Proverbs 27 (Continued)

Steve Szklarek
 

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Discussion:

1. (Proverbs 27:1)  How do you interpret the phrase "do not boast about tomorrow"?  What’s one thing you’re tempted to assume about your future—your plans, health, or success, something else? Why do you think Solomon warns against this?
   
   
    
2. (Proverbs 27:2)  When do you catch yourself wanting to brag about your accomplishments?
   
   
    
3. (Proverbs 27:3)  Can you share a time where you felt weighed down by a “fool’s provocation”?  What can we do to avoid feeling this way?
   
   
    
4. (Proverbs 27:6)  Can you recall a time when a friend called you out and it stung—but helped?  Are you generally open to honest feedback and rebuke?
   
   
    
5. (Proverbs 27:7)  What does it mean to be "full" in a spiritual context?  How can we avoid becoming "full" in a way that makes us insensitive to the needs of others?
   
   
    
6. (Proverbs 27:9)  What’s a piece of advice someone’s given you that still shapes how you live?  How can we learn to offer and receive counsel with greater sincerity and humility?  Do you know anyone who is really good at this?
   
   
    
7. In these first 10 verses Solomon seems to be encouraging us to develop certain character qualities in order to have quality friendships/relationships.  In your opinion, what are some specific traits or practices of good friends?
   
   
    
8. What are some of the benefits of having good friends?  What are some of the dangers of not having them?
   
   
    
9. (Proverbs 27:17)  How have you been pushed to grow recently by christian brothers? How have you experienced the truth of this verse in your own life?
   
   
    
10. (Proverbs 27:19)  If someone  looked at your daily choices—how you spend your time, money, or energy—what might they see about your heart?
    
    
     
11. (Proverbs 27:21)  How do you feel when someone praises you—proud, awkward, or something else? Can you share a time when praise or criticism showed you something about yourself?
    
    
     

Challenge:  As you leave this morning try to think of at least one step you can take this week to be a better friend to someone in your life.

Proverbs 27

1 Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.
2 Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.
3 Stone is heavy and sand a burden, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.
4 Anger is cruel and fury overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
7 One who is full loathes honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet.
8 Like a bird that flees its nest is anyone who flees from home.
9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.
10 Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.
11 Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.
12 The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
13 Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger; hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.
14 If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.
15 A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm;
16 restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand.
17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
18 The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever protects their master will be honored.
19 As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.
20 Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes.
21 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise.
22 Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them.
23 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds;
24 for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations.
25 When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in,
26 the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field.
27 You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed your family and to nourish your female servants.