Summer in the Psalms: Psalm 1
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. 3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.—Psalm 1
Today begins our Summer in the Psalms series! As Professor Ron Allen said,
“At long last, evangelical churches are on the road to the rediscovery of the worship of God. Earlier, we had merely assumed worship would happen. Surely, we thought, we would do well if we were involved in evangelism and world missions. Certainly, we thought, we would do well as we participated in Bible teaching churches. Assuredly, we thought we would do well as we reached out to hurting and needy people.
And we have done well. Not that we have done all that needs to be done, but we have been about our Father’s business. Yet we had not made much of worship. We did not teach on worship in our schools and seminaries, nor did we model worship in our congregations.
We called the service on Sunday morning the “worship service,†but we gave little attention to the acts of worship. We used music as a filler. Prayer alternated with announcements. And praise, when rendered, was often self-conscious (and at times, even self-serving)!
Things are changing now. Across North America, in churches in the Third World and even in the old world Christians now gather not just to hear, but also to act; not just to be together, but to be together in praise of God!
We will make progress on this road only if we have an adequate guide. No guide to worship, both personal and public, is so fine as The Book of Psalms.[1]â€â€”Ron Allen
The Psalms are divided into five books, which parallel the Bible’s first five books.
It’s appropriate that we begin with Psalm 1 because it is an introduction to all the Psalms. We saw that the Psalms share that they are songs of praise and fill several genres.
Pastor Russell drew a diagram illustrating a person’s choice. One path leads to a flourishing, good life of fruitfulness, and the other leads to a wind-blown existence of wickedness. We learned that each is progressive, beginning with a conscious decision and ending with character formation.
Begin today’s discussion by reading Psalm 1 aloud.
Today begins our Summer in the Psalms series! As Professor Ron Allen said,
“At long last, evangelical churches are on the road to the rediscovery of the worship of God. Earlier, we had merely assumed worship would happen. Surely, we thought, we would do well if we were involved in evangelism and world missions. Certainly, we thought, we would do well as we participated in Bible teaching churches. Assuredly, we thought we would do well as we reached out to hurting and needy people.
And we have done well. Not that we have done all that needs to be done, but we have been about our Father’s business. Yet we had not made much of worship. We did not teach on worship in our schools and seminaries, nor did we model worship in our congregations.
We called the service on Sunday morning the “worship service,†but we gave little attention to the acts of worship. We used music as a filler. Prayer alternated with announcements. And praise, when rendered, was often self-conscious (and at times, even self-serving)!
Things are changing now. Across North America, in churches in the Third World and even in the old world Christians now gather not just to hear, but also to act; not just to be together, but to be together in praise of God!
We will make progress on this road only if we have an adequate guide. No guide to worship, both personal and public, is so fine as The Book of Psalms.[1]â€â€”Ron Allen
The Psalms are divided into five books, which parallel the Bible’s first five books.
It’s appropriate that we begin with Psalm 1 because it is an introduction to all the Psalms. We saw that the Psalms share that they are songs of praise and fill several genres.
Pastor Russell drew a diagram illustrating a person’s choice. One path leads to a flourishing, good life of fruitfulness, and the other leads to a wind-blown existence of wickedness. We learned that each is progressive, beginning with a conscious decision and ending with character formation.
Begin today’s discussion by reading Psalm 1 aloud.
Discussion Questions
1. Do you have a favorite Psalm? Tell the group why it is special to you.
2. We learned that the path to a bad outcome begins with a single compromise. When did you do that, and what was the result?
3. The good life of flourishing fruitfulness also results from a series of choices. What daily choices can you make that will point you in the right direction?
4. Psalm 1 teaches us the power of meditation. What’s it like to have your mind fixed on something? How can that be good or bad? Read Romans 12:1-2 and discuss how those verses can guide us.
Challenge: Memorize Psalm 1 this summer. At the end of each group meeting, ask each member to recite the portion they have learned!
2. We learned that the path to a bad outcome begins with a single compromise. When did you do that, and what was the result?
3. The good life of flourishing fruitfulness also results from a series of choices. What daily choices can you make that will point you in the right direction?
4. Psalm 1 teaches us the power of meditation. What’s it like to have your mind fixed on something? How can that be good or bad? Read Romans 12:1-2 and discuss how those verses can guide us.
Challenge: Memorize Psalm 1 this summer. At the end of each group meeting, ask each member to recite the portion they have learned!
Posted in Sermon Notes