Wisdom for the Heart

Stephen Davey

Stephen Davey will help you learn to know what the Bible says, understand what it means, and apply it to your life as he teaches verse-by-verse through books of the Bible. Stephen is the president of Wisdom International, which provides radio broadcasts, digital content, and print resources designed to make disciples of all nations and edify followers of Jesus Christ.

  1. A Pattern for Young Men Part 2 (Titus 2:6-8)

    20M AGO

    A Pattern for Young Men Part 2 (Titus 2:6-8)

    Share a comment What if credibility became your greatest currency—more valuable than wins, likes, or titles? We walk through a clear path for young men to build a life that speaks loudly and cleanly: serve others in concrete ways, think with Scripture-shaped conviction, and speak words that protect the reputation of Christ and the church. This isn’t about performing to earn redemption; it’s about living from it, so neighbors, coworkers, and classmates glimpse grace that actually changes people. We start with action—rescue missions, food drives, crisis response teams, and global trips—where good works carry good news. Then we press into the mind: why purity in doctrine isn’t academic trivia but the steering wheel of a Christian life. In a culture that prizes novelty and speed, we make the case for slow, steady formation: reading the Bible deeply, building a library that strengthens the soul, and using biography and theology to create a durable, biblical filter for daily choices. The goal is not to impress but to become wise enough to love well. Dignity and speech tie it together. Real dignity isn’t dour; it’s the gravity that wins a hearing. Sound words—healthy, clean, beyond reproach—turn free speech into a sacred trust. Paul’s striking “us” reminds us that your personal reputation becomes our church’s reputation; how you talk online or in the office drafts the headline people write about the gospel. An unforgettable story from an NFL player draws the arc: from the thrill of a career-defining play to the deeper joy of watching young men encounter Christ. That shift—from highlight to holiness—maps the journey we’re inviting you to take. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more people find conversations that strengthen conviction and spark courageous, compassionate faith. Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    26 min
  2. A Pattern for Young Men Part 1 (Titus 2:6-8)

    1D AGO

    A Pattern for Young Men Part 1 (Titus 2:6-8)

    Share a comment What if the most endangered person in church life is a vitally engaged, maturing young man—and what if we could change that by how we live, not just what we say? We take Paul’s charge to Titus and turn it into a living blueprint: model maturity in public, urge consistently with love, and help young men pair passion with self-control, service, and sound doctrine. We start by naming the problem with candor. Culture stretches adolescence and amplifies distraction, leaving many young men on spiritual life support. Paul’s counsel cuts through the noise: adults aren’t born; they’re made. So we move beyond armchair Christianity and into embodied leadership—showing restraint under pressure, bridling tempers and tongues, mastering impulses, and managing money and ambition with wisdom. Self-control isn’t bland; it’s the skill that keeps vision from crashing. When energy meets discipline, potential turns into steady influence. From there, we anchor action in grace. Good deeds don’t earn salvation; they reveal it. We share practical pathways to serve—local relief, crisis response, college outreach, and global teams—because helping neighbors is how the gospel speaks in clear, everyday language. And we guard the engine of it all: pure doctrine. A Christian mind is not trivia; it’s a way to see. By rooting convictions in Scripture, young believers resist novelty for novelty’s sake, stand firm against the slow leak of spiritual forgetfulness, and make choices that align with truth over time. If you care about shaping the next generation, this conversation gives you a plan you can practice today: lead visibly, urge patiently, serve eagerly, and think clearly. If it helped you, share it with a mentor, a small group, or a young man who needs a steady guide. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what’s one habit you’ll model this week? Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    24 min
  3. Retracing Our Footsteps Home (Part 2)

    4D AGO

    Retracing Our Footsteps Home (Part 2)

    Share a comment The loudest voices say dignity demands sameness. We push back with a richer vision: equal worth before God, distinct roles that serve the home, the church, and the common good. Starting in Genesis and moving through Paul’s counsel to Titus, we unpack how headship and help were gifts in Eden, how the fall twisted them into domination and control, and how the gospel restores what was broken. Along the way, we look squarely at modern data—long hours away from parents in early childhood, the culture of neglect fueling image anxiety in girls—and ask what those signals mean for families who want to build stable, life-giving homes. Together we explore why submission in Scripture is voluntary and dignified, not coerced; how authority exists to protect and build up rather than to feed ego; and why kindness is a potent, everyday discipline that shapes a family’s atmosphere. We also draw a crucial line between equality of essence and difference in function, showing how both truths can stand without contradiction. With clear examples and candid moments, we challenge common buzzwords and invite listeners to trade slogans for substance, recovery for rivalry, and service for self-assertion. If you’ve wrestled with roles, struggled with cultural pressure to “be everything,” or wondered how faith should shape family priorities, this conversation offers a grounded, hopeful path. We don’t demand rigid stereotypes; we honor design while celebrating individual gifts, calling husbands to Christlike love and wives to Spirit-empowered respect and partnership. The result is a home that quietly preaches—where Scripture is honored, children are formed, and difference becomes freedom under the care of a God who orders authority for our good. If this resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review to help more people find thoughtful, hope-filled conversations like this. Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    27 min
  4. Retracing Our Footsteps Home Part 1 (Titus 2:5)

    5D AGO

    Retracing Our Footsteps Home Part 1 (Titus 2:5)

    Share a comment Few phrases spark more heat than “workers at home” and “submissive to their own husbands.” We step straight into Titus 2 and ask the question most people dodge: are these ideas just ancient baggage, or do they point to a design that still creates flourishing today? Without hand-waving or strawmen, we sift the tension between cultural scripts—autonomy, sexual freedom, and perpetual lifestyle upgrades—and the quiet power of households that form people with love, limits, and lasting character. We begin with an honest tour of the controversy and a sharp parable: the emperor’s new clothes. When a culture celebrates illusions, someone has to say the obvious. From there, we press into what Paul actually asked Titus to teach, emphasizing that “workers at home” is about priority, not confinement. We frame homemaking as high-impact leadership—organizing rhythms, shaping habits, and building a haven where truth is lived at child height. Proverbs 31 expands the picture further: wise trading, resource management, care for the poor, and multi-directional competence that strengthens the entire household. We also face present realities. Many families need dual incomes. Single parents carry heroic loads. Disability, abandonment, or loss change the calculus. We acknowledge those seasons with respect while challenging a quieter driver: the impulse to trade presence for status. We unpack research on early childcare hours and development, not as a weapon but as a signal that proximity and attention still matter. Then we turn to the church’s task. Paul asked Titus to organize congregations, not remodel empires. When older women teach what is good, when men turn their hearts home, and when couples order life around first things, light spreads into the neighborhood—steady, ordinary, and strong. If you’re wrestling with how to balance callings, careers, and kids, this conversation offers clarity, courage, and a bigger vision for the home as the most strategic place of formation on earth. Listen, reflect with your spouse or small group, and share it with a friend who cares about building a durable family culture. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us: what one change would bring more presence to your home this week? Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    27 min
  5. A Model for Married Women Part 2 (Titus 2:4-5)

    6D AGO

    A Model for Married Women Part 2 (Titus 2:4-5)

    Share a comment Start with the mind and everything else follows. We explore Paul’s surprising claim that love can be learned and that sensible thinking is the backbone of a faithful life, especially for younger wives and mothers navigating covenant commitments, cultural pressure, and daily fatigue. Rather than promising quick fixes, we offer a grounded path where affection grows through practiced friendship and small acts of service that retrain the heart. We begin with the first pair of virtues from Titus: loving a husband and loving children. Paul uses the language of friendship to describe marital love, which is shocking and freeing: affection isn’t a lightning strike; it’s a craft. That frame makes sense of arranged marriages in the first century and speaks to modern homes where busyness and resentment compete for oxygen. Marriage, as we see it, is a school of holiness, not a consumer contract. Two sinners share a roof, and kids bring their own storms. The gospel doesn’t erase friction; it supplies new power to respond with patience, humility, and steady care. Then we turn to reputation in the world: be sensible and pure. Purity here is not about shame; it’s about wisdom, dignity, and a witness that points beyond ourselves. In a culture that monetizes attention, modesty becomes a quiet act of courage. We talk candidly about distractions in worship, the role of older women as mentors who translate principle into practice, and how fathers and husbands can offer gentle, honoring counsel. Most of all, grace runs through the whole conversation: even if your past wasn’t pure, you can build a new reputation beginning now. Sensible thinking, Spirit-led obedience, and daily habits of love create a life that shines with conviction and warmth. If this conversation encouraged you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review so others can find it. What practice of sensible love will you train this week? Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    26 min
  6. A Model for Married Women Part 1 (Titus 2:4-5)

    MAR 17

    A Model for Married Women Part 1 (Titus 2:4-5)

    Share a comment What if the most powerful culture makers aren’t on stages but sitting at kitchen tables? We dive into Paul’s blueprint in Titus 2 and make a bold case: older women mentoring younger wives and mothers can flip an upside‑down world right side up. Against a backdrop of rising cohabitation, fading vows, and a public square that shrugs at Scripture, we map out a hopeful path where small, faithful actions retrain emotions, rebuild homes, and revive witness. We start by rethinking the moment. Rather than sigh about a post‑Christian age, we frame it as pre‑Christian: neighbors don’t know which God we mean, the Bible feels like one book among many, and Jesus gets filed with “good teachers.” That clarity challenge is an opportunity for light to shine. From there, we follow Paul’s strategy: enlist older believers—especially older women—to “teach what is good” and guide younger women through a practical curriculum. Love husbands, love children; be sensible and pure; be workers at home and kind; embrace a mindset that honors God’s word. The surprising twist is the word for love: friendship‑shaped affection that can be learned. Paul invites a reversal of modern instincts—act first in obedience and allow those practices to tutor your heart until it loves the good you keep choosing. We don’t ignore the data. Pew and Census reports show fewer marriages, more cohabitation, and a near split on whether marriage is obsolete. Yet statistics don’t get the last word. We highlight how aging brings discernment, why numbering our days grows wisdom, and how that perspective turns mentors into quiet revolutionaries. Add Paul’s high view of singleness, and the point is clear: every life stage carries dignity and assignment. For those called to marriage and motherhood, befriending your spouse, guarding purity, and practicing everyday kindness become acts of resistance—and seeds of renewal. If this resonates, share it with someone who shapes you or someone you could mentor. Subscribe for more Scripture‑driven conversations about home, church, and culture, and leave a review to help others find the show. Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    24 min
  7. Rare Words for Rare Women (Titus 2:3-4)

    MAR 16

    Rare Words for Rare Women (Titus 2:3-4)

    Share a comment When culture shouts for image, speed, and self, we slow down to ask what actually builds a life that lasts. Walking through Titus 2, we map a countercultural path where older women shape the church from the inside out—modeling reverence that dignifies the ordinary, kindness that kills gossip, sobriety that frees the heart, and a serious commitment to teach what is good. This is not theory; it’s the quiet, durable work that turns houses into homes and congregations into families. We dig into the four distinctives that make mentoring credible—sacredness, sweetness, sobriety, and seriousness—and why each one matters in a world that monetizes distraction and division. You’ll hear why Paul asks older women, not young pastors, to train younger women up close and life-on-life, guiding them from self-love slogans to self-giving love that sustains marriages and steadies parenting. Along the way, we talk about the real pulls of gossip, excess, and exhaustion, and we share stories of simple words that carried struggling parents and of grace that turned deficits into offerings. If you’ve wondered where to find role models worth following, or how to become one without pretending to be perfect, this conversation offers a grounded, hopeful roadmap. Come for the practical wisdom; stay for the reminder that progress beats perfection and that Christ’s grace is enough for ordinary days. If this resonates, subscribe, share it with a friend who could use steady encouragement, and leave a review to help others find the show. Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    27 min
  8. The Treasure of Old Men (Titus 2:1-2)

    MAR 13

    The Treasure of Old Men (Titus 2:1-2)

    Share a comment A culture obsessed with staying young doesn’t know what to do with gray hair—except hide it. We take a different path, opening Titus 2 to show why Scripture calls old age fruitful, not fearful, and why the church flourishes when older men lead with character instead of cosmetics. Rather than rehearse doctrine alone, Paul tells Titus to teach a lifestyle that fits sound doctrine: temperance over impulse, dignity over image, sense over noise. It’s a family talk that starts with the seasoned, not because age guarantees wisdom, but because the strength of the whole family depends on the steadiness of its elders. We get practical and direct. What does temperate look like in daily life when addictions and quick tempers are normal? How does dignity grow in a world that confuses worth with net worth? Why is “sensible” the word Paul gives to everyone—old men, young women, young men—because clear thinking births self-control? And what does it mean to be sound in faith, love, and perseverance when relationships fray and results disappoint? We draw a bright line between escaping hard things and enduring them, pointing to Christ’s perseverance as the pattern for mature manhood. Along the way, we talk about mentorship as a mandate, not a ministry niche. Many young men have never seen a father grow up; the church can change that story. With honest humor and a poignant parable about a little girl’s paper bag of “treasures,” we press into priorities that last. If you’re over 50—or close—you’re not sidelined; you’re on assignment. Act your age, on purpose. Model sober judgment, choose selfless love, and keep going when it’s hardest. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs encouragement, and leave a review telling us which trait you’re pursuing this week. Learn more: https://www.wisdomonline.org/ Support the show

    26 min

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Stephen Davey will help you learn to know what the Bible says, understand what it means, and apply it to your life as he teaches verse-by-verse through books of the Bible. Stephen is the president of Wisdom International, which provides radio broadcasts, digital content, and print resources designed to make disciples of all nations and edify followers of Jesus Christ.

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