Proverbs on Money

After studying every verse in Proverbs related to money, wealth, poverty, and riches, I noticed they all could be put into 3 categories. In my sermon Sunday, I tried to represent Proverbs' teaching on money with these 3 categories and 11 total principles:

(1) Acquiring Money Wisely

1. Don't make it your ambition to acquire money (Prov. 23:4)

2. God gives money through hard work and patience (Prov. 10:4).

3. Don't acquire money unjustly or unrighteously (Prov. 15:27, 22:16).

4. Don't seek to acquire money hastily (Prov. 13:11, 21:5).

(2) Using Money Wisely

5. Honor the Lord with your money (Prov. 3:9).

6. Be generous to others with your money (Prov. 11:24, 14:31).

7. Live within your means (Prov. 12:9, 22:7).

(3) Thinking about Money Wisely

8. Money comes from God (Prov. 10:22).

9. Money can be dangerous to our relationship with God (Prov. 30:7-9).

10. Money is fleeting (Prov. 27:24, 23:4-5).

11. Do not trust in money (Prov. 11:28).

Stop Dating the Church Now in Paperback

Josh Harris' Stop Dating the Church is now available in paperback with the title, Why Church Matters. Though Stop Dating the Church is a powerful title, I think a more "tame" title might get it into more people's hands.

Proverbs' Commentaries

I absolutely loved our short summer series on Proverbs. God has been kind to impart His wisdom to us so generously.

Here are some of my thoughts on the resources available for Proverbs:

1. The best commentary on Proverbs is the Mentor Commentary by John Kitchen.

2. The inspiration for this series came from the excellent little book, A Proverbs Driven Life by Selvaggio.

3. Waltke's 2 volume commentary in the NICOT series is extensive and fantastic. Volume 1. Volume 2.

4. Kidner's Tyndale commentary is the best short commentary on Proverbs. This is the best commentary in this series that I've used. But, I found myself wanting Kidner to say more.

5. That's it. Not many other good commentaries on Proverbs.

The Hardest Sermons

This looks like a very helpful book. Pastors, let me encourage you to get this book BEFORE you need it. Because when you need it, it will be too late. And, eventually, all of us will need it.

Sing ALL the Songs Sunday with Gusto

Some helpful thoughts from Greg Gilbert on corporate singing (the rest of the article can be found here).

I think we ought to encourage every member of our churches to sing every song in the service with gusto, even if they don't particularly resonate with the song. Every Christian has a certain set of hymns and songs that deeply resonate with them---the melody, the words, an experience they had when they first heard it---and our natural tendency is to give those favorites everything we've got . . . but then sort of check out when the next song is one we don't particularly like. But here's the thing: When you sing in a congregation, you're not just singing for yourself; you're singing for every other member of the congregation, for their edification and building up in Christ, too. In I Corinthians 14:26, Paul tells us that when we come together, everything we do--including our singing--is done for each other. Singing hymns is not just an opportunity for each of us, as individuals, to worship God in our own way. It's an opportunity for the church, as a whole, to worship God together. That means that even if you don't like a particular song, it's likely that someone else in the congregation resonates with it deeply---they feel about it the same way you feel about your favorites---and so you have a responsibility to love that person by singing that song with all the heart you can muster. In other words, don't check out on songs that aren't your favorites; sing them! And sing them loud and heartily, not because you particularly like them, but because you may be helping to edify another brother or sister whose heart is engaged deeply with those songs. Worship isn't finally an individual experience; it's corporate. And everything we do--everything, Paul tells us, including our singing---should be done for the building up of the saints.

Wise Speech: Principles from Proverbs

In my sermon Sunday, I summarized Proverbs' teaching on our words with 3 principles:

1. Wise speech is truthful, not deceptive.

2. Wise speech is gracious, not harsh.

3. Wise speech is guarded, not hasty.

For My Karis: Jesus is the One You Need