Proverbs

Summer ‘25 Sermon Series

6/1/25 – 8/24/25

“Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”

T.S. Eliot wrote those words… in 1934. On all accounts, the information we are saturated with in 2025 is exponentially greater than that which people were exposed to in 1934. We have at our fingertips more information than our grandparents could possibly have accumulated in a lifetime. How much more knowledgeable are we than they were, really? More importantly, are we any wiser for all the facts we can now access?

This summer, we’re praying for God to make us wise through a sermon series in the book of Proverbs.

On a basic level, wisdom is “skill for living.” A fuller description of the wise person (defined biblically) is the person who lives in correspondence with reality. Practically, ethically, and theologically: how did God design the world to work? And how can I live “with the grain” of that design instead of cutting “against the grain”?

The biblical Proverbs serve to shape us in wisdom because, as Ray Ortlund puts it, “A proverb is a little model of reality, a little verbal representation of some aspect of our daily lives. And by picking a proverb up and turning it over and over and looking at it from all angles, we can see something about our lives before we step out into the actual reality.”

The Proverbs are densely packed and welcome sustained reflection. The early verses of the book (1:4-5) indicate that they are both for the inexperienced young person (to learn which paths to take) and for the seasoned believer (to grow in wisdom and understanding). As such, this will be a great series to invite a friend or neighbor who doesn’t have a church home. These texts will be readily applicable to the concrete lived situations we all experience.

We’ll spend our first two weeks of the series “priming the pump” with two introductory texts (1:1-7 and 3:1-12) that set that tone for what to expect in the rest of the book. From there, we will spend the rest of the summer taking one topic per week, examining various Proverbs that deal with that particular topic.

Consider starting the habit of slowly reading the weekly sermon texts in advance. And please join us in praying that God will use these sermons to make us wise… and to point us to Christ, the perfect embodiment of divine wisdom.

Series Schedule

  • 6.1.25 | Overview of Proverbs | Proverbs 1:1-7

  • 6.8.25 | How to Read Proverbs | Proverbs 3:1-10

  • 6.15.25 | Parent-Child Relationships | Proverbs 17:25; 23:24-25; 20:7; 14:1; 23:13-14; 22:15; 19:18; 1:8-9; 30:17; 22:6; 3:11-12

  • 6.22.25 | Words | Texts TBD

  • 6.29.25 | Pride & Humility | Proverbs 13:10; 21:24; 16:18; 16:5; 29:23; 22:4; 25:6-7

  • 7.6.25 | Kings & Authorities | Proverbs 29:4, 12, 14; 28:2, 15-16; 27:18; 23:1-3; 21:1; 29:26; 8:15-16; 16:10-13

  • 7.13.25 | Speaking & Listening | Texts TBD

  • 7.20.25 | N/A - Standalone Sermon

  • 7.27.25 | Sexuality | Proverbs 5:1-23; 6:23-7:27; 23:26-28

  • 8.3.25 | Wealth & Poverty | Proverbs 10:15, 22; 23:4-5; 28:20; 6:9-11; 22:13; 13:23; 13:11; 21:5; 30:7-9

  • 8.10.25 | Envy | Texts TBD

  • 8.17.25 | Business Ethics | Proverbs 16:11; 28:8; 11:1; 13:11; 15:27; 14:23; 16:8; 22:7; 26:10; 21:5

  • 8.24.25 | Anger | Proverbs 29:11; 14:29; 16:14; 19:11; 15:1; 15:18; 29:8; 22:24-25; 19:19

Sampling of Works that Informed This Series

Technical Commentaries

  • Bruce Waltke, The Book of Proverbs (New International Commentary on the OT)

  • Tremper Longman III, Proverbs (Baker Commentary on the OT Wisdom and Psalms)

Academic Books

  • Richard P. Belcher Jr., Finding Favour in the Sight of God: A Theology of Wisdom Literature

  • Tremper Longman III, The Fear of the Lord is Wisdom: A Theological Introduction to Wisdom in Israel

  • Daniel J. Estes, Handbook on the Wisdom Books and Psalms

Popular-Level Books

  • Brett McCracken, The Wisdom Pyramid

  • Samuel James, Digital Liturgies: Rediscovering Christian Wisdom in an Online Age

Devotional Books/Sermons

  • Ray Ortlund, Proverbs: Wisdom that Works

  • DA Carson, For the Love of God

  • Daniel Akin and Jonathan Akin, Exalting Jesus in Proverbs (Christ-Centered Exposition series)

  • Tim Keller, 2015 Sermon Series, “Proverbs: True Wisdom for Living”

 Tim Higgins