We welcome you to Stone's Hill today!

A typical Stone's Hill service has:

* music (so feel free to sing out);

* some announcements (things that are upcoming that you can be a part of);

* a message out of the Bible (God speaks to us through his Word);

* and an opportunity for you to respond to the message (either immediately in the case of a decision that needs to be made OR in the future as you live out the message in your daily life.)

So relax and enjoy your morning! We're so glad you are here!

MESSAGE TEXT
Psalm 1:1-6
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Most of you have heard of the phrase, a "fork in the road". It’s where the road splits into two. On a trip, that can have tremendous impact on where you end up! In life, that “fork in the road” decision you make will influence your entire life. Robert Frost talked about “a road less taken”. Today, Psalm 1 presents to you a “fork in the road.” The direction you choose will make all the difference. You have two roads, two paths. One road leads to true joy and happiness; the other road leads to heartache and lost potential.
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Psalm 1 is a map and mirror. A Map - here’s how you find joy and happiness. Happiness is referenced twenty-six times in the book of Psalms. It’s a prominent theme. Psalm 1 is also a Mirror - we are our biggest impediment to finding joy and we can all see our reflection in the mirror of this reality for we have all chosen a path we thought would make us happy.
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Thousands of books are available on Amazon on the elusive theme of happiness and how to find it. Why so many books on happiness? Why are we not happy and joyful? The answer of Psalm 1, and the answer of the Bible, is because people seek it wrongly; they’re using the wrong map. Psalm 1 tells us that a Christian is someone who has been transplanted and rooted into something beside him or herself.
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When Psalm 1 starts, it starts with “blessed” a word that means joyful, fulfilled, satisfied; it’s even translated “happy”. James Boice notes that in Hebrew the word is actually a plural, which denotes either a multiplicity of blessings or an intensification of them.” We could say, “Oh the blessednesses, or the blessings.” “Blessed” means supremely happy or fulfilled. I want us to note this carefully: it’s not “Blessed is the person who seeks blessedness.” It’s not “Happy is the person who seeks happiness.” Happiness can never be found directly. Happiness is a byproduct of seeking something else. Happiness is always and only a byproduct of seeking something else more than happiness itself. Psalm 1 says “Let me show you what to seek or Who to seek.” And if you will seek Him, happiness and joy will find you.
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Psalm 1 pictures two paths: Path #1 - My number one priority is happiness, and I’m either using God as a way to get there or ignoring and scorning God if He gets in my way. Path #2 - My number one priority is to know, love, and serve God, and if happiness happens, great. To whatever degree it happens, great. But my walk with God is central to my life. My marriage is not central. My job is not central. My bank account is not central. Here is the irony: the less you’re concerned about your happiness and the more you’re concerned about Him, the happier you become.
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PROPOSITION
Psalm 1 offers us true, lasting happiness by presenting a series of contrasts between the righteous and the wicked. FOUR CONTRASTS we can make in Psalm 1 (with help from Carl Robbins):
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1 the contrast of personal delights – your walk with God, God’s Word and a steady intake of it, and the beauty of Jesus is your greatest delight where you love the things He loves CONTRASTED WITH the counsel of the wicked that tears down God’s stuff, disrespects God’s Word, and seeks to gratify oneself as the end goal (v.1-2)
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2 the contrast of close relationships - God’s people become your primary influence, the company you choose CONTRASTED WITH the mockers who alienate and reject the people who align with God (v.1-2).
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3 the contrast of observable fruits. God’s kingdom advances in some significant way through the life of the believer CONTRATED WITH the shallow outcomes of a misguided life with minimal lasting contributions (v. 3-4).
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4 the contrast of future outcomes. God’s judgment will verify the life we’ve lived CONTRASTED WITH some who will be consumed. (v.5-6)
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Reasons for the contrasts: so you will choose to make God your everything so you can have happiness as its byproduct. To say all this another way, four things will greatly impact your happiness: the role you allow the Bible and the Lord to play in your life (will you see it as authoritative and delightful); the friends you choose to run with (will they honor God or scoff at Him), the causes you get behind and give your life to (like the church or a God-honoring ministry), and your belief in God’s justice - that God will right all wrongs (so you don’t have to carry that load).
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INVITATION
The Lord Jesus Christ is truly the blessed man. Jesus Christ is the true righteous man of Psalm 1. God blessed him and prospered him as our sinless Savior. If you belong to him, the blessings of Psalm 1 are yours through him. If you belong to him, Psalm 1 will be the pattern of your life.