Preached at RiverSide Church, Princeton, NC

What if the very thing you're ignoring could be the difference between life and death? In this powerful sermon from Proverbs 1:20-33, we encounter Lady Wisdom standing at the crossroads of culture—in the streets, the marketplace, the gates of our cities—crying out with an urgent message that demands our attention.

This isn't a gentle whisper or polite suggestion. Wisdom is screaming in the most unlady-like fashion, refusing to be relegated to the sidelines of our lives. Too many people treat Jesus like a garnish on their plate, a bumper sticker on their dumpster fire, or a bandaid on a gaping wound. But nobody cries out, "Give me parsley or else I die!"

WISDOM IS DEMANDING - She doesn't ask for your leftover attention; she demands to be heard above everything else. Standing where people actually are—not in seclusion but in the noisy streets of business, government, education, and the arts—Wisdom refuses to be ignored.

WISDOM IS DANGEROUS - But dangerous in two ways. Like fire that refines gold, burning away everything impure while leaving what's precious untouched. Our God is a consuming fire, and His Word is like a hammer that breaks rock in pieces. Yet our own folly is dangerous like poison—the deceitful heart, the careless words, the complacent attitude that destroys from within.

WISDOM IS OUR ONLY DELIVERANCE - For the simple ones (the uncommitted), the scoffers (the arrogant mockers), and the fools (the stubborn and excuse-filled)—there's a haunting question: "How long?" How many sermons? How many years? How much must you lose before you turn? But here's the hope: there's a triple grip on God's people—sealed by the Spirit, gripped by the Son, held by the Father. No one can snatch you away.

This message confronts our tendency toward spiritual complacency with the sobering reality that one day, when calamity strikes, those who refused Wisdom will call out—but it will be too late. Yet for those who listen now, who turn at her reproof, there is safety, security, and rest.

The choice is stark: Will you say to God, "Thy will be done," or will God say to you, "Thy will be done"?

Listen as we explore what it means to stop treating Jesus as an accessory and start embracing Him as the Holy fire who refines, the living Word who transforms, and the only true safety in a world rushing toward disaster.

Based on Proverbs 1:20-33 | RiverSide Church, Princeton, NC