“What do you read, my lord?”, “Words, words, words,” Hamlet replies, and his weariness mirrors today’s flood of messages that end up meaning nothing. Preached in the middle of the pandemic lockdown, this sermon leads us to Psalm 1, a song about how the road to happiness begins not with what we say or do, but with the decision of whom we listen to. The story of a businessman whose fake invoices brought him to court shows how the voices we follow shape who we become. Listen and ask yourself: whose voice is really guiding you through life?
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Psalm 1 describes a progression: walking in the counsel of the wicked, standing in the way of sinners, sitting in the seat of mockers. What does this progression say about how a person drifts away from God?
- What does the image of a tree planted by streams of water, set against chaff blown away by the wind, mean, and how might the psalm's first readers have understood it?
- The speaker claims that the path to happiness begins not with what we say or do, but with the decision of whom we listen to. How do you understand this idea, and how far do you agree with it?
- In Tomek's story, everything started with one fake invoice and someone's advice. Which voices around you most strongly shape your decisions, and where are they leading you?
- According to the sermon, why does God's voice deserve more trust than the voices of experts and the people around us, given that He is the one who created life?
- The speaker encourages us to listen to what God has to say before pouring out our complaints to Him. How can you make time this week to meditate on God's word day and night?
