Series: Songs of Worship—Getting Real With God
Sermon: A Choice
Speaker and Writer: Elia King

Refresh: Open with prayer. Ask God for understanding through the Holy Spirit.

Read: Psalm 1 (ESV).

(ESV). As you reread the text for the final time this week in the English Standard Version, what new insights did you discover about God’s character?

Reflect: You could make the case that Psalm 1 is about a lot of different things. Righteousness. Obedience. Faithfulness. Trees. Okay, maybe not trees. But at the heart of the text, this song that opens the rest of the First Testament hymnal is an invitation to make a choice: Will we choose to walk with God? In the eyes of the Psalmist, that choice sets the stage for the rest of the play. However we choose to interpret the consequences, there is a choice with eternity at stake.

I visited England for the first time the summer that I turned twelve. I was singing with the local university choir as one of two boy sopranos (yes, you read that correctly). During one day on our visit when we planned to travel most of the day, we were instructed to pack ourselves a lunch. At twelve years old, I knew the drill. I headed straight for the bread, peanut butter, and what I thought was chocolate. I did not hold back. In fact, I made myself two sandwiches. “Nothing else for me! Peanut butter and chocolate—Reese’s sandwiches—for my lunch!” I thought. The only problem? I discovered at lunch time that what I had thought was chocolate was actually Marmite, a salty, bitter concoction made from yeast extract. Needless to say, it was not the Reese’s sandwich that I was expecting. And yet, my choice in the breakfast line seemed so clear!

In this life, choices sometimes seem very cut-and-dried. Choose A and B will happen. Choose X and you can expect Y. But some choices are not so simple. Such would seem to be the case with the opening song in the book of Psalms. The author draws a stark contrast between those who follow the Law of Yahweh and the “faithless.” But according to John Goldingay, Jesus reminded His followers that there is a broad way and a narrow way, and that the law of God is not often what occurs to us naturally. When our inclination is to be selfish, Jesus calls us to selflessness. When we swell with pride, Jesus reminds us to be humble.

Recalibrate: What has been the hardest choice you have ever faced?

Respond: Ask God to show you what it looks like to trust Jesus in a difficult situation you are currently facing.

Research: Write your own Psalm about walking with God. What feeling will you choose to include? Praise? Disappointment? Struggle? If you feel comfortable, find a friend and share what you have written with them.