“All right, I’m going to give you a short text, and I want you to tell me what its subject is.” (I don’t know how many times I’ve said those words when working with a group of ministers.) “The text is Psalm One. Here’s how it reads in the NIV.”
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.After a minute or two of silence, hands start going up.
“I think the subject is The Man Blessed by God.”
“Person Blessed,” says another. “It could be a man or a woman.
“Okay, The Person Blessed by God,” agrees the pastor with the original idea.
“I concur.”
“Me too.”
Another pastor somewhat hesitantly says, “I think it should be The Way of the Righteous. Look at verse 6, “For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous.”
“Okay,” I say, “The Way of the Righteous or The Person Blessed by God. Any other ideas?”
Everyone seems satisfied.
I tell them that either one works for me. They’re both good answers. “Which do you think your congregation would rather hear a sermon on … The Way of The Righteous or The Person Blessed by God?”
The Person Blessed by God wins by a wide margin!
Develop your sermon outline or sermon series accordingly. Have sermon ideas you want me to evaluate? Email me today
