Wisdom, Folly, and the State of Our Hearts

Proverbs sets two voices calling out in the same streets: Lady Wisdom, inviting people to her table to eat, drink, and grow in understanding, and Lady Folly, offering an easier, emptier way that promises pleasure without the work. Steven walks through how Proverbs categorizes those who follow folly's voice, the naive who simply haven't learned to read the room, the stubborn who refuse to hear correction, and the mocker who scorns wisdom outright, each requiring a different kind of response. But the sermon turns the lens inward too: these aren't just categories for other people, they're patterns every heart can fall into. The good news is that Jesus is described in Scripture as the wisdom of God fully expressed, meeting us in our foolishness and drawing us back to walk wisely with him.

Lady Wisdom's Great Invitation

Proverbs picks up where Genesis 1-3 leaves off, wrestling with how to navigate a world that God made good but humanity broke by choosing its own way over his. Into that mess steps Lady Wisdom, a figure who appears throughout Proverbs 1-9 not whispering in private but calling out in the streets, inviting anyone who will listen into a quest for a life well lived. Steven walks through what that quest requires: a certain posture of the heart, the willingness to face life's real complexity, and trust that wisdom's path leads somewhere good. Proverbs calls the ones who find it "happy," blessed, flourishing, the same word Jesus uses on the mountainside in the Beatitudes. The invitation is open to everyone: join the quest for wisdom, and discover the life it leads to.

Intro to Scriptures’ Wisdom Literature

What if Sunday mornings were like walking into a studio, a space where creative work happens and something is always being shaped? That's the image Steven opens with as he launches a new series on the wisdom literature of Scripture. He introduces the five collections of wisdom writing in the Bible, Proverbs, Psalms, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, and Job, and describes wisdom itself as an invisible, creative force woven into the order of the universe, God's design for how life is meant to work. Steven traces that thread all the way to Jesus, who Scripture calls the wisdom of God, the one holding all things together. The invitation is simple: journey toward Jesus with your heart set on navigating the complexities and challenges of this world as wisely as possible.