FHBC Sermon Notes

Starting today we are going through some of the Psalms. The songs in lives have great significance. Let us not neglect the very songs God has given us in the bible.

The first Psalm is a declaration, a callout to all the Psalms that follow it, to inspire hope, and to engage our ears and mind, to stand us in readiness to receive all that follows.

1. God's Word inspires joy in the Christian's life. (1:2)

The law that we first think of in a verse like this is often the Torah, the law given to Moses for the people of Israel. Yet it is much more that that. The word law also simply means instruction. Gods teaching. Futhermore, this is not just teaching that we hear, ponder, and then ignore. NO! Indeed our faith is in trusting and obeying the very words of our creator and teacher.

We often don't think positively about laws. It is often just things we can't do. But not so here. In meditating on God's law, we receive joy and delight. Because of its truthfulness, it's perfection, it revives our very soul. It gives us joy! This is why we meditate on it day and night. Is this true in your life?

What does it mean to meditate? This is not anything like eastern meditation. It means here to ponder, to think and reflect on these words. An image like it is to chew the cud. To continually look at and ingest its truth over and over. It helps us to interpret life from the perspective of truth.

To be a healthy church, we must be a word centered people.

Practical ways to do this

• Read the bible every day.
• Those that are married and have children. Do some bible reading together as a family. Have a family devotion time.
• Have a personal bible study time. Not just to simply read, but to invest in understanding.
• Be part of a group bible study. We are really blessed by many good teachers in our church. Avail yourself of this.
• Need to gather in cooperate worship. Not just to engage in singing and sitting, but in study in union the word we receive from the bible.
• Scripture memorization.
• Read good Christian books.

If the word is truly a delight in our lives, then this will not be a problem. But to learn of this as a joy, we must first have the discipline to do this. Pray to have the discipline. Furthermore, just do it!

2. God's Word produces fruitfulness in the Christians's life. (1:3-4)

The imagery here is that the word is Iike water. Without it we wither and die. It brings us Iife. Not just like an a rain that comes in seasons of difficulty, but like being planted by a river that gives us sustained nuriousment in seasons of plenty and of dryness.

Deuteronomy 30:16-20 32:46-47; Psalms 119:55,93,156; John 6:63, 12:50

And so, our tree produces fruit in its season. We cannot produce fruit by hitting up God's word with only the need arises. We must abide in Jesus always, so that in season we will produce. A tree will not produce it is not firmly grafted and grown into the roots that sustain it.

3. God's Word keeps the Christian tethered to his righteous path. (1:1,5-6)

The man who does this is truly blessed. The one who does not do this will perish. Life or death. That is what this is: a life and death matter.

Yet God's word anchors us, tethered us, to him. No matter the distraction, no matter the trials of life that we bring.

It is beautiful and glorious. Next to it all that we bring before it will pale. All of our life's chaff, will blow away when we are anchored to His word is the wind of the Spirit of God!

27 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!"

28 But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

Luke 11