ABC: One Two Three from Proverbs

In one paragraph

On Mother's Day, Pastor Ray preached through Proverbs 1, 2, and 3, reading them as motherly wisdom that has been pursuing us our whole lives. He kept it grounded in the ordinary, the ABCs your mom taught you, the corrections that still ring in your head, the things you wish you had listened to sooner. Pastor Ray opened by acknowledging the weight of the week, that he had talked with people who...

Read together

1. Psalm 95 opening encouragement to come to the Lord with thanksgiving, used to lead into worship
2. Isaiah 40 those who wait on the Lord will gain new strength, mount up with wings like eagles, run and not get tired
3. 1 Thessalonians 5 rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, this is God's will in Christ
4. Proverbs 22:6 train up your children in the way they should go, used during the baby dedication
5. Psalm 139 God has examined my heart and knows everything about me, used during the baby dedication
6. Deuteronomy 6 love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength, repeat commands to your children, used during the baby dedication
7. Hebrews no discipline is pleasant at the time, referenced while discussing disciplined and successful lives
8. Proverbs 1 purpose of proverbs, fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, a child listening to parents
9. Proverbs 2 seeking wisdom like silver and hidden treasure, the Lord grants wisdom and common sense to the honest
10. Proverbs 3 trust in the Lord, honor Him with your wealth, do not reject His discipline, wisdom is more precious than rubies and is a tree of life
11. Proverbs 3:5-6 trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding, seek His will and He will show you the path

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray talked about the proverbs being compiled like motherly advice, wisdom you can hear in your head long after it was first spoken. What is one thing a parent or older person said to you that still rings in your head today?
2. Proverbs 1 says the fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, and Pastor Ray described it as the starting point before any real understanding is possible. What does it look like practically to start from that place when you are facing a decision or a problem?
3. Proverbs 2 says God grants a treasure of common sense to the honest, and Pastor Ray said that being honest requires humbling yourself before God first. Where do you find it hardest to be that honest, with yourself, with others, or with God?
4. Proverbs 3 says to trust in the Lord with all your heart and not depend on your own understanding. Pastor Ray pointed out that the more you know, the more you realize how finite you are. Has there been a time when knowing more about something actually made you more dependent on God rather than less?
5. Pastor Ray closed by asking people who are not in a good place with their mother to consider forgiving her outright, and the same for any mother not at a good place with her children. Why do you think forgiveness is hard to offer without conditions, and what does Proverbs 3 say that might speak to that?