What advice were you given growing up regarding the “birds and the bees?” Do you feel it was adequate? If you were giving wisdom to young people today regarding healthy sexual relationships, what would you include? Proverbs 5:3-11 and 15-18 includes the advice Solomon gives. The Explore the Bible Study, Following Gods Design will focus on his advice.

Most likely, somewhere in your lifetime you will be a part of a building project. It might the building of a new home, building a church building, or some other project. One of the most important steps is developing and following a blueprint. Could you imagine someone not following a blueprint when building a home? It would lead to poor construction, confusion, and a lot of mistakes along the way. The finished project might not even pass inspection!

I find it interesting that we expect builders and other contractors to follow blueprints. We follow blueprints for just about anything we do; yet when it comes to moral issues, society proclaims that there aren’t any blueprints, especially regarding sexual relationships.

God created humans as men and women; sex was part of His creative plan. Failing to follow His design for sex only leads to problems down the road. Solomon addressed the traps awaiting those who ignore God’s design and the blessings awaiting those who follow God’s design. The passage for this session will focus on God’s wisdom regarding appropriate sexual behavior. Although Solomon focused his attention on adultery, the instruction covers the wide range of sexual sins that tempt believers to ignore God’s design and make foolish choices.

Have you ever gone hiking and chosen a trail that led you down a path that was so difficult you doubted if you could ever make it back? What caused you to make that choice? Was it a lack of knowledge, ego, or peer pressure? Whatever the case, we know that choosing the right path is always better than choosing a path that might lead us into dangerous situations. Choosing the Right Paths is the focus for the Explore the Bible Study from Proverbs 4:11-27.

Becky and I love to hike, so a few weeks ago we “broke out of Covid-19 quarantine” and found some new trails to hike nearby. The area we visited had multiple trails with different levels of difficulty. Each trail had color-coded markers. We chose a path that we knew we could hike safely and took off. Periodically we would cross other paths and would have to refer to the color-codes so that we could remain on the correct path.

In this continuing study of Proverbs, Solomon uses the image of two paths to continue teaching his son (and us) about wisdom. One path, the path of godly wisdom, would lead to satisfaction. The other path, the path of wickedness, would lead to a gloomy outcome.

We are faced with choices every day and throughout our lives. Some are insignificant. Some seem to have one clear answer. Some have a variety of good answers. We should heed Solomon’s advice when considering these different paths. However, there’s one choice of ultimate significance where there’s only one good option: Will you follow God or reject Him? This is a choice you will have to make eventually if you haven’t already. I hope you have chosen wisely!

The Downloadable Teaching ideas will help you study or guide a group in discussing Proverbs 4:11-27. Or, you could share the video Bible study with those who can't be a part of a group at this time.
DOWNLOADABLE TEACHING IDEAS
The ideas give you a "script" for teaching online or sharing via email. This week's helps include a suggested humorous video you can send to your group in advance.

How difficult is it for you to love people? Do you struggle with expressing compassion to others in our current environment? The study, Demonstrating Compassion, from LifeWay's Explore the Bible, focuses on challenging us to dig deep into our hearts so that we can demonstrate compassion to others during this tumultuous time.

Challenge your group to read Proverbs 3:21-35 through the lens of their relationship with Jesus Christ and to reflect on their recent thoughts, feelings, and reactions  to the circumstances that they have observed and heard. Based on the passage, help them to respond to what they learn regarding how they can demonstrate compassion to others. The downloadable teaching ideas provide details regarding how to guide the discussion.

DOWNLOADABLE TEACHING IDEAS
The ideas give you a "script" for teaching online or sharing via email. This week's helps include a suggested humorous video you can send to your group in advance.

It’s amazing that we have become so dependent on GPS for directions. Have you ever wondered how we ever found our way without it?! We should be even more dependent on receiving directions from God. This week's Explore the Bible session will focus on Solomon's wisdom regarding how God provides direction to those who place their trust in Him.

Have you ever argued with your GPS about the directions it is giving? My wife and I experienced this recently when we felt that the GPS instructions weren't correct. We were tempted several times to turn off the GPS and just trust in our own wisdom. Fortunately we didn't, and we did arrive at our destination exactly as the GPS instructed!

God gives us clear instructions in Proverbs 3:1-12 regarding how to navigate life. We hear, through Solomon’s words, the voice of God telling us which path to take and how to avoid danger and obstacles. He lets us know when we are making incorrect turns and helps us get back on the right path. However, we must learn to listen and trust God as He gives us directions.

Here is an outline of the approach used in the Downloadable teaching ideas. The approach uses the GPS analogy throughout:

1. We need a starting point in order to get accurate directions - Proverbs 3:1-2
2. We need to turn right at the corner of loyalty and faithfulness - Proverbs 3:3-4
3. We need to continue straight and trust God - Proverbs 3:5-6
4. Don't turn off the GPS. We need to keep listening to God - Proverbs 3:7-8
5. We need to "pay our toll": Honor God - Proverbs 3:9-10
6. Don't argue with the GPS. We should not despise God's instruction or discipline - Proverbs 3:11-12

DOWNLOADABLE TEACHING IDEAS
The ideas give you a "script" for teaching online or sharing via email. This week's helps include a suggested humorous video you can send to your group in advance.

Do you remember any of the old sayings you learned growing up? Some of the ones I learned were pretty humorous, yet practical. Most had a lesson that I could quickly recall.  LifeWay's Explore the Bible study of the book of Proverbs will help you learn how to live wisely in a foolish world by giving you direction regarding some of the God-given sayings included in the book of Proverbs.

The study of the book of Proverbs begins with Proverbs 1:7-19. It is certainly a God-appointed time for studying this book, especially this passage, based on all that we have recently experienced. The downloadable teaching ideas provide some very specific applications to our current state of affairs in our country.

DOWNLOADABLE TEACHING IDEAS
The ideas give you a "script" for teaching online or sharing via email. This week's includes a suggested humorous video you can send to your group in advance.


ADJUSTED TITLE, TARGET, AND OUTLINE
The following elements have been adjusted in order to bring more clarity to the purpose of this session.

Title: Living Wisely

Target (The point of the session): How do I live wisely in a foolish world?

Outline:

• Living Wisely Begins with Fearing God - Proverbs 1:7
• Living Wisely Means We Listen to Those Who are Wise - Proverbs 1:8-9
• Living Wisely Means We Will Think Before We Act - Proverbs 1:10-19