The road home from Berlin: past the border the smooth motorway ends and the potholes, jams and miles of garish billboards begin, each urging you to pull over just for a moment. That picture opens the final sermon in a series on wasting your life, based on Proverbs 23, where a seasoned father warns his son about the traps waiting along the road, drink, gluttony, casual sex, and today also the internet, pornography, or work that quietly becomes a god. The speaker shares stories of people who lost everything, and shows where the road back begins. Listen if you want to reach your destination without losing what matters most along the way.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- In Proverbs 23 the father tells his son, "Listen, my son, and be wise," and "give me your heart." What traps does he warn him about in this chapter, and why does he speak about them with such care?
- The description of the drunkard in verses 29-35 ends with the words, "When will I wake up so I can find another drink?" What does this picture reveal about how addiction works, and why does it still sound so current?
- The speaker reminds us that for the Hebrews wisdom was the art of living with God, and foolishness meant living as if God did not exist. How does this understanding of wisdom change the way you look at your everyday choices?
- The sermon compares life to a road lined with loud billboards urging us to pull off "just for a moment." Which of these "billboards" (food, the internet, social media, work) pull at your attention most, and why?
- The speaker encourages us, even if we have no problem with alcohol, to think of others and not become a trigger for their struggles. How can you help those travelling the same road as you, or at least not get in their way?
- The first three of the twelve steps are admitting the problem, recognizing that only God can help, and entrusting our will and life to Him. In what specific area do you want to hand the "navigation" over to God this week?
