1. The Righteous Way (verses 1-3)
2. The Wicked Way (verses 4-6)

As most of you know, I spent this past week in Los Angeles, studying the Psalms. I took a class at the Master's Seminary entitled, "Expository Preaching of the Psalms." I have come back home with a greater love for the Psalms. They give us a penetrating look into the souls of godly men down through the ages. At one point this week, my heart was so stirred by the truth of the things presented in class that I even thought about stopping Matthew right where we are and starting on the Psalms. (We won't do that on Sunday morning. We will finish what we started, the gospel of Matthew). However, from time to time, we will visit these wonderful gems. Since my mind was engrossed in the Psalms, I thought that it might be appropriate for us to consider a Psalm this morning.

This morning we are going to look at the Psalm that has been called, "The Psalm of Psalms." ... Psalm 1. This Psalm is an introduction to all of the other Psalms. In fact, some have left this Psalm unnumbered and have considered it to be an introduction to the Psalms. Those who do this call our second Psalm their first Psalm. They have done so because of its great importance in the Psalter. It stands at the beginning of all the Psalms and sets the tone for all of them. It presents with crystal clarity the two types of people there are in the world. There are righteous people and there are wicked people. The righteous love God and His ways. The wicked hate God and His ways. The righteous will be blessed. The wicked will be cursed. The righteous will stand firmly forever. The wicked will perish in the judgement. The Psalmist speaks in black and white terms. He isn't using shades of gray to describe the human race. Every verse (indeed, every phrase) in this Psalm describes one of these two people: the righteous or the wicked. There are those who live their lives in love to God and in submission to God. There are those who live their lives in hatred toward God and in rebellion against Him.

Psalm 1
1. How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.
4. The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.

I have entitled my sermon this morning, "Two Ways to Live." There is the righteous way, that leads to stability and blessing. There is the wicked way, that leads to uselessness and destruction. The obvious question is this, "Which path are you on?" Are you on the righteous way? Are you on the wicked way?

Let's look first at ...
1. The Righteous Way (verses 1-3)

In verse 1, we are immediately confronted with a few things that the righteous don't do. They don't "walk in the counsel of the wicked." They don't "stand in the path of sinners." They don't "sit in the seat of scoffers." The Psalmist is here speaking in the most general of terms. He speaks about the "wicked [people]." He speaks about the "sinners." He speaks about the "scoffers." All of these terms are very common terms used to describe rebellious people. The word translated "wicked" is used more than 300X in the Bible. The word translated "sinners" is used more than 250X in the Bible. The word translated "scoffers" is a bit more specific, used only 28 times in the Bible. A scoffer is the one who acts with pride (Prov. 21:24). A scoffer is the one who is always stirring trouble (Prov. 22:10). A scoffer is one who refuses to listen to correction (Prov. 13:1).

Verse 1 says that the man who avoids these types of people is blessed. This week I had the opportunity to witness these people first hand. As I mentioned before, I spent this past week in Los Angeles. While I was out there, I stayed with a police officer in the Los Angeles Police Department. He is a sergeant in the police force, which means that he is a supervisor of the police officers. His job is to come in after the police officers arrive on the scene to follow up with them to help them or counsel them in any way that he can, since he normally has more experience than they do. He asked me if I wanted to "ride along" with him one day in the squad car. I said, "Sure." So, immediately after class on Wednesday, I drove over to the police station to meet him. We promptly got in his car and drove off. For the next six hours, we drove around Los Angeles "on the beat."

Needless to say, I learned quite a bit about what it means to be a police officer. We were constantly monitoring the computer in his squad car for all of the 911 calls that the police department received. He showed me how to run a data check on license plates. He showed me how the calls are dispatched. He showed me what a bunch of the codes mean. He talked to me about how they approach various situations. I learned a lot.

At the same time, I was able to witness the results of walking with the wicked, standing with the sinners, and sitting with the scoffers. My friend called our day a pretty dull day. But in that day we saw (among other things) an unruly customer who was causing a disturbance at a place of business; a drunk man who had been fighting with his roommates; a woman, who was hit by her roommate; a man who had been caught shoplifting some sound equipment; a teenager, who had run away from home because she said that she was being abused by her father; and a woman who claimed that her child was kidnapped. Without exception, we were called to places where problems had come about because of sin. In every case, those that we saw weren't happy. Business owners weren't happy. Roommates weren't happy. Mothers weren't happy. Fathers weren't happy. Children weren't happy. Several of the people we went to see were crying, as they were either caught in their sin or victims of sin. They weren't happy because they violated the simple, straightforward truth of verse 1: "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers."

The Bible is clear. If you want to live a blessed life, you need to ...
1. Distance yourself from sinners (verse 1).

When you are walking along the path of life and a wicked man (or woman) invites you to join with him (or her) in sinful activities, you have a choice to make. Either, you can refuse their counsel and stay away from the person. You can continue to walk along the narrow path of life. Or, you can walk with them and join them in their folly. When you do, you have taken the first step to a life that God will crush in the end.

Many commentators have pointed out the progression here, from walking to standing to sitting. Once you have begun to follow the counsel of the wicked, you find it pretty easy to stop walking and start standing. Rather than allowing the advice to come in one ear and out the other, as you hustle along to your next appointment, you stop. You begin to listen a second time. You begin to think about what the sinners are saying. You begin to see their sin as attractive to you. You begin to believe that their way is the better way. Pretty soon you find yourself hanging out with those who are up to no good. You begin to show up at the wrong places at the wrong time. You now are sitting with them and spending long hours with them. As "bad company corrupts good morals," (1 Cor. 15:33), you will be corrupted. You will drift from God. You will be headed for judgment. It all starts when you stop and stand to consider their ways.

I am here to tell you today that a life spent walking with the wicked, standing with the sinners, and sitting with the scoffers will be an unhappy, miserable, wearisome, wasted, useless, and difficult life. This is what the Word of God says (verse 1). This is what the abundance of experience teaches you. This is what I saw this week in Los Angeles. You simply need to look around and see that this is the case. But, a life pursuing the pleasures of the world is not the righteous way of life. The righteous life finds delight and satisfaction in other places.

If you want to live a blessed life, you need to ...
2. Delight yourself in Scripture (verse 2).

Verse 2 reads, "But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night." The way of the righteous is the way of delight in God's word, God's truth and God's way, rather than in the "passing pleasures of sin" (Heb. 11:25). The way of the righteous is to find your satisfaction in the law of the LORD. The way of the righteous isn't finding your satisfaction in the things of this world.

There are many things in this world in which people seek their satisfaction. But the Word of God is infinitely more satisfying. Some find their satisfaction in money. But David says that the words of God "... are more desirable than gold, yes than much fine gold" (Psalm 19:10). The word of God is more valuable than a large financial portfolio. Some find their satisfaction in food. But Job said, "I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 23:12). The word of God is to be treasured more than a cheeseburger. Some find their satisfaction in desserts. David said that the words of God, "are sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb" (Psalm. 19:10). Some find their satisfaction in drugs to make them feel better when they are down.
The Psalmist says, "This is my comfort in my affliction, that Thy word has revived me" (Ps. 119:50). Some find their satisfaction in the sports team in whom they can rejoice. But, the Psalmist says, "I have rejoiced in the way of Thy testimonies" (Ps. 119:14). Some find their satisfaction in their intelligence. But, the Psalmist says, "I have more insight than all my teachers, for Thy testimonies are my meditation" (Ps. 119:9). Whatever pleasure you may derive from the world, it pales in insignificance compared with the pleasure that you may obtain from the word of God.

The way of the righteous is the way of delight in God's law. I can give you testimony of this in my life this week. The class that I took in the Psalms was very enjoyable to me. In fact, I remember on one occasion in the class when Steve Lawson was talking about Psalm 93 and how God rules over all of the nations. He explained how "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes" (Prov. 21:1). The king doesn't make any stray decisions, but only that which the LORD has directed Him to make. Revelation 17 tells us that God put it in the hearts of the unconverted kings to accomplish His sovereign purpose (Rev. 17:17). God raised up Cyrus, an unconverted man to rebuild the temple for His nation (Isaiah 44, 45). God told Pharaoh, "I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you" (Rom. 9:17). If God sovereignly controls unconverted kings, how much more those who are not enthroned. This is what Psalm 93:1 means, "The LORD reigns." This is what it means to be God. And as He spoke, God gave me a glimpse of His sovereign majesty and power that I was brought to tears of delight and joy! God has never lost control in this world. All is proceeding exactly according to His plan. I would rather enjoy the delight of God's word than any other pleasure on the planet.

The path to everlasting joy and happiness in this life and in the life to come is to consume yourself in the Word of God. Treasure it. Value it. Enjoy it. All the time. "And in His law he meditates day and night." When you love the word of God, you will delight in it and you will meditate on it. It matters not whether the sun is shining or whether the sun is dark. It matters not whether you are lying down or rising up. It matters not whether you are walking by the way or sitting in your house. When you love the word of God, you will meditate upon it and know its value for your soul. (Two weeks ago I spoke about meditating on the Scriptures. I don't feel the need to repeat myself here. I do feel the need to encourage you to get the tape or read the sermon, because meditation is a key ingredient in the life of a Christian.)

Verses 1 and 2 tell us what the one on the righteous way does. Verse 3 tells us what the one on the righteous way is. If you distance yourself from sinners and if you delight yourself in the word, then, you "will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers" (verse 3).

The illustration loses a bit of its punch here in Illinois. Rain is so often abundant, that trees can grow anyplace. And, those by the side of a river often face problems, as they face the erosion caused by the river. Often, their roots can find little soil. Floods and high water can also kill these trees, as they can be under water for extended periods of time. But Israel is vastly different. The land of Israel is a desert land. The land is parched and dry. It rarely rains in Israel. It is very difficult for trees to survive. When I traveled to Israel, I remember seeing a few trees flourish in the desert wilderness. They were so rare that they stood out like a sore thumb. Upon investigation, you would see that two things would be true of them:

1) The tree was located at the bottom of a valley. When I was there, these valleys were dry. But, when the rain came, they would fill with water and become a mighty, rushing river for a few days. The water helped the tree sustain its life. But, apart from the water, there was another benefit of being down in the valley. It was a bit cooler and sometimes would experience some shade from the intense heat.
2) the tree always had long roots, which would penetrate deep into the earth. Whenever you saw such a tree, you also saw a bunch of its roots travelling up and down the valley (which became a river when it rained).

he tree was planted in a good place, protected from the constant abuse of the hot desert winds. The tree was planted near a source of water. This is exactly what the Psalmist is saying in verses 1 and 2. In verse 1 he tells us that the righteous man is protected from the influences of the world that would destroy him. In verse 2 he tells us that the righteous man has a constant flow of the Scriptures to give him life. The trees that are so situated flourish. They have lush, green, healthy leaves. They produce fruit. They have spreading, sprawling branches. So also is the one who is distanced from sinners and delights in the Scriptures. Such a man will be strong, and firm, and steadfast, and immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord. A sin-separated, scripture-saturated life will be vibrant, healthy, fruitful, and prosperous. God will look upon this man with favor. This man will be blessed. He will have a happy family. He will have a stable job. He will have a good marriage. He will enjoy his friends. People will look upon this man and respect him and desire to be like him.

But oh, how many seek the benefits of a blessed life without submitting to the ways to obtain it. Rather than repenting of their sin and turning from it, they enjoy their sin and their sinning friends. Rather than believing and cherishing the Bible, they leave it on the shelf. Jesus said, "Repent and believe the gospel." Repent simply means to distance yourself from your sin and the sinners around you (i.e. like verse 1). Believing the gospel is trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross as the only way that you will be right with God. This is what the Scriptures teach. In an of ourselves, we are lost in our sin. But God has provided a way to come to Him. It is by faith in Jesus Christ. It is by trusting that Jesus' death upon the cross was a sufficient sacrifice for your sins. It is God changing your heart to give you new desires and wishes.

Those who refuse to distance themselves from sinners and those who refuse to delight themselves in Scripture, walk on a totally different path. Rather than walking on The Righteous Way (verses 1-3), They walk on, ...
2. The Wicked Way (verses 4-6)

Verse 4 begins, "The wicked are not so." ..... Literally, you can translate this, "Not so the wicked." Everything that the righteous man is, the wicked man is not. Rather than distancing themselves from the wicked, they choose to listen to, follow, and join in the ways of the wicked. Rather than delighting in the truth of the Scripture (verse 2), they choose to trust in their own wisdom. Those who join with the wicked will join them in their own demise. I've been told that a drowning person will often panic and grab onto anyone around him, and pull them down as well. Even strong swimmers have drowned because of the panic of a drowning person, who pulls the would-be lifesaver down under with him. Those who are drowning in their sin like to bring others down with them.

The Bible says it this way: "although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them" (Rom. 1:32). Many times, those engaged in sinful activity know full well that they are sinning. Furthermore, they know full well that they are under the wrath of God. But, they often do what they can do to pull others down with them. They say, "Oh, c'mon, it's not that bad. Just try it once." Pretty soon, you have an alcoholic or a crack addict or a compulsive gambler or a kleptomaniac. They often get their start when they are enticed by wicked people to join them in their wickedness. This happens on college campuses in fraternities and sororities. This happens in night clubs and bars. This happens at the neighbor's house. This happens in your own house when you turn your television on and invite scoffers to come into your family room and influence your family.

This is why you fathers ought to plead with your sons, "My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent" (Prov. 1:10). Fathers, give this advice to your children because they will be enticed by sinners. I remember when I was in high school, I was with some of my friends. We had plans to meet up at someone's house. I went along with the plans, but I didn't know what was taking place until I arrived. But when I arrived, I knew that it was a bad place for me to be. By God's grace, I knew that I didn't want to be in that place with those people. I left as soon as I could, and vowed never to return there again. I remember the same thing happening in college on several occasions. I was in a car with some of my friends. We went someplace. When we got there, I knew that this was no place for me. At my first opportunity, I left. There were many other times in the dorms, when I happened upon a place that I shouldn't be. And, I just turned and left.

Life is all about being enticed by sinners. So fathers, you need to instruct your children, "... if sinners entice you, do not consent" (Prov. 1:10). Do this because you know what will happen to those who are influenced by such sinful people. They will walk down the path of sin. They will leave the blessing of God. They will die in their sins. The father says, ... "My son, do not walk in the way with them. Keep your feet from their path, For their feet run to evil, and they hasten to shed blood. Indeed, it is useless to spread the net in the eyes of any bird; But they lie in wait for their own blood; They ambush their own lives. So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors" (Prov. 1:15-19). The implication is this: If you join them, you will perish with them.

My uncle is a farmer. He grows corn and soybeans. And he raises pigs. He breeds his pigs and raises them from birth. He has a farrowing house, where all of the piglets are born. In that house, up to 12 or 14 sows can be in there at one time, nursing their litter. The house is enclosed and full of the smell of pig. When we travel to his house as a family, there is often the curiosity on the part of those visiting to see the piglets. When you do, you are immediately confronted by the overwhelming smell of the pigs. As you spend even a few minutes in the farrowing house, you become engulfed by the smell. When you leave, you may think that you have left the smell behind, but it remains in your clothes. When you return to their house, your smell announces your arrival back home. So it is with those who dwell with sinners and scoffers. Often, they don't even realize how they have been affected by them. But they have. And those who dwell with the wicked will be brought down by the wicked. Those who hang around sinning, scoffing people will begin to believe these lies and will suffer their same fate.

Satan took Eve down with him through his seductive lies. "You surely won't die" is what Satan told Eve. Yet, she did. Job's friends tried to do the same with him. How well Job stood in those early days of his trial. What a rock he was when his family and wealth were taken from Him! He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21). What stability he demonstrated when his health went sour and his wife turned against him. He said, "Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?" (Job. 2:10). Yet, it was the repeated false counsel of this three scoffing friends (Bildad, Zophar, and Eliphaz) that began to wear him down. Eventually he cried out with a degree of arrogance toward the LORD, "Let the Almighty answer me! ... I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him" (Job 31:35, 37). When God came in and set Job right, he didn't boldly stand up to God. Rather, he humbly submitted himself to God and His sovereignty. The point is this: Job's friends began to influence him.

"The wicked are not so. Rather than separating themselves from the influence of the world, they are sucked into the influence of the world (in opposition to verse 1).. The wicked fail to find delight in God's word (in opposition to verse 2). Was this not Israel's problem? Didn't they lose a delight in God's word? Jesus said of the Pharisees, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me" (Matt. 15:7). Notice that they didn't lose the Scriptures, they lost their delight in the Scriptures. Rather than heart-felt truth, the Scriptures became an oral exercise of culture. Rather than a living encounter with God, the truth became a matter of routine. It floated on the surface, rather than penetrating the heart. As a result, they were hypocrites, withered up trees, which have the form, but not the life. Sure, the branches are still there, but the washing of the water with the word hasn't taken place, and the leaves have withered up, which means no life at all.

"The wicked are not so." They are influenced by the wicked. They refuse the Scripture. "They are like chaff which the wind drives away" (verse 4). It's harvest time. The farmer has brought his grain into barn. Now begins the threshing process. He takes the grain and throws it in the wind. The grain comes right back down, but the light chaff, which is totally useless to the farmer is blown away by the gentle breeze. This is the picture of the wicked. Rather than being a firm, solid, steady tree with roots and a water source, they are tumbleweed that blows away.

The wicked flitter and flutter and fly way in the gentle breeze. They are unsubstantial, insignificant, shallow and worthless. They are gone forever in the wind. They are like sawdust. They are like pencil shavings. They are like discarded candy-wrappers. The wind comes and takes them wherever it will. Oh, these wicked people may think that they are something. Oh, they may think that they have accomplished great things in this life. Oh, they may think that they are something special. But, in the end, they will be blown away like worthless husks of grain.

I had a tree once in my yard that began to die. One year, only half of the branches put forth leaves. The next year, only a few branches put forth leaves. The tree was dying. It served no purpose. It gave us no shade. It had no use. I had talked with Yvonne about cutting it down. Some how, it just didn't happen. well, we went out to California once summer to visit Yvonne's parents. I came home and the tree was gone! I was glad, but I didn't know how it disappeared. Apparently, a friend of ours had asked if there was anything that he could do for us on vacation. Yvonne told him that he could cut down the tree, which he did. The tree is like the wicked man. He will be destroyed as our tree is.

In verse 5, the Psalmist continues with the theme, "Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment." I don't care how much the wicked prosper today. I don't care how much at ease they are. I don't care how boastful and how arrogant and how self-sufficient they are. When they stand before the LORD, they will wilt like a droopy flower. They won't stand because a sinful soul is devastated in the presence of the holy LORD.

The Psalmist continues, "Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous" (verse 5). When God sends forth his angels to "gather together His elect from the four winds" of the earth (Matt. 24:31), they will only gather the righteous. There won't be a single wicked person who is accidentally included. Nobody will slip by security. The angels will gather only the wheat into the barn (Matt. 13:30). Not a single tare will find its way into the barn. Instead, they will justly be condemned in their sin. They will be cast into the lake of fire, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. As the end of verse 6 says, "the wicked will perish." The focus of the first three verses is upon the blessing of the righteous man. The focus on the last three verses is upon the judgment that will come upon the wicked.

Let me ask you, "Is it important for you to know the end of those on the wicked way?" I say, "Yes!" If you are on the wicked way, you need to be warned of the coming destruction that awaits you. You ought to consider this sermon this morning to be a gigantic sign along side the road that says, "Danger Ahead." You ought to realize that if you continue some of your habits of sitting with scoffers, you are on the wrong path.

But, for those of us who love the Lord Jesus, this is also important for us, because it helps keep us on the righteous way. It kept Asaph on the path. In Psalm 73, he tells his story. He was walking through life, seeking to live a life of faith. Yet, he looked upon the wicked. They had no pains in their death (Ps. 73:4) They lived lives of ease (Ps. 73:4). They were proud and arrogant (Ps. 73:6, 8). They oppressed the lowly (Ps. 73:8). They have spoken against the LORD (Ps. 73:9). They were prospering in this life and Asaph was envious (Ps. 73:3). Asaph tells us that he almost stumbled, but one thing saved him. Do you know what it was? Asaph perceived their end (Ps. 73:17). He saw how "the wicked will not stand in the judgment."

Revelation 19 flashed before his eyes. He saw Jesus, the judge, coming back to wage war upon the earth and finally destroy all rebellion against Him. He saw and he heard the great multitude in heaven saying with a loud voice, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God! ... Hallelujah! ... Hallelujah! ... Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns!" (Rev. 19:1-6). Asaph saw how they were destroyed in a moment (Ps. 73:19). Asaph saw how they were "utterly swept away by sudden terrors!" (Ps. 73:19). Asaph saw how God was the coming, reigning, ruling King! Focussing his mind and heart upon the end of the wicked set him straight once again. I trust this morning that your heart has been reminded of the blessing of the righteous way and the terrors of the wicked way.

Verse 6 gives us an explanation of how God will indeed separate these two groups from one another. Verse 6, "For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish." See, you can't fool God. He knows the company you keep. He knows if you have joined up with the scoffers. He knows if you have a delight in his law. He knows if you have prayed with the Psalmist, "Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, And I shall observe it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may observe Your law, And keep it with all my heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it" (Ps. 119:33-35).

Not only does God know these things, but He shows these things as well. He has either made you stand like a tree or has begun to blow you in the wind like chaff. When the trials of life have come upon you, have you stood firm? Or, have you blown in the wind? Have you rejoiced in your trials, because you know that they have simply stretched your roots deeper into the ground, that you might stand more firm than you ever did before? Or, have your trials sifted you and shaken you and blown you all around the map? If you find yourself blowing in the wind, you need to consider the tests of verses 1 and 2. Perhaps you are being influenced by scoffers to much. Perhaps you aren't being influenced enough by God's word. Perhaps when the trials are coming upon you, they are conquering you because your scoffers have influenced you to neglect the word. Perhaps you are relying upon your own wisdom and strength, rather than trusting in God. You might as well be a tree in the desert, away from the river-valley.

When a trial comes your way, you need to take the word of God and preach it to yourself. Listen to how the Psalmist preached to himself in Psalm 42: "Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God" (Ps. 42:11). When the Psalmist was in difficulty, it was the word upon which we was meditating that he preached to himself: "Hope in God!" This is what you need to do when you are experiencing trial. The Scripture that has been your meditation now needs to become your sermon you preach to yourself.

I have entitled my sermon this morning, "Two Ways to Live." There is the righteous way, that leads to stability and blessing and joy and happiness. There is the wicked way, that leads to uselessness and destruction and sorrow and turmoil. The question is this, "Which path are you on?" Are you on the righteous way? Are you on the wicked way?

This morning, we are going to celebrate the Lord's Supper. It is for all of those who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus to forgive them of their sin. It is for all of these who are on the righteous way. You may be drifting. You may be tempted to be listening to the scoffers and scorners. It is now that you ought to preach to yourself. You need to remember Jesus, crucified, buried, risen, and ascended. You need to remember that His suffering was for your glory. You need to remember that His death was for your sin. You need to celebrate. If you are on the wicked way, this supper is NOT for you. Don't celebrate it, because, quite frankly, you have nothing to celebrate.

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on January 11, 2004 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rvbc.cc.