships. 21:14

3. The rich and poor. 22:7,16; 27:13

4. Things that God hates. 6:17-19

5. True obedience. 23:22,24; 27:11; 28:7

6. Too much of a good thing. 25:16,17

7. Trusting in God. 3:5-6; 12:2; 16:20; 18:10; 29:25

8. Truthfulness. 12:17-19

More tomorrow........

How to Alphabetically Apply the Book of Proverbs to Your Life - I,J,K,L,M,N,O

Proverbs 1:1-7 "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, 3 To receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity; 4 To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, 5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Introduction:

One of the valuable reasons for studying the Book of Proverbs is to gain the skill needed to relate to others and to God for His glory. Such a reason is how we can so define wisdom itself - which is the whole point of the book. Oftentimes I find myself in situations where people may ask for advice, or where I need advice on life's pressing issues. Since Proverbs is primarily arranged in a topical form, it is fruitful to comb through the entire book and arrange the verses under topical headings. Today's post aims to offer readers more alphabetical listings of topics that can be used in advisory or counseling situations. In the last two posts we have considered topics ranging from A-H. Today we consider subjects beginning with letter I,J,K,L,M,N & O. All the verse references below derive from Proverbs

I.
1. Internal family dis-function. 11:29; 15:5,27; 19:26; 20:20; 22:15; 28:24; 30:17

J.
Justice in how we treat others. 17:26; 19:7

K.
1. Kindness to the poor. 28:8

2. Knowledge. 20:15

L. 
1. Lack of self-control. 25:28

2. Laziness. 6:7-11; 10:4-5,26; 12:10-11,24; 14:23-24; 16:26; 18:19; 19:15,24; 20:4; 20:13; 21:5,25-26; 22:29; 24:27,30-34; 26:13-16; 28:19

3. Lessons on how to make friends. 22:24-27

4. Let others pat you on the back. 27:2

5. Living a life for God. 8:18-19

6. Love. 20:28

7. Love of Money is root of all evil. 12:7-8; 18:11; 23:4-5; 27:24

8. Love your wife. 5:19,20; 6:34,35

9. Lusting is Sin
6:24-26,27-29,32,35; 7:9-13; 22:14; 23:27,28

M.
1. Making a fool out of yourself
30:32,33

2. Man's psychological and spiritual nature. 16:9,10,12-15, 27, 29-30; 17:4-5, 9-11,18,20,23-25,27-28; 18:1,19,20-21; 19:3-4,7,12,22; 20:2,5,6,8,11; 20:14,26; 20:30; 21:8,10-11,29; 22:3; 25:3; 26:18-19; 27:19,20; 28:21; 29:10; 30:10-14

3. Mouthiness. 29:20

N.
1. No forsaking of house. 27:10

2. Nosiness. 26:17

O. 
1. Obeying. 1:8,9; 4:1,4,10,11-12,20-21; 6:20; 7:1-3; 8:32; 13:1; 17:6

More tomorrow......

How to Alphabetically Apply the Book of Proverbs to your Life - E,F,G,H

Proverbs 1:1-7 "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, 3 To receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity; 4 To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, 5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Introduction:

One of the valuable reasons for studying the Book of Proverbs is to gain the skill needed to relate to others and to God for His glory. Such a reason is how we can so define wisdom itself - which is the whole point of the book. Oftentimes I find myself in situations where people may ask for advice, or where I need advice on life's pressing issues. Since Proverbs is primarily arranged in a topical form, it is fruitful to comb through the entire book and arrange the verses under topical headings. We looked yesterday at topics that fell alphabetically from letters A-D. Topics such as anger, blessing, compromise and dealing with pride were among the subjects listed with appropriate verses from Proverbs. Today's post continues on our study, noting topics beginning with the letters E,F,G and H. May the reader find these studies helpful in either ministering to others or finding God's wisdom for their own lives.  All the verse references below derive from Proverbs.

E.
1. Edification. 15:31; 16:24

2. Envy. 14:30; 16:32

3. Existence and attributes of God. 16:11,25,33; 20:12; 21:30,31; 22:2,13; 25:2; 29:13,26; 30:3-6

F.
1. Fear of God. 1:7; 3:7-8; 8:13; 10:10,27; 14:26,27; 15:16,33; 16:6-7; 19:23; 22:4; 24:21; 28:14

2. Fighting. 17:14, 19; 18:18; 20:3; 22:10

3. Following after righteousness
4:18,24,25,27

G.
1. Gluttony. 23:1-3

2. Giving advice. 27:9

3. God the Son's pre-existence. 8:22-31

4. God's comforts. 8:14

5. God's discipline. 3:12; 12:1; 13:17,18

6. God hates lying. 6:17; 12:22; 20:25; 21:7,16; 26:24,27,28

7. God hates wickedness. 7:7; 8:13; 10:25,28,29,11:4,5,6,7,10-11,16,17,20-21,23,29; 12:3

8. God knows man. 5:21; 15:3; 16:1-2,3-5; 17:3; 20:24; 21:1-2

9. Godliness includes humility
9:7-8; 10:8; 11:2; 18:12

10. God our protector. 2:7,8; 3:24-26; 10:29

11. God is the authority. 8:15-16

12. God loves righteous people. 10:3,6,19,25; 14:9

13. God's love. 8:17

14. God speaks truth. 7:8,9

15. Gossip. 10:19; 11:13; 13:3-4; 14:3-4,25; 15:4,23; 18:8; 19:5,9,28; 20:19; 21:19,23,28; 26:20,22-23

16. Greediness. 22:22-23

17. Guidance from others. 20:18

18. Guidance to others. 12:26; 15:2

H.
1. Happiness. 17:22

2. Having zeal. 19:2

3. Honor God. 3:9,10

4. How sin entices. 7:9-13,15-18,19,20

5. Hunger. 27:7

More tomorrow.........

How to Alphabetically apply the Book of Proverbs to Your Life - A,B,C,D

Proverbs 1:1-7 "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To discern the sayings of understanding, 3 To receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity; 4 To give prudence to the naive, To the youth knowledge and discretion, 5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction."

Introduction:

One of the valuable reasons for studying the Book of Proverbs is to gain the skill needed to relate to others and to God for His glory. Such a reason is how we can so define wisdom itself - which is the whole point of the book. Oftentimes I find myself in situations where people may ask for advice, or where I need advice on life's pressing issues. Since Proverbs is primarily arranged in a topical form, it is fruitful to comb through the entire book and arrange the verses under topical headings. Today's post aims to offer readers an alphabetical list of topics that can be used in advisory or counseling situations. All the verse references below derive from Proverbs 

A

1. Accusing others. 18:17

2. Adultery. 7:19-20; 30:20

3. A faithful man of God is blessed. 28:20

4. Alcohol. 23:29-35

5. Allow love and faithfulness in your life. 3:3-4

6. Amazing things. 30:18,19

7. Anger 15:18-19; 19:19; 27:25; 29:22

B. 

1. Being honest. 22:11; 24:26

2. Be yourself. 12:9

3. Blessing. 10:22; 20:21

4. Boasting. 25:14; 27:1

C.

1. Compromise. 20:10

2. Confessing Sin. 28:13

3. Considering the poor. 21:13

4. Crimes such as stealing. 6:12-15, 30-31; 20:17; 22:8; 28:17-18; 29:24

D.

1. Dealing with pride. 9:9; 21:24

2. Discipline. 15:10-12,32; 16:20; 19:16,20,27; 29:1

3. Do not glory over enemies' troubles

24:17-20

4. Dishonesty

11:1,15,16; 12:18; 13:11; 14:30-31; 15:7; 20:25

5. Disregard sin and temptation

1:10,15,17; 3:31-32; 4:14,23,24; 5:16-18; 6:18,27-28; 14:7; 17:13; 18:5; 20:1; 21:27; 22:5; 23:9,17,20,21

6. Do good to your enemies

25:22-23

7. Do not accuse others falsely

3:29,30; 6:19; 10:18; 24:24,25,28

8. Do not scheme

6:18; 14:22; 16:31; 24:8-9

9. Do not give into people who put on a false front. 23:6-8

10. Do not seek revenge. 24:28,29

11. Do not make a fool out of yourself. 25:6-8; 26:1,3,4,5,6,7-11,12; 27:3,22; 28:26

12. Do not reject wisdom. 1:20-23; 2:6,20; 3:1-2,11; 4:2; 5:1,7; 6:21-23; 7:4-5; 8:4-5,10-11,33,34; 9:4-5; 10:23,24; 13:13,21

13. Do not talk to fools. 23:9; 29:9,11

More tomorrow........

P3 Finding Answers to Life's Toughest Questions in Sunday School - Do the atrocities in today’s world negate a personal God?

1 Peter 3:15 “But Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who as you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and respect.”

Introduction:
Today we continue on in a series we are entitling: “Life’s toughest questions answered in Sunday School.” As I mentioned in previous posts, our church recently had a combined Sunday School hour. Each teacher had been assigned a question the previous week and was instructed to research the answers and then lead whoever would be at their table in a “round-table” discussion. At the end of the prescribed time, each table would pick a spokes-person to give a three-minute summary of the group’s answers to the group at large. The exercise was extremely interesting to watch and be a part of, with the answers given even more rewarding. We noted two questions addressed in yesterday’s post:

1. Define the impact of Christian Liberty on a believer’s life?

2. Can I witness to a friend in a questionable location?

Today we deal with the problem of evil and suffering and how we can reconcile the abundance of evil in our world with the existence of an all-powerful, all good God. Such a question is a subject of much wrestling among believers and non-believers alike. In the Sunday School-hour the question of evil and suffering and God was posed in the following way:

3. Do the atrocities in today’s world negate a personal God?
The Sunday School teacher who summarized his group’s discussion began by offering a second related question: How can we say there is a personal God amidst life’s atrocities? The approach taken by the group entailed appealing to several key Christian doctrines. By the time the teacher had finished his summary, I counted six key doctrines brought out by the group. God had certainly illuminated their thinking that morning in regards to answering this very difficult question. The teacher began with two major truths revealed in scripture: reality of sin or evil itself and Christ’s incarnation.

A. Sin. The first great truth is the reality of sin and evil itself. In citing John 16:33, we as Christians expect evil and suffering in this world due to the fall of man.

B. Incarnation. The second truth relayed by the class had to do with the incarnation of the Son of God as Jesus Christ. Christ came in His incarnation to die on the cross and raise from the dead in order to do something about this issue. These two doctrines of the reality of evil and the incarnation uniquely equips Christianity to best address this tough issue.

As a side note, the problem of evil and suffering is more approachable when break it down into further parts. Theologians will refer to what is called the logical problem of evil (i.e how can we logical reconcile evil’s reality and God’s existence?).

The second way in which we discuss this issue is termed the so-called emotional problem of evil (i.e how can we emotional handle the brute harshness of it in our personal lives and still love God?) The emotional part of the problem of evil and suffering is usually the more difficult to deal with the logical version. The Sunday School teacher’s strategy of dealing with the emotional elements of this problem proved effective, since it paved the way for dealing with the logical version of this subject.

In so far as we deal with the emotional problem of evil on a daily basis, what about the other side of this thorny issue: namely the logical problem of evil and suffering. Now the class by this point had introduced the key doctrines of sin and Christ’s incarnation to demonstrate that God did indeed do something about evil. This dovetailed into what would be the remainder of their presentation.

The class enumerated two more key doctrines to address the logical problem of reconciling the existence of God with the evil in our world:

C. Creation. The teacher noted from Genesis 1:31 that God didn’t create evil but rather created a world that had been originally good. This point underscores the goodness of God.

D. Free will. God chose to create a world that included people who could exercise the freedom to choose and also to love. He created a world that includes free will desire for people to love. The results stemming from the creation of such a world included the real possibility of people rejecting God. This is where passages such as Romans 8:22 was brought in by the group, reminding everyone that evil came about the decisions of creatures (Satan and then human beings).

With these four key doctrines (sin, Christ’s incarnation, creation and free will) on the table, I could see how the class was putting together a Christian response to this difficult issue. As the teacher went on, he would end up bring out two final truths: God’s Sovereignty and God’s Glory.

E. God’s Sovereignty. In citing Romans 8:28, the group noted how God works out all things to achieve His will – including the use of the good and bad decisions of His creatures. When we think of Joseph in Genesis 50:20, we see this point underscored: “what you meant for evil, God meant for good.” God’s Sovereignty never excludes the secondary efforts of men’s free-choices, historic events nor natural laws. God’s Sovereignty and human decision-making are compatible truths in the scriptures.

F. God’s Glory. The sixth and final major doctrine the group seemed to bring forth in answer the difficult problem of evil was that of God’s glory. In citing Romans 8:18, the class concluded that the overflow of God’s glory gives perspective in dealing with evil.

This final thought on God’s glory reminds one of Paul’s remarks in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 with regards to how the pain of this world is momentary and comparatively light in comparison to the weight of God’s glory being worked out in the Christian. The teacher ended his time by referring to tough issues like human disabilities in John 9:1-3. In that passage, Jesus reminds his audience that the blind man that he healed was permitted by God to be born blind so that through his healing by Jesus – people could behold the invisible power of God through Christ’s Person and ministry.

Closing thoughts:
Now it must be recalled, the Sunday School class only had about 30 minutes to deal with this subject of human atrocities and God’s existence. I was moved by how well the teacher communicated each point. Framing the problem of evil in suffering in the six great truths of the Gospel (sin, incarnation, creation, free-will, God’s sovereignty and God’s glory) is a great strategy for demonstrating the uniqueness of Christianity in dealing with this subject. Overall I was pleased with how this Sunday School class was able to present a compelling and thought provoking summary and response to this overall question: “Do the atrocities in our world negate a personal God?” 

From where I was sitting, they convincingly demonstrated that the reality of God’s existence is in no way negated by the painful reality of evil and suffering. This exercise underscores again how important it is to get plugged into a Sunday School and to get involved. The answers I heard people giving to these tough questions equipped me to better articulate the Gospel in our 21st century world.

P2 FInding Answers to Life's Toughest Questions in Sunday School

1 Peter 3:15 “But Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who as you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and respect.”

Introduction:
What a blessing it is to pastor a church where one can find answers to some of life’s toughest questions in Sunday School! I begin today’s post with this affirmation because of the value that is found when Sunday School is operating as it ought in the local church. 

In our church we recently had a combined Sunday School hour. In the largest room of the church, there were several round tables set up for the purpose of hosting 6 discussion groups handling several very difficult questions. Each teacher had been assigned the question the previous week and was instructed to research the answers and then lead whoever would be at their table in a “round-table” discussion. At the end of the prescribed time, each table would pick a representative to give a three-minute summary of the group’s answers to the group at large. The exercise was extremely interesting to watch. The answers given even more rewarding.

Sunday school is the local church’s most effective way to mature and mobilize Christians to share Jesus' love with others. Today’s post and the next couple of blogs will summarize the answers given at the combined Sunday School event described in the opening paragraph. We are calling these series of posts: "Answers to life's difficult questions found in Sunday School." Today's post deals with a question about the appropriateness of sharing the Gospel in questionable locations.

Can I witness to a friend in a questionable location?
This discussion question raised in the Sunday School hour followed on the heels of the first one (which we looked at yesterday on the subject of Christian Liberty). I chose to include this in today’s post, since it is closely related to that broader issue. At stake is the approach one takes in sharing the Gospel with unbelievers. How restricted are Christians in regards to venue? Can the Christian legitimately share Jesus with someone in what could-very-well be a questionable location? 

Luke 5:27-29 records an episode in Jesus’ ministry whereby he chose to eat a meal with the social outcasts of Jewish culture – namely tax-collectors and sinners. The company Jesus kept was the issue with the Pharisees. Whatever Jesus did, He never did anything to compromise His peerless character. Nevertheless, His desire to reach sinners entailed Him rubbing shoulders and meeting them at their point of life.

As the Sunday School teacher further expounded on this issue, he cited Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8-10. These particular chapters give principles for deciding how to handle such issues like going into questionable locations. So, if we find ourselves being led to talk to someone about the Gospel, and the location ends up counter-acting our efforts, then we ought to take that as a red-flag and choose another venue. 

I have found Romans 14 to always be helpful and was glad to hear the Sunday School class referencing it. Discernment must always be exercised when making these difficult choices. As the Sunday School teacher brought his summary to a close, he ended with this very insightful and helpful remark: “The question is not: what’s wrong; rather, what is right about it.”

Closing thoughts:
Well that closes out our post for today. We have explored what I have called “Life’s toughest questions answered in Sunday School”. We considered questions regarding Christian Liberty and when and where we ought to go in our attempts to talk to unbelievers about the Gospel. The reader is invited to return tomorrow where I will share further about the answers I heard to life’s toughest questions in Sunday School.