Fearing God

Sermon Notes September 29 , 2019 Proverbs 9:10 Short Review Review the main points of the morning message. Focus on: Why is the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom? Some Questions for Discussion: 1. Break the ice in some ways. Perhaps with this: How many like roller coasters? Why or why not? Scariest rides you’ve been on? Why do we “like” to feel this kind of fear? 2. Fear is not always healthy. a. What are some examples of unhealthy fear? b. On Sunday we looked at i. – fear of people (29:25). In what situations do we feel tempted to please people even if it means going against God? ii. – Fears that paralyze us (26:13, 14:26, Mt. 25:24f). 1. What are examples of fears that keep us from doing even what we want? 2. Can you give examples of situations where we don’t do what God commands/directs because of a fear? How should we deal with these fears? 3. Why is the fear or “caution” in Proverbs 14:6 healthy? Where did you learn (or not learn!) healthy fears? Some examples? 4. What wise practices does the (healthy) fear of the Lord lead to? 5. Should children be taught the fear of the Lord? Some say that doing what is right out of fear is not the proper motivation – your comments? [cf. 3:7, Ps. 97:10, 6:16f] 6. There are sensitive and important issues that we deal with: definition of marriage, gender, sexuality, friendships. Give examples of how “knowing the fear of the Lord” affects how we approach these issues? 7. Discuss Proverbs 18:10. Why is a fearful God a source of comfort to His children?