In The Book of Proverbs, Ps Terence teaches from Proverbs 1:8–19, unpacking God’s wisdom as a practical guide for daily living. This message highlights the source, value, and benefits of wisdom, addressing parental instruction, peer pressure, and the path of destruction, and calling believers to listen, discern, and walk in obedience to God’s Word
In The Book of Proverbs, Ps Terence teaches from Proverbs 1:8–19, revealing God’s wisdom as a timeless and practical guide for navigating everyday life. Rooted in Solomon’s instruction to his son, this message emphasises that wisdom is not merely knowledge, but the application of God’s truth to real-life decisions, relationships, and challenges.
The teaching explores three key themes found in the passage: parental instruction, peer pressure, and the path of destruction. Ps Terence highlights the importance of listening to godly instruction, understanding that discipline and teaching are expressions of love designed to build character, maturity, and spiritual growth. Drawing on the biblical meaning of “listen” (shama), the message calls believers to hear God’s Word with obedience and action.
The message also addresses the dangers of negative influence and sinful enticement, warning against the pressure to compromise values for acceptance or gain. Through biblical examples, it exposes how greed and ill-gotten gain ultimately lead to destruction, while God’s wisdom leads to life, protection, and honour.
Ultimately, this teaching calls believers to seek the source of true wisdom, recognise its value, and walk in its benefits—choosing discernment over deception, obedience over compromise, and life over destruction.
Scripture References
Proverbs 1:8–19, Proverbs 1:8–9, Proverbs 31:1, 2 Timothy 3:16–17, Deuteronomy 6:4–9, Deuteronomy 5:27, James 1:22
Sermon Notes
The Book of Proverbs – Ps Terence – 8th February 2026
PROVERBS 1:8-19 (NIV)
Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. My son, if sinful
men entice you, do not give in to them. If they say, “Come along with us; let’s lie in
wait for innocent blood, let’s ambush some harmless soul; let’s swallow them alive, like
the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we will get all sorts of valuable
things and fill our houses with plunder; cast lots with us; we will all share the loot”—my
son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; for their feet rush into evil,
they are swift to shed blood. How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it!
These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves! Such are the
paths of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.
Proverbs
• SOLOMON
• SON OF DAVID
• KING OF ISRAEL
Proverbs
• GAINING
• UNDERSTANDING
• RECEIVING
• DOING
• GIVING
• KNOWLEDGE\ DISCRETION
• WISE
• LISTEN/ADD
• DISCERNING
2
What is a Proverb?
• Hebrew. Maschal - short, pithy(concise and expressing a point clearly) sayings,
figurative discourse
• Root meaning – comparison / likeness
• Latin –“ pro” means for. “ Verbra” means word.
• Some said this – a word for a situation or appropriate word that fits a
situation
• Applying God’s wisdom to daily life that we face each day and to provide moral
instructions
• Knowledge - having facts
• Wisdom - applying those facts to life
• Its all about the wisdom of God, that he wants to give us
• We request and seek his wisdom, to whatever challenges we may face in life on a
daily basis
So we need to know -
• The source of wisdom
• Value of wisdom
• Benefits of wisdom
PROVERBS 1:8-19
1) V8- 9 PARENTAL
2) V10 – 12 PEER PRESSURE
3) V13 – 19 PATH OF DESTRUCTION
PROVERBS 1:8 1. PARENTAL
• My son
• Listen
• Father’s instructions
3
• Do not forsake / neglect your mother’s teaching
PROVERBS 1:9
• Garland to grace your head
• Chain /pendant to adorn your neck
PROVERBS 1:8
• My son or my child; and even my children
• From Chapter 1 to Chapter 8, Chapter 23, 24 and 31
• Relationship with his son –
• Love , care, agection and attachment
• Instruction; the root meaning in Hebrew is –
• Yasar; to chastise
• 2 Timothy 3:16 – All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man
of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
• Parental instructions are not to be a burden or annoyance
• It’s about spiritual growth
• Training
• Building character
• Mentoring
• Discipling
“LISTEN”
• Hebrew word – Shama
• To hear intelligently, obedience, responding
• It means hearing God’s word, requires following it.
• James 1:22
• Deuteronomy 6: 4-9
• Deuteronomy 5:27
4
“Do not forsake your mothers teaching”
Proverbs 31: 1
• “Inspired utterance his mother taught him”
• King Lemuel
What wisdom does to person
• Garland to grace head
• Chain to adorn neck
Solomon is sharing with his son his heart. For his son not to make the same mistakes
that he made.
• Solomon given wisdom
• 1 Kings 4:29
• God appears to Solomon
• 1 Kings 9:6
• Solomon’s disobeys the word of God
• 1 Kings 11:1-6
PROVERBS 1:10 -12 2) PEER PRESSURE
What is peer pressure?
• The influence from friends or a social group to act, think, or dress a certain way,
often to fit in, leading to both positive (joining a sports team), and negative
choices (risky behaviour, bullying)
• SINFUL MEN
• ENTICE YOU
• COME ALONG WITH US
• LIE IN WAIT FOR INNOCENT BLOOD
• AMBUSH HARMLESS SOUL
• SWALLOW THEM ALIVE
5
• 1 KINGS 12:5 – 13. KING REHOBOAM AND JEROBOAM
PROVERBS 1:13 – 19. 3) PATH OF DESTRUCTION
• Greed
• Consequences of greed
• Tempting others
• Pursuit of gain
• Achan’s sin. Joshua 6:18, Chapter 7:19 -21
• 2 Kings 5:5 (gifts from Naaman),16 (Elisha refused), 23 (Gehazi accepts)
• The wages of sin is death (spiritually and physically)
• But the gift of God is eternal life
• Romans 6:23
• DO NOT GIVE IN
• DO NOT GO ALONG WITH THEM
• DO NOT SET FOOT ON THEIR PATHS