Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Psalm 1), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• [1-2] “If you wish to declare someone blessed, you learn how to do so in Psalm 1” (Athanasius). Blessedness is, first and foremost, God’s own divine happiness, the eternal delightedness of the God who is love. For humans created in God’s image, “likeness to God is the definition of true blessedness” (Gregory of Nyssa). We are blessed when our lives resonate in relationship with the God who speaks in the Scripture. How do you hear people talk about “blessings” or “being blessed”? What are some other Scripture passages that talk about being blessed?

• What are some specific ways in which you are temped to “walk in the counsel of the wicked”? to “stand in the way of sinners”? to “sit in the seat of scoffers”? Alternatively, do you delight in God’s Word, taking it in, contemplating it, and integrating it into your life? (If not, why not pray about that?) How can this help you when you face the above temptations?

• [3-4] Jesus is the truly blessed (divinely happy/merry) man, whose life resonates with God’s Word because he is God’s very Word incarnate. Yet he willingly faced the judgment of the wicked whose lives are empty of the weight of God’s love. Even in this he prospered (Isaiah 53:10). In Christ, are you bearing fruit and prospering in your life with God? What does that look like?

• [6] “Yahweh knows the way of the righteous,” which means the congregation of the righteous will stand while sinners perish under his judgment. The righteous will stand, not because of their knowledge of God’s ways, but because of God’s intimate knowledge of the way of the righteous (see Matthew 7:23; John 14:6). We are saved, not primarily because we know God, but because God has known us in Christ. What thoughts or feelings do you have about that? What are some ramifications of this truth for your life with God or for the way you talk about salvation with others?

• Do you have any regular practices of Scripture reading and meditation? What are some practical ways you can incorporate God’s Word into your life and conversations more?