In the first chapter of Proverbs, we are presented with the image of wisdom stretching out her hand, and lifting her voice—calling out to us. As we journey through our summer series, we invite you to linger with wisdom’s call. Each week you will find reflection tools and devotional resources below, designed to help you draw closer, dig deeper, and apply the wisdom we discover in the books of Proverbs and James.
Week 9 | July 24th
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As we finish up our look at wisdom in a world of information, we explore how to use our words with wisdom. Our words reveal truths about who we are and the scriptures remind us of their power to bring either blessings or curses to the world around us. Using our words wisely will bring life to the people God has given us to love.
Reflect
We invite you to spend time working through and reflecting on this week's scriptures with us.
Proverbs 18:21 says, “Life and death is in the power of the tongue.” This week think of someone (a family member, friend, spouse, child, yourself) to intentionally speak life into and listen to, and spend time praying for that relationship.
Your words are an indicator of where your heart is so take a moment and do a heart check: What are the things you’re struggling with? Invite God to transform your heart.
As we close this series, look back through your devotions and reflect on what God has revealed to you.
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Week 8 | July 17th
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James 3:1-2
James 1:19
Proverbs 18:21
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” Don’t we wish that riddle was true. We hear it and we want it to be true but life experiences have taught us that words are powerful. Each of us carries that power with us into every interaction we have on a daily basis. With great power comes great responsibility - are you using words to build up or tear down?
Reflect
We invite you to spend time working through and reflecting on this week's scriptures with us.
Where can you be quick to listen? Think of times where you are prone to be quick to speak and consider how you could change that reaction.
Questions invite relationship. Think of three examples when you responded to someone in anger and consider how responding with curiosity may have either improved the interaction or deepened your relationship with that person.
Consider the “3 don’ts and the 1 do” that Was mentioned in relation to using your words wisely:
Don’t:
Don’t gossip.
Don’t complain.
Don’t defend yourself.Do:
Do encourage or compliment 5 people.
Which one will be the easiest to implement this week? Which will be the most difficult? Ask God to mend your heart and give you insight into why some may be easier for you than others. Ask him to help you lean into the qualities of your heart that make some easy and then grow your heart in the areas you struggle with.
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Week 7 | July 10th
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Proverbs 14:30
Proverbs 14:29
Proverbs 15:18
Ephesians 4:26
Proverbs 16:32
Anger is the human emotion that makes us feel most in control but can just as easily cause us to lose control. Paul understands that there’s something different about anger than our other core emotions—though it has the ability to give us a sense of control it can lead us to actions that are out of control. Don't allow the deception of control in your anger make you fall into sin.
Reflect
We invite you to spend time working through and reflecting on this week's scriptures with us.
Proverbs 16:32 (ESV) reads, “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”
Take a day this week to intentionally slow down. Slowing down gives us a fighting chance of seeing others the way God sees them. Drive slowly, respond slowly, walk slowly, eat slowly. Create space for connection with God. Take note of what you notice throughout your day.Spend time memorizing Proverbs 16:32 (ESV). Write it on a notecard or sticky note and place it where it can serve as a reminder — on your dashboard, computer screen, mirror, etc.
Anger has the power to reveal. It reveals the things we most love. Think about the last time you were angry and ask yourself, what am I defending? The answer to that question will let you know what your heart most loves. Is it pride? Your reputation? Un-met expectations? It is unjust systems? Take some time to pray, asking God to order the affections of your heart.
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Week 6 | July 3rd
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Proverbs 16:7-9
James 4:13-16
Proverbs 14:30
Proverbs 11:24
Humans crave security so much that we can often mindlessly accumulate more and more, without ever wondering if all that "more" is making our lives better. Have you ever wondered how much is 'enough?'
Reflect
We invite you to spend time working through and reflecting on this week's scriptures with us.
How often do you find yourself observing and comparing yourself to others? What does enough look like for you?
Where in your life, your relationships, your finances is there an opportunity for generosity? Choose one area this week to take action on; moving toward generosity.
In the scriptures we see a beautiful theology of having “enough” and feeling secure in our current situation. How does the world we live in bring about conflict in this theology for you? What are the biggest distractions that push you away from a reality of enough?
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Week 5 | June 26th
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Did you know that faith isn’t actually good or bad? It’s what you put your faith in that matters. Faith is morally neutral until it has an object, like Jesus. Wisdom is morally neutral until it has an objective. Lot’s of us have some wisdom, but what are we using it to accomplish?
Reflect
We invite you to spend time working through and reflecting on this week's scriptures with us.
Where in your life do you fear not having enough or being enough?
What does fully trusting God require in your relationships? In your finances? In your family?
The simplest way to cultivate trust is by practicing gratitude — Spending time daily counting our blessings. It’s why God keeps telling his people over and over to remember. It reminds us of how God has shown up. Spend some time making a list of the areas in your life where God has shown up. Give thanks in prayer.
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Week 4 | June 19th
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Most of us have the privilege of leaving a room if it’s filled with people we just don’t like. But that’s not the kind of freedom that Jesus died to give us—not freedom to live our lives for comforts that don’t give us life back. If following God starts with submission, what am I afraid to submit?
Reflect
We invite you to spend time working through and reflecting on this week's scriptures with us.
How often do you reflect on your emotions and how your environment affects you?
Do you find yourself always in confrontation with those that you disagree with? If so, why? Is it difficult to live in close proximity to those you disagree with?
How often do you submit needs to the Lord? Is giving your request to the lord difficult? Do you struggle with handling and obtaining on your own?
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Week 3 | June 12th
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We all believe we’re “right,” right? And yet, there’s something about God’s blueprint for the world that ensures our own arrogance will ultimately be our downfall. How do you conduct yourself in the world? Are you humble? Or do you believe, deep down, that there’s nothing left you really need to learn?
Reflect
We invite you to spend time working through and reflecting on this week's scriptures with us.
What is your relationship to humility? Is this something you struggle with?
How would you define the relationship between wisdom, pride, and humility?
How does our outlook on pride and humility help us understand those that are marginalized?
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Week 2 | June 5th
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Plenty of people know the right things to do, and yet our fears often keep us from following through. Even Solomon, a king and author of much wisdom literature, still left a family in disarray and a divided kingdom within two generations. How do we prevent our own wisdom from becoming fruitless information?
Reflect
We invite you to spend time working through and reflecting on this week's scriptures with us.
Read Matthew 8:23-27 and Luke 1:11-22 and answer the following questions. Where did fear take the people mentioned in the above scripture? How did it affect their relationships? How would you describe the differences between information, knowledge, and wisdom?
Is the fear of God something you often consider? Why or why not? Have you ever associated the fear of God with wisdom? Why or why not?
Reflect on any recent fear responses in your own life. Did that fear move you toward or away from trust in God? Were there relational impacts of those responses?
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Week 1 | May 29th
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Being a disciple of Jesus takes wisdom. But what is wisdom, and where do we find it? Wisdom is more than information, which is everywhere. Wisdom requires information, but it never ends there. And wisdom is a lost art in a world that can no longer easily tell the difference between the two.
Reflect
We invite you to spend time working through and reflecting on this week's scriptures with us.
Read Proverbs 1-9 and, in your own words, summarize the message of those chapters in one or two sentences.
How would you describe the differences between information, knowledge, and wisdom?
Pause and reflect, where in your life are you using worldly wisdom to guide your choices instead of Godly wisdom?