Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

God's Word - Our Joy

Bryan Schneider · December 28, 2024

Psalm 1

sharonrpc.org/sermons/god-s-word-our-joy

Summary

Psalm 1 presents two ways: the righteous delight in and meditate on God's Word, while the ungodly follow corrupt counsel and finally perish.
True blessedness is a deep life of joy, peace, contentment, and fruitfulness found in relationship with God rather than possessions or easy circumstances.
God's Word is an ordinary means of grace through which the Spirit reveals Christ, nourishes faith, corrects sin, and produces fruit in its proper season.
Christians must test the world's advice through Scripture and resist the progression from casually walking with ungodly counsel to settling into scornful fellowship.
Fruitfulness differs across people and seasons, so believers should receive God's present work without envying another person's gifts or pace of growth.
Regular Bible intake should be practical and sustainable: start small, connect reading to habits, use reminders and accountability, and reflect and pray over what is read.

Which path in Psalm 1 best describes the direction of my present life?
Where do I seek happiness, security, or contentment apart from God?
Whose counsel do I regularly absorb, and how carefully do I test it by Scripture?
Is Bible reading for me mainly a box to check, or a way of seeking and enjoying God in Christ?
What fruit is God's Word producing in this season, even if it differs from another believer's growth?
What simple and sustainable change would make regular Scripture reading more likely this week?
How can I move from merely reading a passage to reflecting, praying, and responding to it?

Blessedness: The deep joy, peace, contentment, and flourishing that come from knowing God and walking in his way rather than from favorable possessions or circumstances.
Meditation: Thinking over, considering, praying through, and applying God's Word so that it is received into the heart rather than merely scanned.
Ordinary means of grace: The regular instruments Christ uses to strengthen his people, especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer.
Delight: A willing love for God's instruction that seeks him in Scripture instead of approaching Bible reading as bare rule-keeping.
Fruitfulness: The good character and works the Spirit produces in a life continually nourished by God's Word, according to God's timing.
Chaff: The weightless husk blown away at harvest, used in Psalm 1 to picture the instability and final loss of the ungodly.