Choose Your Own Adventure

Psalm 1 April 27, 2025 Pastor Ricky Alcantar

Thesis If you choose to make the words of God your constant companion through consistent meditation, you will flourish both in this life and in eternity because you will know and be known by God Himself.

Series

Psalms

Type

Expository

Tone

pastoraldidacticevangelistic

Method

grammatical-historicalredemptive-historicalcanonical

What's in this sermon

The shape of the argument

21 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.

Pastoral correction · unit #12

"The application provides three concrete action steps: establish a consistent time/place, memorize Scripture (with congregational Psalm 1 memorization as scaffolding), and use study helps. The younger man's testimony provides both permission to start small and proof that the instructions are actionable. The final proportionality warning addresses the tendency to overestimate Scripture's influence when engagement is minimal."

Doctrinal loci· 11 surfaced

Bibliology · 7 Sanctification · 7 Pastoral Theology · 3 Christology · 2 Eschatology · 2 Ethics / Moral Theology · 2 Hamartiology · 2 Theology Proper · 2 Anthropology · 1 Providence / Sovereignty · 1 Soteriology · 1

Bible citations· 17

Illustrations· 2

historical example · unit #2 — The illustration introduces the Choose Your Own Adventure genre as a cultural touchpoint to establish the sermon's controlling metaphor—that small choices lead to vastly different endings. The narrative structure of branching consequences from seemingly innocuous decisions serves the argument that Psalm 1 presents life as a choice between two fundamentally different paths.
personal story · unit #6 — The personal story about unconsciously adopting El Paso and Mississippi accents illustrates the exegetical claim that we become like our companions. The self-deprecating humor and specificity (the freeway, the hotel progression) make the abstract principle of moral influence concrete and memorable.

Theological claims· 3

Psalm 1 presents life as a choice between two fundamentally different trajectories, offering blessing understood as Eden-like wholeness with God to those who choose His words as their companion. unit #3
The decisive question at judgment is not whether we know God but whether God knows us, and those known by God receive the eternal nearness with Him they desired in life. unit #16
The law of the Lord in Psalm 1 is ultimately an invitation to know Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, meaning that meditation on Scripture is personal relationship with the living God, not mere engagement with religious text. unit #17

Quotations· 3

"I've become accustomed to call this book, I think not inappropriately, an anatomy of all the parts of the soul, because there is not an emotion of which anyone can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror" — John Calvin (unit #0)

"During the 1996 presidential elections, Bob Dole, the Republican candidate, came to march in our town's Fourth of July parade. Thousands of people lined the parade route, yelling and cheering as he went by. It was exciting to have a national candidate in our little town outside Chicago. All of us knew who Bob Dole was. But if I wanted to see him, the Secret Service would not have let me near him unless he knew me. When it comes to God's blessing today and in eternity, the question is not do I think I know God? But does God know me?" — Johnston (unit #16)

"This scripture is the word of God not as a static deposit of truths, but as a living voice, as the rather living voice of God himself, who speaks through it by the Holy Spirit, pointing to Christ as the center of all revelation." — Herman Bavinck (unit #17)

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0 · The introduction establishes the sermon's pastoral burden—that the congregation would have a personal relationship with God through Scripture and prayer

We're going to be in the Book of Psalms today, so please open your Bible to Psalm, chapter one. One of my burdens as we begin this new series on the Book of Psalms is that every person in our church have a personal, a regular, personal relationship with God through His word, through prayer. And the Psalms is one of the places we go to find the intersection of all the emotions of our life, all the ups and downs of our lives, and then who the Lord is and what he has done and what he says. And the. The Psalms bring those things together. And we get to hear how these psalmists praise the Lord or lament evil, or ask for deliverance, or express their weariness. John Calvin says this of the Psalms. I've become accustomed to call this book, I think not inappropriately, an anatomy of all the parts of the soul, because there is not an emotion of which anyone can be conscious that is not here represented as in a mirror, meaning if you've ever felt happy or sad, if you've ever held grief or loss, if you've ever felt thanksgiving and joy, all of that is in the Psalms. And we learn to relate to God in all of those seasons. So that is my prayer. And with that we're going to receive really the invitation of Psalm 1 to enter into this world and personal relationship with God.

1 · The pastor reads the primary text (Psalm 1 in full) and prays that God would give the congregation spiritual perception to understand His Word and that those with distant, ritualistic relationships with God would draw near to Him personally

Psalm chapter one, beginning in verse one. This is God's word. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. But the wicked are not so, but are like chaff the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. This is God's word, and, Lord, we thank you for it. We ask you to give us ears to hear and eyes to see, that we might behold wondrous things in your word this morning. Lord, I pray especially for anyone who has come today that for them relating To God. Is something done at arm's length or something done only through ritual or through distance, but rather, Lord, I pray that this morning you would draw near to them and they near to you that you might have a personal relationship with them. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

2 · The illustration introduces the Choose Your Own Adventure genre as a cultural touchpoint to establish the sermon's controlling metaphor—that small choices lead to vastly different endings

Well, in 1969, Edward Packer was in the middle of telling yet another bedtime story to his kids when he hit upon a simple idea that really would create an entire genre of books and give rise to a. A whole form of entertainment. Edward Packer was in the habit of telling bedtime stories to his young girls. When he decided to do something he did not normally do in the middle of the story, he asked them, what happens next? Yes, when the princess sees the dragon, does she run toward it to face it in battle, or does she run away into the woods? And from that simple choice, what do you do? When was born, an entire genre of books called choose youe Own Adventure. Anybody, like a 90s kid, 80s kid, 90s kid, early 2000s, that had read a Choose your own Adventure. You know what I'm talking about? All right. All the little kids have no idea what you're talking about. All the youth are like, what is this actually? You actually know exactly what this is. I'll tell you in a second. Because this genre, choose your own Adventure, became extremely popular. And here's how it would work. It was written to you. So basically, like, you're in the middle of a dark room. You see a light at the end of the tunnel. Do you pursue the light or try to make your way out of the spooky Mansion? To pursue the light, turn to page 10. To try to run from the spooky Mansion, turn to page 20, right? And then from there, it was like, okay, great. The spooky light turned out to be this thing, you know, It's a gem, a strange and wondrous gem. Do you take the gem or leave it alone? If you take it, you know, so it just keeps going. And so what's great is you have all these branching endings. Now. The ones I got from the library, they seem to always end in, like, terrible death. I mean, so it was like, you take the gem, it electrocutes you. You're dead now. Or, like, you try to leave the mansion, there's a dragon, he eats you, and just like, oh, man. So you have to, like, figure out, how do I get out of this thing? But what's great is you keep going over and over and over again. And what it helps you see is that sometimes seemingly Innocuous choices end up having huge consequences as you follow the branching narrative out. Now, this is not just a whole genre of books. This gave rise to a bunch of tabletop games. If you've ever played a game, sat around a game table and somebody's asked you, what do you do? This happens. Or if you've ever played a video game where it's like, do you save the town or burn it? That's all because of Edward Packer telling a bedtime story to his kids in 19.

3 · The pastor establishes the sermon's main thesis by framing Psalm 1 as a Choose Your Own Adventure narrative with two branching life paths

Now, why do I bring that up? Well, because Psalm 1, in a sense, is a choose your own life adventure text. It lays out two very different branching narratives of the way your life will go, and it gives you the very first choice you make to set yourself on a trajectory out into one of those branches. So here is the main idea. Going to give it to you up front. Then we're going to walk through it, choose to make the words of God your constant companion, and flourish in this life and the life to come. If you make that choice, you will flourish in this life and the life to come. Now, why do I say flourish? Well, because the psalm starts in verse one with blessed is the man who blank. Now, that word blessed in our culture is often something we throw out to say, like, oh, man, like, I got a fancy new car or I got a luxurious vacation. That's what we think of when we think of blessing. That is not what the psalmist is thinking of. He is thinking of wholeness. This idea of wholeness, meaning that. That you are in God's presence, things are right in your relationship with God and therefore right in everything else. It's the picture, if you want to be specific, the picture of what it was like back in the garden where humanity dwelt with God and God walked with humanity before sin entered the world. That is blessing. Things like that are blessing. And so if you're like, hey, I want to be blessed, I want to be whole. I want to have a right relationship with God and other things and other people, well, great, you're in the right place. Welcome to Psalms and chapter one.

4 · The exposition begins unpacking Psalm 1:1 by identifying the first 'door' in the Choose Your Own Adventure framework—the choice of companions

But how then do we get there? If. If you start this narrative and you know, okay, I want to end, this is what I would do with those. Choose your own adventure novels. I would figure out how do I want to end? And then I would try to figure out how to make the choices to get me to the end. That's what we're doing here. Psalmist is saying, do you want to be blessed? Well, I'll tell you exactly which doors to pick. So the first door. Choose your companions. Choose your companions. Now, this is not where we expect the branching narrative to start, right? Because you'd think, okay, well, the main choice you're making in life is your career. The main choice you make in life is your financial plan for the future. The main choice you make in life is where you live or who you date or who you marry. But that's not where Psalm 1 starts. Psalm 1 says, you actually face a far more mundane choice that affects far more of your life than you think. And it is just this, who your companions are. Look at verse one. Blessed is a man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers.

5 · This unit provides detailed exegetical work on the threefold parallelism in Psalm 1:1, unpacking three interlocking progressions: movement (walk→stand→sit), influence (counsel→way→seat), and moral degradation (wicked→sinner→scoffer)

So the psalmist tells us, first of all, you're gonna have two doors. And one of those doors is gonna be probably labeled something fun and exciting, but behind it really is gonna be the wicked. And here is the danger. Opening that door will lead you far, further away from where you want to be than you think. Notice the progression here. We're going to learn to read poetry here together. Even if you hated poetry in high school. Sorry, we're back in poetry class because much of the Bible is poetry. We got to learn to read this. And notice the way that the poetry of this verse works. There is a progression. So first of all, the progression is a movement progression. You start out walking, then you end up standing, then you end up sitting. Meaning? Think about it like this. Imagine you're walking, and then you kind of bump into somebody. You leave the store at the same time, and you happen to kind of walk with them. And then all of a sudden, you stand and talk to them for a little while, and then you're like, you know what? I'm actually gonna grab a coffee. You wanna grab a coffee. And then you end up sitting down with them, right? That progression is what happens. You might think, well, it's not that big of a deal. I'm just talking to this person. Well, the psalmist is saying, actually, that door is gonna lead you to a whole bunch of other doors. So what's behind those doors? Well, it goes not just in movement, a progression of movement, but a progression of influence. Okay? So it goes from counsel to a way of life, to a seat, meaning a station, a place in life. So what you start out listening to begins to shape the way you live. And the way you live shapes where you are rooted and planted. You might think, okay, well, not a big Deal. Right. Well, then notice the progression. It's from the wicked to the sinner to the scoffer. Now, each of these is unique. So the wicked means that these are people who choose the wrong. Sinners mean those who miss the mark of good. Okay? So first you start choosing what's wrong. Then you start missing the mark of what is good. And here's. Notice this. A lot of people will go, well, I can do good and still choose. Not a great thing all the time, right? But the reality is you start choosing some of those wrong things, you start adding that into your life, you're also gonna start missing the mark on other things you want to do. And then the end of the progression is a scoffer. Now, here's what's happening, okay? A scoffer is not just somebody who misses the mark of what's right. Occasionally the scoffer is somebody whose mind has been so warped and changed that they find good and right and justice laughable. They are making fun of the good. Now at the beginning of the path with the wicked, right? All you're doing, remember, you're just walking with him a little bit. You're just listening to him a little bit. Maybe you do something you shouldn't do. Every once in a while, the psalmist is saying, be careful, because in the end, you're going to end up finding good laughable. You're going to end up making fun of those people, and that's where you're going to live. That's going to become your new community, your new home, in a sense. Do you see what the psalmist is saying? Be very careful which doors you open.

6 · The personal story about unconsciously adopting El Paso and Mississippi accents illustrates the exegetical claim that we become like our companions

Now, I want to illustrate this with my very dodgy accent. So my wife Jen has pointed out. And I didn't realize this until I married Jen and had somebody like, with me at 24 7, that she would notice that when I talk to people from El Paso who grew up in El Paso, I began to have a little bit of an El Paso accent. And so this happened yesterday. We were at a fundraiser. And if, you know, when I met somebody, you meet all these people for the first time, right? And so you're like, if they say, hi, how are you? Good evening, good to see you. And I would say, it's very nice to see you. What a beautiful evening we're having here today. But if I find somebody from El Paso, and I'm like, hi. Hey, man. Sir, how's it going? And he goes, the freeway, bro. My response automatically becomes, I know, bro. It's like, what Are they doing like there's a dude with just a jackhammer out there by himself. What is that? You know, he's like, like. And so all of a sudden Jen's like, there it is. He's, you know, he's gone. And then I'll switch back. Hi, nice to see you as well. It's lovely evening we're having. But this, this even happens to me. It's not just El Paso accent. I grew up with my granddad, who's from Mississippi, hearing his voice in my head all the time. And so a few months ago, I was with some pastors in the southeast of the country. Some of those guys are from the deep South. And over those three days I spent with these guys from the south, hotel became hotel became hotel. By the last day there, I'm about to go the hotel. And do you see that? I don't know if that's anybody else, but that's me. And the point is this. You will start to sound like those who you spend time around.

7 · The application moves from the exegesis to three concrete contemporary categories of companionship: actual friends, entertainment/media, and social media

So whoever your companions are in life, you will begin to pick up that accent. You'll begin to sound more like them. And here's the thing, just like me, you may not even realize you're doing it, but the psalmist knows that it's going to happen. And so some categories to think through today. First of all, when we speak of companions, the most obvious application is probably actual companions. Who do you spend time with? Whose jokes do you laugh at? You're like, well, I'm not like them. But you know, when they say that, it's pretty funny, right? It'll begin to change what you think of as right and wrong. Who influences you the most? Look, the reality is this. I especially want to speak a word to those teenagers and early 20s. Those are one of the most formative times of life. And when you're in your teens and early twenties, you are going to look like the people you hang out with. That's the reality. And so you ask yourself, do I want to look like these people? That's a gut check from Psalm 1. But I don't think it's just actual companions. I think it's also for us, especially in our day to day entertainment, many times the people we spend the most time with aren't even real people. They're the people on our favorite shows, our favorite movies, right? And so when you think about what you watch what or listen to or read, what lifestyles and values are they promoting, what are they saying is right, what are they saying is wrong? What do they say should be pursued? What are they saying should be rejected? It's gonna influence you more than you think. Look, the reality is this, you're gonna probably look more like your favorite show and movie and podcast than you imagine you will. And third and last is the category of social media. Who do you follow online? If you're living online, what kind of life do the people you follow model look? I think the reality is this, you are going to begin to look more and more like whatever your social media diet is. So today, if you're on Instagram or whatever, I bet you anything if you gave me your phone and you let me flip through, I've got a pretty good idea what you're going to look like in a year. What are their views of money and dating and sex and materialism and reconciliation and kindness and justice? All of that. You will look like your companions. That's door number one.

8 · The exposition shifts to Psalm 1:2, identifying the alternative 'door'—companionship with God's Word rather than with wicked people

But door number two is this. But his delight, the blessed man does not do that. But his delight is the law of the Lord. And on his law he meditates day and night. Now, this is an interesting contrast because what you expect is like in proverbs, they're very clear proverbs. Don't hang out with bad people, you hang out with good people. But that's not actually what the psalmist is saying. He's saying, don't hang out with bad people, hang out with. If I could use that language with the words of God. Meaning that if you spend time, remember that progression. If you spend time in the words of God, you will begin to look more like God. You will begin to speak with a godlike accent in life. And so do you want to do that? Now? This is the reality. One of the functions of Psalms is. Psalms functions as an invitation to, to the rest of the Bible. Psalms is maybe, if you feel like, man, I don't know how to get into the Bible. The Psalms are kind of a tailor made place. These were songs that the people would have sung. And so they are an invitation into the life of following in the ways of the Lord. They're an invitation into the life of God and his people. And so Psalm 1 then is an invitation to the invitation, in a sense, meaning, hey, get into these words because these words will lead you into God's ways.

9 · The exposition addresses an anticipated objection—that the law (Torah/Old Testament) feels inaccessible and undelightful

Now, at first though, that sounds difficult because when we talk of the law of the Lord, what's in view here is really the Torah, the Old Testament scriptures. And you might think, okay, I know a lot of Christians, most of us don't spend time, a ton of time in the Old Testament. You know why? Because it's weird over there for some of us, right? Like, you try to read the Old Testament, you're like, man, there's a lot more genealogies of who begat who than I expected. I was looking for a good word for the day, and I get this guy and his whole family tree. Or you get a bunch of laws about ritual purity in Leviticus. Like, cool, I'm having parenting issues. And I just read a weird thing about ritual purity. Or maybe it's. It's the. The sharp critique of the prophets just unloading on God's people. And you're like, man, what is this? Or you end up in Job with all these poetry about suffering, and you're like, where is this going? My head hurts. And you're thinking, wait a second. That is the other door. At first, this doesn't seem great. Wicked people look like they're having fun. And over here, genealogies and purity laws, right? But notice this. Notice what the psalmist says. His delight is in the law of the Lord. Notice that that word delight is so important. What. What the Psalms are inviting us into, what Psalm 1 is inviting us into is not a ritual, routine grin and bear it relationship with the law of God. As if you just, okay, give me the law. Like, I. It's funny. I'm gonna use a silly analogy. Some of my friends have gotten into, like, cold plunges, and they are. They swear to me, man, after, like, the first two minutes, it feels great. But what you observe is they are absolutely shaking and screaming for two minutes, right? And they're like, oh, it feels great after two minutes, right? And some people, I think, have that kind of relationship with the Bible. It's like, you just have to do it. Ah. Like, just get in there. That's not. No, look at what the psalmist is saying. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. In fact, through all of those things, through the laws and genealogies and prophets and poetic stylings of Job, there is. The psalmist says, delight there. There is delight there.

10 · The exposition unpacks 'meditates day and night' by contrasting Eastern meditation (emptying) with biblical meditation (filling)

If. Notice his phrase, on his Law, he meditates day and night. Now, this is the qualification, because you may have gone to the Bible before, and you're like, man, I tried to read it, and I wasn't hit immediately with delight. You know, I read Leviticus. Delight was not the main word I felt. But notice this. On his law, he meditates day and night. So it's not a. I'm in and out kind of relationship. It is an immersion in the Bible that leads to delight, the results in delight. Now, Eastern, when you look at that word meditation, don't get tripped up. Eastern meditation is built on emptying the mind, right? That's the main goal. Get all of the junk of your mind out. Just be blank. Just be. Just be blank, right? And you're thinking, is that what I'm supposed to do? Is that what the Bible is saying to do? No, it says on his law he meditates. Meaning you clear your mind in a sense of everything else distracting. But you fill your mind with the Lord and his ways and his stories and his poetry. You meditate on it. And the word meditate here has. Has a connection to the Hebrew word for the cow chewing for a long time. Now, if you've ever gone to a farm, you know that cows are not like my. I've got three kids, 12 and under in my home. They're all boys. If they like the food, you put the food out and the food is gone, right? I don't know how it's possible. I drop the food off, I turn around, I turn back, the food is gone. And sometimes I think, that's what we expect with the Bible. We're expecting, like, cool, I'm just going. And then my life is changed. No, that's not it. Have you ever seen a cow chew? It goes, chew, chew, chew. It's just out there. Chew all day. Chew. And that's what the psalmist is saying. You have to have the kind of relationship with the Bible for it to become delightful. It's connected to chewing on it, imbibing it, meditating on it, filling your mind, having it rolling around in the back of your head.

11 · The pastor shifts from exposition to direct pastoral care, declaring 'Amnesty Sunday' for those paralyzed by Bible-reading guilt

And I want to encourage you with something. If you have tried reading the Bible before and you have kind of stopped, or you. You kind of have a, like, I don't know, relationship. Look, I just want to declare as a pastor, this is Amnesty Sunday for Bible reading. Okay? You know how every once in a while, like, the police will announce, hey, if you have an outstanding, like, ticket for this and you're behind, you can come pay it this weekend. And, like, we won't ask any questions. We won't give you the late fees. Remember that. I've never taken advantage of it, but I'm sure some people have in this room. Some of you are nodding, so you don't. Don't nod out loud. Just. Just look straight. This is what we want to do this Sunday as we open the psalms. It's Amnesty Sunday for Bible reading. Don't give other people the impression that you're reading the Bible. If you're not, just be honest. Just. Man, I don't know. I've tried. I don't know what to do. I'm not reading the Bible. I should. I had somebody come up to me after the first service and they're like, I am so sorry I haven't read and been reading the Bible. And I'm like, well, it's okay, let's learn to do this together. And he actually said, one of the reasons that I haven't read the Bible is every time I think about reading the Bible, I think of all the times I haven't read the Bible and then I feel guilty and then I don't read it. I'm like, well, I think that's where a lot of us are, right? I should have been reading it. I'm not reading it. I guess I won't read it. And this is an invitation to find again away with the people of God, to meditate on it, to chew on it, to do this together until it becomes delightful.

12 · The application provides three concrete action steps: establish a consistent time/place, memorize Scripture (with congregational Psalm 1 memorization as scaffolding), and use study helps

Let me encourage you with a couple things, a couple categories here. I think if you're going to do this, if we're going to do this, you have to have a set time and place where you get the Word into your life and chew on it. Okay? You have to do that. You know, for. For you, it may be one time, for somebody else, another time. But let me just encourage you, the consistency is important, right? You're never gonna get the meal chewed if you chew every once in a while, right? You know, you have lunch and you just chew and then you forget about chewing. It's not gonna work great, okay? There's gotta be consistency of meditating on it. And let me challenge you. If you haven't gotten to the delight yet, it may be because you haven't chewed on it enough, maybe because you need to meditate on it more. And you start by picking a time and a place. And there was a younger man after the first service, was asking me, how do I start? I told him, this week, read a verse of the Bible, read it several times, chew on it, and then tomorrow, read two verses and get up to four or five verses at a time. He was like, oh, oh, really? He's like, yeah, tomorrow read a verse, think about it, chew on it, carry it throughout the day, and then the next day read two verses. He's like, you can do that? Like, yeah, you can. There's not like a minimum Limit, like, well, unless you're getting a book done a day, get out of here. No, it's like read a verse in the morning at the same time. And he went, I can do that. Like, awesome, let's do it together. So pick a time, pick a place. Second, begin to memorize some of the Bible. Now we're gonna do this together because again, Amnesty Sunday, we're gonna begin. If you've never memorized anything in the Bible, we're gonna begin to memorize Psalm 1 over the next two months together. So our goal is over the next seven or eight weeks we're gonna say Psalm 1 together. Every service, different parts of it. And at the end of that time, you're gonna have at least one whole psalm in your head to carry around. Okay, begin. We're going to begin to do that together. Do it yourself as well. And third, get other books involved, right? To help you understand the Bible. Find good books. We have a bunch in our zero dollar bookstore. Find a good study Bible, something that will hold your hand a little bit as you get up to speed. A devotional, a way to get into the Bible. So first, first thing you choose, choose your companions. Are your companions. All the people out there in the world are your, are your companions. The words of God. And let me just say this, I'm not saying you have to be strictly proportional, but I think it is unrealistic for us to spend 99% of our life and time and thought in the world and expect the 1% of time in God's words to counteract everything else. So we gotta get into the word together.

13 · The exposition shifts to Psalm 1:3, unpacking the tree-by-streams-of-water imagery

Second, these two will go a little bit faster. Second, choose your life. What we see basically is we open the door and the psalmist lets us see this is what life looks like behind the door. And so, okay, great, well, what does life look like behind the door? Because maybe this first one, the words of God, we're like, oh man, is it just going to be a ton of genealogies? Is it just going to be a rough, dusty, boring life? No, look at verse three. If you do this, he is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in season and its leaf does not wither in all that he does, he prospers. Now that's surprising, right? Because you're going, okay, well, the wicked look like they're having fun and God's people look like they just have to memorize the Bible. You open the door though, you're like, wow, it's pretty nice in here. You know, this is pretty great. Look at the language. He is like a tree planted by streams of water. Now, one of my sons, as we were driving on Trans Mountain, we got out one time and we were looking at the city. He's like, oh, that's so cool. And he goes, why is it green over there, right? Because it's all rocky. Just rock, rock, rock and yucca. All the plants that want to hurt you are over here. And then there's like the valley, right? The upper valley and lower valley and there are trees and it looks like, well, I want to go over there. And that is what this verse is saying. Do you know the difference between the rocky soil of the mountain and that part of the city? The water, the streams of water that come through those channels. I've known some people in the upper valley that get the disbursement of water through the canals and it floods their yard several times a year, right? Their yards flourish. They look way better than my yard because they're planted by the water.

14 · The exposition continues unpacking Psalm 1:3, contrasting two ways of living: dependent on life's circumstances or rooted in God's Word

And notice this, that yields its fruit in season. So they have this life giving source of the words of God. And therefore the effect is that they are fruitful no matter what, right? It doesn't. Look, there's two ways to live. You can either be dependent on the weather of life around you, meaning that when life feels good, you feel good. When life feels bad, you feel bad. When life gets scorching and difficult, you start to wither and die. Or when life feels wonderful, you feel like you're flying high. That's the way the rest of the world lives. Good, you know, going well, feel great, going poorly, feel terrible. But the psalmist is saying there is another way to live. You can be rooted into a life giving source that no matter what the weather is, no matter whether there's a drought, no matter whether there's storms, no matter whether there's frost, the, the river will give you life and you will be fruitful. And notice and its leaf does not wither. It doesn't matter what the temperature says outside, doesn't matter if we hit 120, you're going to be fine. Why? Because the water is there. And notice this last phrase in all that he does, he prospers. Now notice this. It doesn't mean he prospers financially. That's too shallow for this psalm. It means that he prospers. Instability, beauty and godliness, no matter what's happening. And look, one of the privileges I have lately that not everybody has is I get to talk to Alec Shofet every week, who you just saw and if you're new to the church. He and his family have had to temporarily relocate to the Houston area while they await a heart transplant for their son Bodie, who you saw in the video. And one of the things I love about Alec, man, is he went over there in the midst of his ordination preparation and exams. And so he's having to spend hours and hours and hours in the Bible and in theology and in the categories of God's ways and God's word. And at one point I was like, dude, if we want to, if you want to push this off, you don't have to be studying during this time. And he basically said, no, I need this, I need to be in the Word. I need something that's going to push me to sit by my son's bedside with my Bible open. You know what's beautiful? It's not like it's been easy, but Alec and Amanda, they are still full of life and fruit and they've not withered. Friends, don't we want to be like that? We want to be the kind of people that it doesn't matter whether this year is a good year or a bad year by the world standards, because we're rooted and grounded in the word.

15 · The exposition unpacks the chaff imagery (Psalm 1:4) using the dead-plant illustration, then moves to verses 5-6, establishing the eschatological stakes

But the wicked, it says in verse four, are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Now, inevitably, we are over ambitious. Every spring in potting various plants, my wife and I put them in the front, put them in the back, and by the end of the summer, if they've been insufficiently watered or we didn't put them in the right spot, spot, or we didn't do the right thing, which is most of the time with us. They at the end of the summer are not just withered, they're so sun baked and waterless that when the winds come in the early fall, you literally see like just the brittle leaves being taken away. The last bits of life that all summer we've been thinking, well, maybe if we water it, it'll come back. And then you see like, I don't think it's coming back. I think that one's gone. The psalmist is saying, you look in the door with the wicked, they're partying, they seem like they're having a great time. You open the door, you go inside that life, what you see is a bunch of withered, dead husks of people who are being blown around by life. So the psalmist is saying, so which, which, which door do you want then? This door looks intimidating, but it leads to fruitfulness. This door looks inviting, but it leads to. To charred destruction. So choose carefully. And then third, it pushes us a little bit further. Choose your companions, choose your life. And then choose your ending. We fast forward all the way to the end of life. In verse five, it says, therefore the wicked will not stand in the nor sinners in the congregation of the white righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Now, this is the image of the judgment, right? It is the day that the Bible looks forward to at the end of life, where God weighs and evaluates your life. And here is the bitter truth of this moment. At the end of your life, you will be where you wanted to be in life. Here's what I mean by that. If you want to be away from God's people and away from God's ways and character, you want to be with the wicked, then in the end, on that last day, that's where you will be. You will get what you wanted in life, only to recognize in the end, it leads to perishing. See, most people choose that door of wickedness or sin or scoffing, because they think they're gonna find life in there. They think it looks more inviting, more full of life. And that's what the world always says, right? The world always says, oh. Oh. Following Jesus will shrink you and shrivel you and make you not be able to do things you want to do. You want to be able to fulfill your life. You want to fulfill your desires. You want to live a life, full human life. Come with us. But the reality is, at the end of time, the opposite is true. What you find is perishing. And notice this. This is at the judgment, so it doesn't just mean death. You're already dead at the judgment. Okay, so this sentence is for death beyond death. I mean, that's the stark reality, an eternal perishing. Look, if you think you can play around in this life and in the end, get to the end of the adventure you hoped for, you're fooling yourself if you think that in this life you can sit with the wicked and walk with them and party with them and scoff with them, but at the last second, change to be one of God's people. You can't. You will get what you wanted in this life forever, only to find that it results not in life, but in death.

16 · The theological claim establishes the alternative eschatological outcome—being known by God on the last day

And yet, there is another option. There is another ending. Look at verse 6. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, meaning that on that last day, the Lord will say of his people, I know them and they are mine. I can't improve on this illustration I found from a commentator named Johnston, and he says this. During the 1996 presidential elections, Bob Dole, the Republican candidate, came to march in our town's Fourth of July parade. Thousands of people lined the parade route, yelling and cheering as he went by. It was exciting to have a national candidate in our little town outside Chicago. All of us knew who Bob Dole was. But if I wanted to see him, the Secret Service would not have let me near him unless he knew me. When it comes to God's blessing today and in eternity, the question is not do I think I know God? But does God know me? Those who want to know God, those who walk the paths of God's ways, those will be the ones known by God in the judgment, meaning that they also get what they want. Those who wanted to be close with God, those who wanted to have their accent changed to be a godlike accent. The Lord, those who wanted the blessing and nearness of him in the end, receive what they desired, nearness with God and his people forever. So, friend, let me just ask you, where do you want to be today? I have a confession here at the end, which is this. When I read the choose your own adventure books, feels good to say this out loud. But when I read the choose your own adventure books, I would, after a while, read all the endings first and then figure out how to get there, right? Because you're like, well, I don't know what to pick unless I know where it leads. So I kind of flip to the back and be like, there's only one where you don't die. So then I'm like going to the front, trying to figure out how do I get to that ending. Look, that's why Psalm 1 is so helpful. It's. It's skipping us all the way to the end and going, hey, pick your ending and then choose the path to get there. So if you want to be one of God's people in his presence forever, then all the way back you go. And you go, okay, then who do I want my companions to be? Do I want the world to be my constant companion, or do I want God and his words to be my constant companion?

17 · The theological claim makes the Christological turn, arguing that the law of the Lord is ultimately an invitation to know the Word made flesh—Jesus Christ

And let me make one last observation here. I said that the Psalms were in an invitation to relationship with God, and I do think that's very important. Notice it says his the law is in the law of the Lord in verse two. Now, that qualification is all the difference. It's not just a law. It is the law of the Lord. Meaning that these words are an invitation to know and be known by God himself. So the point. Notice this. The point is not the words themselves. The point is that we would know and walk with the one behind the words. Look, I have on my phone, I don't know where it is, but my phone. I've got one most precious text thread on my phone. And so when I got a new phone recently, my only real concern was like, yeah, I don't care about all the other text messages. Whatever. My friends will text me again at some point. If I lose all the contacts, it's fine. Except for one. I really didn't want to lose my texts to and from my wife, Jen. There's like years of texts there. And I love that thread. Not because I am a huge fan of imessage. You know, I love that thread. Not because I'm like, man, the technology behind texting is just incredible. No, I love the thread because I love my wife, right? Because she comes to me through those words, right? If I'm traveling out of town and she's sending me messages, that to me is precious. Not because I'm like, oh, I just love Apple products. It's. No, I love my wife. And in a similar way, the Psalms are that invitation to us. We find them precious. Not because we. We love the intricacies of law or a turn of phrase in poetry. We love these words because they are of the Lord. And through this Word we know that word. In fact, John 1, if you would go there with me just for a second. John, chapter one says this. In the beginning was Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Look at verse 14. And the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth. John bore witness about him and cried out, this is he of whom I said, he who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me. For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Now I gotta. I cannot improve as an ending on this quote from Hervin Herman Bavink, because he points out that if we love the words of God in the Old Testament, we have a happy surprise waiting for us when we get to the New Testament, which is that which we love in the Old Testament comes in physical, bodily form, relationship with God comes in a physical form in the person of Jesus Christ. And so when we hear the invitation of Psalm 1 to spend time, make our companion the words of God, do you know what that is at the end of the day? It is at the end of the day, an invitation to spend time with the word of God, God himself. Look, do you want to know the risen, resurrected Savior we sang about last week? You can. He wants a personal relationship with you through these words. Bavink says, this scripture is the word of God not as a static deposit of truths, but as a living voice, as the rather living voice of God himself, who speaks through it by the Holy Spirit, pointing to Christ as the center of all revelation. The happy surprise when we get to the Psalms is this. Jesus is waiting for us in the Psalms. Jesus, as we'll even see in our next Psalm, Psalm 2. He is introduced to us early, before his incarnation as the king, as the servant, as the righteous right. We find ourselves drawn into relationship with him.

18 · The first application movement addresses the unconverted, diagnosing the difference between religious activity and knowing Christ

And so, friend, let me ask you, do you know him? And do you want to know him? I'll first ask you, do you know him? If you're. If you're here today and you're like, I've never had that kind of relationship with the Bible. But the real problem is, it's not that I've never read the Bible. The real problem is I've never known Jesus. I've never known God. All of this has been a religious thing I've done or I've attended church, but I don't know the Lord. Well, friend, today Jesus extends an invitation for you to know him. Because the reality is this. If all of us were judged on our own merits, none of us would stand in the congregation of the righteous. But he, the righteous with a capital are stood in our place that we might stand in his place. He stood counted among the unrighteous, that we might be counted among the righteous. And today, if you don't know him, you can. He is introducing himself to you through this word, saying, if you will just trust me as a Savior and as Lord, you will be counted among the righteous not because of what you've done, but because of what I've done.

19 · The second application movement addresses believers, offering a five-step escalation of Bible engagement: open it, get a plan, get consistent, go deeper, get others involved

So, friend, do you know him? And second for the Christian, do you want to know him? Look, there should be something in each of our lives where we go, I hear the invitation of Jesus and I want to know, do you understand now how there can be delight in the Bible? The delight is not, oh, I just love a good Levitical law. It's rather, I love the Risen, resurrected Jesus Christ, who saved me and who counts me as his friend and brings me to be counted among the congregation of the righteous, like man. If. If reality says if that's who we remember is waiting for us in these pages, it's going to make it way easier to go. You know what? I probably need to get this on my calendar. So let me encourage you. Take one step. Do you want to know him? Then take a step. Today. Maybe the step for you is going, I'm going to pick a time and a place, and I'm just going to open the Bible. I'm just going to get my muscles used to opening the Bible. Just get it open. Or maybe you've tried getting it open, but you have no plan. You're just like, I don't know what to read. Well, get a plan first, right? Start with a plan. Start with the Psalms. Start with John. Maybe get a plan together. Ask somebody for help. Third, get consistent. So get it open. Get a plan, and then get consistent. I know people who've never broken their duolingo streak for like a thousand days, right? If we can do that, we can do this. Pile up some wins, guys. Fourth, get deeper into it, right? Maybe you get the study Bible. Maybe you crack open a theology book. And then fifth and last, get others. Get others involved. If you learn to do this, bring others along. If you don't know how to do this, find somebody who is. But take a step if you want to know him.

20 · The conclusion issues a congregational charge (Bible reading amnesty, take a step this week) and then transitions into closing prayer

Let's do this. Church, wherever we're at, let's declare Bible reading amnesty, and let's all take a step to get to know him this week. Amen. Would you stand? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Lord, we are so grateful for you and we want to know you better. Lord, I pray for anyone in that first category that doesn't know you today. Lord, I pray that they would receive this not as an invitation to just reading another interesting religious text, but rather an invitation to know the living God who's come to them in Jesus and who offers to bring them into a place of blessing because of what he's done. And I pray that they would know you today. And then, second, Lord, I pray for those of us who want to know you more, Lord, help us to turn that desire to want to know you more into a practical commitment to make you and your words more our constant companions in life. Lord, we pray for your grace, we pray for your help, and we pray that you would be with us as we meet with you.

Where this fits

Recent preaching context

The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.

Mar 30, 2025

How to Listen to a Sermon

We listen to faithful preaching like it's the word of God, because it is.

2 Timothy 4:1-5

Apr 13, 2025

Grace For All Life

Jesus is the King whose rule brings restoration, and we should rejoice to surrender every area of our lives to him because where he rules, he restores.

Luke 19:28-40

Apr 13, 2025

The Last Mile

Christians should have realistic expectations of others in the long road of life but great expectations of God, who stands by, strengthens, and rescues his people until bringing them safely into his heavenly kingdom.

2 Timothy 4:9-18

April 27 · This sermon

Choose Your Own Adventure

If you choose to make the words of God your constant companion through consistent meditation, you will flourish both in this life and in eternity because you will know and be known by God Himself.

Psalm 1

Earlier in the corpus · April 7, 2024

A prior sermon on Psalm 136

You preached this same passage — 10 Psalm 1 citations in that earlier sermon. Worth re-reading before the next time this text comes around.

Take it further

Discuss · apply · pray

Small groups

6 discussion questions

In Psalm 1:1-2, the psalmist describes both what we should NOT do (walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, sit in th…

Daily readings

5-day reading plan

Psalm 1 invites you into two different lives—one rooted in God's Word, one drifting from it. This week, we'll walk through the cross-references that show us what it means to know Christ through Scripture, and why the choice you make today determines who you'll be known by on the last day.

Prayer

Prayer: Choosing the Way of Delight

Father, we praise You for the gift of Your Word—a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We marvel that You have made Yourself known to u…

Family table

Who Are Your Companions?

This card invites your family to think concretely about the people, voices, and influences they spend time with—and how those companions sha…

Couples

Knowing God Through His Word Together

What companion have you been spending the most time with lately—whether a person, a voice online, or a pattern of thought—and how is it shap…

Memorize

Psalm 1:2-3

This verse captures the sermon's central claim: consistent meditation on God's Word is not religious duty but the pathway to flourishing and fruitfulness in all of life. It anchors the choice Psalm 1 presents—the blessed life belongs to those who make the law of the Lord their constant companion, and the promise of prosperity flows from delight in His Word, not from circumstance.

Small-group discussion

6 questions for your group this week

In Psalm 1:1-2, the psalmist describes both what we should NOT do (walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners, sit in the seat of scoffers) and what we SHOULD do (delight in the law of the Lord, meditate on it day and night). What do you notice about the progression from 'walking' to 'standing' to 'sitting'? How does that progression help you understand why the sermon said you become like your companions?

Psalm 1:1-2

→ Think about your own life right now—who are the people, media figures, or online voices you're currently spending the most time with? What are you becoming like by being in their company?
The sermon emphasized that meditation on God's Word is not a religious duty we check off, but a pathway to knowing Jesus Christ Himself (John 1:1, 14). When you sit down with your Bible, do you approach it more as a rulebook to obey or as a way to encounter a Person? What would change about your consistency if you really believed you were meeting with the living Christ?

John 1:14
Psalm 1:3 describes the righteous person as 'like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.' The sermon said this fruitfulness happens 'regardless of life's circumstances.' What is the difference between fruitfulness that depends on good circumstances and fruitfulness that comes from being near to God's Word? Can you think of an example from your own life?

Psalm 1:3

→ What does it look like to be 'planted' by God's Word rather than just occasionally visiting it?
The sermon named three practical pathways to meditating on Scripture: consistency (daily time), memorization, and using study helps. Of those three, which one feels most natural to you right now, and which one feels most difficult? What would it take to strengthen the weaker one?
Psalm 1:5-6 says that the wicked will not stand in the judgment, and the Lord 'knows' the way of the righteous. The sermon emphasized that the decisive question at judgment is not whether we know God, but whether God knows us. For those of you who know Christ, what does it mean to be 'known' by God in that way? And for those still wrestling with faith, does that reframe what it means to be 'unknown' on the last day?

Psalm 1:5-6

→ How does being known by God in this life change the way you want to spend your time and attention?
At the heart of Psalm 1 is a choice between two trajectories—one leading to flourishing with God, one leading to perishing apart from Him. Looking at your current habits—how you spend your mornings, what voices you listen to, where your mind goes when you have free time—which trajectory are you currently walking? What is one specific change you could make this week to move closer to the way of the righteous?

Psalm 1:1-6

Draft · pending review

Daily readings · Monday–Friday

5-day reading plan

Monday John 1:1

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. When you meditate on Scripture, you are not studying a text—you are encountering the living Christ Himself. This is why consistency in God's Word is not a duty but an invitation to personal relationship with the God who became flesh for you.

Tuesday John 1:14

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory. Every time you open the Bible to read and meditate, you are encountering the same Jesus who walked among His disciples. He is not a distant idea or an old book—He is the living Savior who invites you to know Him through His words.

Wednesday John 1:17

The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. The shift from the old covenant to the new means that meditating on God's Word is not grim obedience but joyful encounter with grace itself. When you delight in Scripture, you are delighting in the One whose grace transforms everything.

Thursday Psalm 2

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? This psalm shows the futility of the path Psalm 1 warns against—those who refuse God's rule. By contrast, those who choose to delight in God's law step into a flourishing that cannot be shaken, because it is rooted not in circumstance but in relationship with the King Himself.

Friday John 1:1, 14

Will God say 'I never knew you' on the last day, or will He welcome you into the nearness with Him you have already chosen in this life through His Word? Your choice today to meditate on Scripture, to let the Word dwell in you richly, is not earning God's favor—it is positioning yourself to be known by Him, to receive the eternal communion you were made for.

Draft · pending review

Pray together this week

Prayer: Choosing the Way of Delight

Father, we praise You for the gift of Your Word—a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We marvel that You have made Yourself known to us not through distant whispers but through Scripture, and that in the Law and the Prophets, we encounter Jesus Christ Himself, the Word made flesh. Thank You that knowing You is not the privilege of the few, but the invitation extended to all who will turn their faces toward Your truth.

We confess that we are prone to wander from You. We drift toward the counsel of the wicked, we linger in the company of those who mock what is holy, we sit and settle into the seat of the scornful—and we do these things so gradually that we scarcely notice the pull. We spend our days in the company of voices that compete for our affection: the world's promises, the flesh's desires, the enemy's lies—and we wonder why we feel withered and barren. We have not made Your words our constant companion. We have not delighted in Your law. We have not meditated on it day and night. And so we confess: our fruitfulness has withered because our roots have been planted elsewhere.

But here is the good news: Christ has already chosen the way of obedience for us. He delighted in the Father's will. He meditated on Scripture in the wilderness. He is the tree planted by streams of living water, eternally fruitful, eternally upheld. And in Him, we are counted righteous—not by our merit, but by His substitutionary righteousness. We are invited to know Him as our constant companion, and in knowing Him through His Word, to become like Him: rooted, fruitful, unmoved by the seasons of life.

So we ask You, Father: plant us by streams of water. Give us the grace to choose consistent time in Scripture—not as religious duty, but as the pathway to knowing Christ Himself. Help us to delight in Your law, to meditate on it morning and evening, to memorize and study and chew on the truths that sustain us. Guard us from the slow drift toward ungodly counsel. Uproot us from barren soil and replant us where we will flourish. And on that day when You judge the earth, may You know us—know us by name, know us as Your beloved—because we have made the choice to know You through Your Word. To You alone be the glory, now and forever. Amen.

Draft · pending review

Sunday-evening family table

Who Are Your Companions?

For the parent

This card invites your family to think concretely about the people, voices, and influences they spend time with—and how those companions shape who they're becoming. Listen for where your kids naturally spend their attention, and use their answers to open a gentle conversation about choosing wisely.

Pastor Ricky talked about how you become like your companions—the people you spend time with, the voices you listen to, even the people you follow online. Who are three people or voices that you spend time with a lot right now? And what are you learning from them—what are they teaching you to care about, to want, to be like?

Works for ages 8+; younger kids (6-7) can participate with a parent asking them about their friends and favorite people to listen to

Draft · pending review

Couples · three questions over coffee

Knowing God Through His Word Together

What companion have you been spending the most time with lately—whether a person, a voice online, or a pattern of thought—and how is it shaping who you're becoming?
As a couple, where do you see yourselves delighting in God's Word together, and where are there places you've drifted toward other companions instead of toward Him?
What would it look like for us to invite Jesus—the Word made flesh—into our marriage this week through consistent time in Scripture, and how can we pray for each other's faithfulness to that?

Draft · pending review

Memory verse this week

Psalm 1:2-3

but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Why this verse: This verse captures the sermon's central claim: consistent meditation on God's Word is not religious duty but the pathway to flourishing and fruitfulness in all of life. It anchors the choice Psalm 1 presents—the blessed life belongs to those who make the law of the Lord their constant companion, and the promise of prosperity flows from delight in His Word, not from circumstance.

Draft · pending review

Where this was preached

About the church

Cross of Grace Church

About us · What we believe

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# Cross of Grace Church

A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible.

## Sermons
- [How to Listen to a Sermon (2 Timothy 4:1-5, 2025-03-30)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/03/how-to-listen-to-a-sermon)
- [Grace For All Life (Luke 19:28-40, 2025-04-13)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/04/grace-for-all-life)
- [The Last Mile (2 Timothy 4:9-18, 2025-04-13)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/04/the-last-mile)
- [Choose Your Own Adventure (Psalm 1, 2025-04-27)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2025/04/choose-your-own-adventure)

## About
- [About the church](/about)
- [Plan a visit](/visit)

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