OLD SCHOOL WIDSOM | Week 1 | Full Service

The big idea

True wisdom means living skillfully, not willfully — acquiring God's word and actually applying it to daily life.

Real wisdom isn't just knowing the Bible, it's living it out. Pastor Bill shows from Proverbs 1 that wisdom means living faithfully — letting discipline become discernment over time — and living fearfully, meaning we bow to God as ruler instead of staying on the throne of our own lives.

Point 1 of 6

Pastor Bill defines the biblical word for wisdom as meaning skillful, like a craftsman who learns by doing rather than just studying theory. He contrasts this with education for education's sake: you can know Scripture and still not be wise if you never apply it to everyday decisions.

Point 2 of 6

Walking through Proverbs 1:1-6, he explains that discipline is meant to correct course and build character, unlike punishment, which is about payback. He uses the picture of starting a workout routine or learning to drive a stick shift: the early days are miserable and most people quit right before they'd start to feel the benefit, and the same happens with our walk with God.

Point 3 of 6

From Proverbs 1:7, he distinguishes being scared of God (which makes people run and hide, like Adam and Eve) from fearing the Lord rightly (which makes people run toward Him, like David in the Psalms). Fear of the Lord means recognizing God is Creator and Ruler, and I am not, and surrendering the right to rule my own life.

Point 4 of 6

He describes the simple as those who don't yet know what they don't know and need to first understand Jesus' love; the wise as those who apply what they learn; the fool as someone careless and self-satisfied who ignores instruction because life feels like it's working; and the mocker as someone who openly mocks God's wisdom, often by getting angry at whoever confronts them with it.

Point 5 of 6

He applies the mocker category to Christians who twist Scripture on identity and sexuality rather than surrender to it, arguing that finding identity outside of what God designed is a distortion that traps people. He warns that pastors who soften God's word to keep people comfortable aren't loving them, they're pointing people to themselves instead of God.

Point 6 of 6

Pastor Bill tells his own story of resisting planting Rock Point because it was financially terrifying, and only moved forward after his wife and a mentor pushed him toward it. He says the work hasn't gotten easier over 21 years, it's gotten harder, but he now sees the blessing on the other side, like watching 300 middle schoolers leave for camp because the church exists.

Take it into your week

Pastor Bill's charge is to figure out which of the four types you are right now, and move toward wisdom from there.