Christmas: God’s Grand Plan

Sermon Notes December 8, 2019 Proverbs 21:1,2 Goals • • Application (how did God’s Word touch your life?) Discussion not teaching (how can you, the leader, get others to do the talking?) Focus on: Our comfort in and reliance on God’s sovereignty over history and our lives. Questions: • Read Proverbs 21:1 – o Does God seem to be in charge of events in the world (or our country) today? What makes us wonder and worry about whether this is so? o Read I Chron. 5:26 and Isaiah 10:5-6. Would the people of Israel have wondered if God was still in charge? How did God reassure them of His sovereign rule? • Read Proverbs 21:2 – o Are we always wrong about everything? Isn’t it dangerous to second guess every decision we make? [Ordering food, buying a car, telling kids to go to bed, choosing a toothbrush etc…] o What is a wise way – in practical matters – to take note of what this verse says? [e.g. Prov. 11:14, 15:22, 24:6 and other texts in the rest of the Bible.] • What do you think of the “demand for an apology” which we hear about much today from many quarters? Comment on it in the light of Proverbs 21:2. o What kind of an ‘apology’ does it lead to? o Does Scripture command us to demand apologies? o Why is there so much emphasis in the Bible, instead, on seeking forgiveness? • How does God weigh our hearts? How do we open ourselves up to allow the Holy Spirit to weigh our hearts?