Small Group Questions:

1. What’s something you do regularly that makes you feel happy?
2. Where do people usually go to find happiness or meaning?
3. What do you think it looks like to build a stable life? Is it possible to build a stable life?
4. What do you think shapes a person over time? What makes them become who they are?
5. Is it easier to stay connected to God when life feels stable or when it feels chaotic or uncertain? Why?

THE MAIN POINT

In seasons of stability, we relate to God by rooting ourselves in Him. True life comes from staying deeply connected to God.

THE BIBLE

Psalm 1

THE CONTEXT

As Walter Brueggemann puts it, wisdom psalms are an “expression of a well-oriented, reliable world… [They] tend to be didactic in tone and relatively amorphous in shape. They are best identified by their subject matter.” Wisdom psalms help us in seasons when life feels stable, clear, and predictable. They teach us how to relate to God before things fall apart – by rooting ourselves deeply in Him. Brueggemann, speaking of psalms of orientation, says this: “The function of this kind of psalm is theological, that is, to praise God and thank God.” Psalms of orientation picture the world how it is meant to be. For Israel – and Christians today – they serve as a framework to worship God for his good intention for creation.

Psalm 1 sets the stage for the rest of the book, emphasizing that those who worship God genuinely must embrace his law and covenant instructions. The purpose of this psalm is that those who sing or read it would embrace its values of being people who love the law/Torah more and more, who believe it, who see themselves as the heirs and stewards of its story of redemption and hope, and who seek to carry out its moral requirements. Those who sing or read this Psalm can delight in being part of the “righteous” feeling that nothing can compare with such a blessing. In Psalm 1, the “righteous” are not simply morally better people; they are those who are rooted in God and shaped by his voice.

THE CORE

As you prepare the core of the message using personal story and questions, keep in mind these points:

• Everyone is looking for a life that feels full, stable, and meaningful. A full and meaningful life is not achieved by striving, but by being rooted in the right source. The one who chooses to do so will live a righteous life, a life full of meaning, stability, life the way it was meant to be lived.
• The core image in this Psalm is that of a tree. planted by streams of water. The difference between a flourishing life and an empty one is not how hard we try, but where we are rooted. A tree does not will itself to grow, it flourishes when it is connected to a constant source of life.
• Blessed does not mean life is easy, it means life is anchored. It means deep stability, resilience, and a life that holds up when things get hard.

THE APPLICATION

As you prepare the application, challenge and/or encouragement, keep in mind these points:

• Our life is shaped by whatever is loudest. What voice is the loudest in your life? What is shaping you the most? The voice that we allow to have the most say in our lives will ultimately be the voice by which we are most shaped. That is why it is important to stay connected to God daily.
• Studying the Scriptures is a form of worship. It is not simply a task that we should do, but it is a response to who God is and what He has done. It is how we remain rooted. This is why the psalmist encourages the readers to delight in God’s law.