Practicing Wisdom

Sermon Notes October 27, 2019 Proverbs 15:31-32 Short Review Review the main points of the morning message. Focus on: The way to get wiser is to practice living wisely and be open to correction Some Questions for Discussion: 1. Break the ice in some way (game? Song?). Be creative! Perhaps: Go around and have people share a project/recipe/art or craft they have done for the first time: How did you do? Did you try again? Results? 2. Correction: Why is it hard to take correction? a. Who in your life (other than the Lord!) are you corrected by? From whom is correction easy to take, from whom is it hard? What makes the difference? [Your attitude? The manner of correction? The person? Other?] b. Discuss the place of rebuke/correction in 15:31,32 in growing in wisdom. 3. Practice: a. Are there examples of things that were hard to do in which you’ve improved as you practiced? Examples? b. How can “practice – doing foolish things – also make us more foolish? (Prov. 26:11) Examples of how bad habits become ingrained in us? [Prov. 27:22] 4. Movement: a. We typically learn a skill today by both lecture/book/study as well as practice. How do the two (booklearning and practice) work together? b. What happens if there is no practical part to training in a skill? Examples from sports? Crafts or trades? Professions? c. How do you apply that to wisdom? What are areas in which you’ve learned wisdom by trying, stumbling (perhaps), being corrected, doing better? 5. Which skills did you work on when you were a teen? How much time did you spend? Did you get good? Any still useful or enjoyable for you? 6. How do parents decide how much to ‘let go’ of children – allow them to make decisions, fail, receive correction and try again? a. What are fears parents face in this? b. Give examples of foolish attitudes/thinking/behavior in this world which might harm children’s souls? How should parents train children to face those challenges wisely?