Where's Your Delight? Series

“WHERE’S YOUR DELIGHT?” Psalm 1

FBCF – 6/1/25

Jon Daniels

INTRO – Bro. Mack – dinner on the ground – “Life is short. Eat dessert first!” Then head to dessert table to get his piece of chocolate pie before it was all gone.

A dessert you often see at church dinner on the grounds is called “Husband’s Delight” or “Fat Man’s Delight” – ingredients for this deliciously sinful dessert include cream cheese, Cool Whip, powdered sugar, chocolate & vanilla pudding mix. All these ingredients mixed together & put on top of a pecan crust become a dessert that becomes a “delight” to many people, not just to husbands & chubby guys.

As we start a series in The Psalms today, this first Psalm gives us the ingredients to live a life that is blessed. And we will that the ones who are blessed are the ones who are right w/ God, the ones who “delight in the law of the Lord.”

EXPLANATION – Psalm 1

Most of us have a medicine chest/cabinet in our homes. Have OTC drugs in it (Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Pepto), prescription drugs (some probably out of date), Band-Aids & Neosporin, maybe some vitamins, & an assortment of all kinds of meds. Go to that medicine chest when we’re sick or in pain to find something to heal us, to treat our ailment or problem, & make us feel better, make us healthy or keep us healthy. From headaches to hangnails, from stomach issues to sinus problems, from bobo bandages to blood pressure meds, you can usually find it in the medicine chest.

The Psalms – “The Medicine Chest for the Soul” – You can find something to cure what ails you in your life. You’ll find all sorts of “treatments” for whatever you’re facing in your life – when you’re sick (physically or spiritually), when you’re in pain for any number of reasons, when you’re confused or wandering or struggling w/ a decision to make. Or even when things are going good & you need some words to praise the Lord & rejoice in Him.

The Psalms are just real which is why it’s one of my favorite books in the Bible. They give us permission to express our disappointments & our despair. They give us ways to express our adoration & admiration of God. They give voice to our struggles, our celebrations, our trials, & our triumphs.

- “[The] psalms are seeking to draw me into a life of faith, into experiencing life more fully & vividly b/c nothing is left out. Alongside the deepest fears & the greatest joys is the covenant God, who leads me through them all…The Psalms show me my place in the world & teach me how to live life as a covenant child of God.” (Elizabeth Robar, Foreword, Psalms in an Age of Distraction, p. x-xi)

Psalm 1 sets stage for rest of book. It lets us know that there are really only 2 ways to live – as a righteous person whose delight is in the Lord & His Word & ways, or as a wicked person who will “perish” – to put it bluntly – the Hebrew word means they will be lost forever. John 3:16 also has the word “perish” in it. And the Gk word for “perish” means the exact same thing as the Hebrew word in Psalm 1 – to be lost forever – which is why you need to come to Jesus & be saved RIGHT NOW!

APPLICATION – There’s no delight like the delight of living for the Lord.

Website I regularly visit – deals w/ church leadership – On one day there were 5 consecutive articles that each focused on 5 different men & recent things each of them had said or done.

- Jonathan Roumie – Jesus in “The Chosen” – devout Catholic – the toll his body is taking as he prepares for the upcoming crucifixion scene in Season 6

- Bear Gryllis – Outdoor adventurer – “Man vs. Wild” show – How his faith has changed him from the inside out.

- Jelly Roll – popular rapper & singer – hard life – seems to be seeking the Lord right now – He & Brandon Lake have joined up on “Hard Fought Hallelujah”

- Francis Chan – pastor & writer – article – podcast w/ Lecrae – “Thousands of people are ‘playing church’” – Chan struggled w/ how to equip & disciple people to live for & serve the Lord

- “Bro. M” – Pastor accused of violent physical, sexual, & psychological abuse of children he & wife adopted – as far back as the 1980’s.

All 5 of those men have made the decision to either delight themselves in the Lord & His Word, or delight themselves in their own sinful, fleshly desires. Can see the evidence of that in their lives. Same is true for all of us. The results of that decision will be evident to all those who observe your life.