In Ephesians 6:4, the Apostle Paul commands fathers to raise their children in the discipline and instruction of the LORD. Correct them. Teach them. What’s so hard about that? Proverbs, particularly and repeatedly, reminds us of the corrective role in parenthood through the rod. “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves …
Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If …
Author Proverbs 1:1 presents Solomon as the primary author of the book, but there are other writers as well, such as Agur and Lemuel. Theme Proverbs aims to teach us biblical wisdom, which is the skill of understanding and navigating the broken, sin-filled world around us by conforming ourselves to God’s pattern for creation. Background …
Read the sermon here. SUGGESTED VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION & MEDITATION Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 | Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does a man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun. A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. Ecclesiastes 1:14 …
Continue reading The Vanity of Everything Under the Sun | Ecclesiastes 1
Finally, the notion of sloth does not merely apply to idleness but also to busyness. Before discussing busyness, we should note that idleness is a sinful counterfeit of God-glorifying rest. Rest is worship; idleness is not. Rest is found in coming to Christ; idleness is found in self-gratifying pursuits. The same is also true of …
Slothfulness, though, is not merely physical or intellectual. We can also be lazy and idle spiritually. Spiritual sloth means being slothful to the things of God. Primarily, we see this in our reading of Scripture and prayer, which we tend to devote little (if any) time toward. While we may say that nothing is more …
Our society may still (generally) value physical labor, but it is increasingly leaving behind intellectual labor. Leigh Bortins, in her book The Core, compares us to the early Americans by stating that “overall, the same percentage of Americans read Common Sense in the late 1770s that watch the Super Bowl today” (p. 29)! I am convinced that …
SUGGESTED VERSES FOR MEMORIZATION & MEDITATION And now, O sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths, for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. Her house …
Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding …
My son, keep your father's commandment, land forsake not your mother's teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp and …
B. C. Newton 