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How to Really Share Your Faith

Published October 1st, 2009 in All of Frank's Articles, Ancient, Truth | No Comments »

salesmanGreetings
“Hey, how’s it going?”

The typical daily greeting often leaves me in an existential dilemma.
I know I’m supposed to say, “fine-how-are-you.”  (Like it’s all one word) But, I struggle.   I have a bit of a mean streak in me - a dark sar-chasm that tempts me to be a jerk.  I’m tempted to reply with a mundane litany of details.  You know - start with how I slept the night before, talk about how busy I am, how my feet ache, how I have a little something in my eye, how my shirt doesn’t fit quite right, my toenails need to be trimmed, I feel like I’m coming down with something, and I think I might have to use the toilet in a few minutes - How are you?  In other words, I am tempted to really answer their question.  But I don’t.  I don’t share those kind of details unless someone is actually asking - and they hardly ever are.

You may not struggle with this at all.  It’s part of our culture.  But, because of this, I think we are all pretty used to not really answering the questions that people ask us.

The Social Contract
It’s the social contract.  It’s the deal that we all agreed to.  The one that says we will not bore each other with medical details, brag about our children, argue about politics, go on and on about our favorite subjects or say disgusting things at lunch or dinner.  Most of us honor the contract, and try to avoid people that don’t - or at least look for the nearest exit once they start talking.

But, there is one subject that can make any awkward conversation even more awkward.  Next time someone is boring you to the brink of pain - breaking the social contract, try this - ask if you can tell them about Jesus.  That should send them running.  Jim Gaffigan says even the Pope tries to get out of a conversation when people start talking about Jesus. “Easy, freak - I keep work at work!”

It’s true. No one wants anyone to walk up to them and start talking about religion.

Unless they ask.

1 Peter 3:15
Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way.  Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

Serious As Hell
Anyone who is not in Christ will be lost.  They will die in their sins and if they are not covered by the work That Jesus did on the cross - if they are outside of Christ, then they have no hope.   But, no one wants to hear that!  No one is eager to hear the bad news.  And it is not our job to tell them the bad news.  It is our job to tell them the good news - the Gospel.

Imagine that a woman is late for work.  She gets into her car and it doesn’t start.  She opens the hood and starts pulling wires, taking things apart and pouring gasoline onto the motor.  Go ahead - imagine it, it’s kinda fun.  We want to run up to her and stop her, asking her what on earth she thinks she is accomplishing.   Imagine that her answer is, “Well, the car wouldn’t start - I had to do something! I’m late for work.” *

“Always be ready to explain it.  But do this in a gentle and respectful way.”

Imagine that a man is sitting at a burger joint happily eating a double bacon cheeseburger. Then imagine that a vegetarian-health-food nut walks up to him and tells him that he is going to die if he continues to eat this way.  Will he listen?  Or will it just ruin his lunch? But, imagine that the same man is trying to lose some weight because of health problems so he’s talking to a personal trainer or his doctor.  Now he can hear it.   Now he is very interested - now he’s asking.

“Worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks…”

I think this is the key.  Wait for them to ask.

Wait for it
Live a life that begs the question.  Live as if Christ is the Lord of your life.  Work hard at your job.  Don’t complain about your work or your pay or your co-workers.  Clean up after yourself, and clean up after other people. Take the really crappy jobs that no one else wants to do, then do the best you possibly can. Work hard at living the kind of life that Jesus taught us to live.  Love people instead of using people.  Help people instead of seeing them (and their ideas) as a threat. Live a life that shows you have hope in something beyond the here and now.  Live your life as spiritual act of worship before Christ the Lord.

And then listen.

Listen to people’s concerns, their fears, their doubts, their dreams.  When the time is right, and if they ask you a question - Then be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within you.

Easy Now
But, even once they ask, you have to be very careful.

“But do this in a gentle and respectful way.”

It’s still not time to break the social contract.  We are not to be so eager to throw Jesus at them like a life saver - that as soon as they say something like,”Why are you so calm about all this?”  We pounce on them saying that, “they are going to Hell and need to be baptized for the remission of their sins!”  Instead, we need to be gentle and respectful.

For Real
The friendships and relationships that we build in this life have to be real.  We’re not supposed to fake friendships with people just so that we can tell them about Jesus.  Yech! We are not selling fake-plastic-Jesus-answers door to door like aluminum siding. We’re bringing the real truth and love of Jesus Christ to hurting people - The Gospel.  We’re sharing the hope that we have in our God with the people that God has put in our lives.

Some people do have the spiritual gift and calling to be an evangelist - Someone who makes cold call sales for Jesus. Maybe you have that gift and calling, and if you do - then get to it.  I ain’t stoppin’ you.

But, for the rest of us - Let’s live our lives in such a way that people will be moved to ask.

AMEN

* Props to Pastor Douglas Wilson for this analogy.

 Discussion
- Tell me about a time when someone asked a question that led to a faith conversation.

What is The Great (co)Mission?

Published September 25th, 2009 in All of Frank's Articles, Ancient, Modern, Truth | 2 Comments »

Modern AltarWhat is the mission of the church? 
This is actually a hotly debated question.  Is the mission of the church to worship God?  Is the mission of the church to reach out to the lost?  To maintain a faithful and Biblical people of God?  What about feeding the poor and helping the needy?  Is the mission of the church to transform culture and society?  Is it all of these things?  Is it none of them?

Who are we going to trust to give us an authoritative answer?

Here’s a novel idea - How about if we look to the head of the church, and see what Jesus Himself told us our mission was to be?  Maybe that will help clear things up for us.  All authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him, so He should be able to speak with a degree of influence.

The Great Commission  (Matthew 28:16-20)
“Then the eleven disciples left for Galilee, going to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him—but some of them doubted!”

(Ah, so they were worshiping right away.  Good.  And it is comforting to notice that even when they were standing face to face with the “just raised from the dead” Jesus Christ - some of them doubted.  Let’s assume that whatever else we are to do, it is to start with worship.)  … continuing …

“Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

So, as we are worshiping (doubts and all) we are to take Jesus at His word that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him.  Cool.  Then we are to go make disciples from every group of people on earth, making them citizens of heaven. How are we supposed to make disciples?  What is the means? Well, this is where it starts to get interesting.

How to Make Disciples
We are to make disciples by baptizing them and teaching them - Word and sacrament.  This is the work of the church.  And, here’s what’s really interesting about that -  We start as worshipers, we go and make more disciples (followers), we baptize them and teach them, so that there will be more worshipers!  More worshipers to GO and get more worshipers!  And not just worshipers for the here and now, but more worshipers across all time and space, world without end, until the end of forever, AMEN!

This is really clever.  A perpetual worship machine.

It’s Not My Job!
But, some people might say Jesus wasn’t talking to us, He was talking to them.  The disciples that were in front of Him 2,000 years ago.  THEY were the ones who were sent, not us.  Well, let’s look at that.

Jesus said that He would be with them until the end of the ___(what?)___.  If we fill that blank in with “day,” then fine, Jesus was only talking to them and we can ignore Him.  But, Jesus said until the end of the age.  We might not be the actual END of the age, but we are certainly in there somewhere.  Jesus was talking to us, and He will be with us, we might want to pay attention.

I Like My Church Better!
But, what about all those other things?  Aren’t they also the mission of the church?   To preserve a style of worship, to maintain a faithful and Biblical people of God, to feed the poor and help the needy, to transform culture and society?  Well, I think that depends on how you look at it.

As I have said, it all starts with worship.  The Bible says that the disciples were worshiping the risen Jesus.  But, how were they worshiping?  Were they singing Chris Tomlin songs or hymns?  Were they reading from the Book of Common Prayer or spontaneously praying in the Spirit?

What is Worship?
The Greek word translated “worship” is proskyneō, which means to bow, or prostrate oneself.  They were bowing before Jesus in an act of worship, showing that He was their LORD and GOD by their actions.  This is what we should be doing when we worship, too.  Whether we are singing rock songs or classic hymns, praying hundred year old prayers or making something up on the spot, we better be doing it in an act of reverence.  We better be worshiping Jesus as our LORD and GOD, and not worshiping ourselves (our musical tastes or preferences in liturgy).  It all starts and ends with worship, because worship is everything we do in response to who Jesus is - showing by our actions that He is our LORD and our GOD.

High and Dry
So, should we worship with 500 year old liturgies?  Should the preservation of a particular historical setting of worship be a priority?  Maybe, but not if it takes your focus off of the actual work of the church.  (Worship, make disciples, baptize, teach, worship.)  If you are part of a confessional movement, an Anglican communion, or any other “high liturgical” church, please remember this.  The liturgies are beautiful and deep, but if we don’t welcome the guest to understand and appreciate what we are saying and doing, if we are not careful to contextualize what we are saying and doing for the people that are actually in front of us, then we are as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals.

Loud and Proud
Should we worship with passion and reckless abandon?  Hands raised, eyes blurred with tears, tongues wagging, praise songs rocking the walls?  Maybe, but not if it takes our focus off what the LORD we are worshiping has told us to do.  It’s great that we are thankful for what He has done in our lives, and it’s wonderful when we connect deeply through the Holy Spirit to our Holy God.  But, if our ecstatic praising looks like madness to the guest and drives them away from Jesus Christ shaking their heads, then we are missing the point.  (Worship, make disciples, baptize, teach, worship.)

Soup For The Soul
Should our churches be involved in feeding the poor, helping the needy, the down and out, reaching out with mercy and compassion?  Should the church be involved in social justice and humanitarian relief? Yes.  But, first we should help those who are counted among us.  Seriously.  It sounds wrong, but it isn’t. In Acts the deacons were established to help the orphans and widows that were in the church.  II Corinthians is largely about taking up an offering for famine relief - to help the churches who were starving.  Churches.  It’s just like your family, you take care of them first.  Once you make sure that your family is taken care of, then it is very proper to help others.  And remember who Jesus said our neighbor is, our neighbor is anyone that God puts in front of us.  We must help those who are within our reach.  This can be a powerful way to love people, and serve God.  But, it must never get in the way of our primary purpose.  We worship the LORD (bowing before Him, declaring that He is our God), then we do what He has told us to do.  We go into the nations and make disciples.  It is perfectly fine to offer them some fish and bread from time to time along the way.

The Other Kingdom
Should the church be involved in transforming culture and society?  Absolutely.  That is exactly what God is doing through the church.  All authority in heaven and on earth was given to our LORD.  Jesus HAS all the authority in heaven and on earth.  It is all His.  We bow before Him (worship) in response to the authority that He has been given.  We declare that He is the authority in every area of our lives, too.  There are no little nooks or crannys where He is not Lord.  We are completely His.  So, as we walk out of our churches each week, we continue our worship by living out the truth that we have been taught.  Our worship overflows into our communities like the water pouring from Ezekiel’s altar, flooding the desert, and turning it into a living garden.  Transforming culture and society? Indeed.

Sometimes people in my circles talk about “two kingdoms,” which is all well and good as long as we remember that there is only One King.  His name is Jesus.

The Mission
So, no matter where our churches are, we all have the same job.  We all have the same mission.  We are to bow all the way down, and worship the LORD with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Then, we are to listen to what He has told us to do.  Look around, find some people to teach and baptize, and continue our worship knowing that Jesus is with us, even to the end of the age.

AMEN

Discussion
- How do you see your current church community living out the mission?
- Is your church more high and dry, loud and proud, soup for the soul, or culturally relevant?

How to implement Liturgical change - Essential Elements (Part 2)

Published September 9th, 2009 in All of Frank's Articles, Ancient, Modern, Truth | 2 Comments »

Modern LiturgyChange is Good
In the previous article I discussed 15 elements that I believe should be part of any Christian Worship service.  As I have looked at our worship services in light of these liturgical elements, I have worked with some other members of the CrossPoint staff to come up with a monthly plan to incorporate them into what we are already doing.  I will outline the basic plan in this article.

A Little About Us
CrossPoint is a very “missional” LCMS church that has two locations in Katy, Texas (so far), Westgreen is the campus where I serve along with my good friend and partner in ministry Pastor Matt Popovits.  The other location is Seven Lakes where Nathan Huse (myspace.com/nathanhuse) leads worship and serves along side Pastor Dan Hauser (crosspt.org/sevenlakes).  The four of us got together and came up with the list of 15 essential liturgical elements.  Then Nathan and I discussed how we would set them in motion per month.  This is the result of that work.

Not everything is New
Many of the elements have been part of our weekly or monthly services for many years.  For example, we have always had a sermon, praise songs, etc.  Other elements have been included, but not as consistently (which is why we are talking about this.)  We want to be intentional about the components that we include or do not include.  For example, in the past we may or may not have said the Lord’s Prayer in a given month, and in the future we want to include it at least once a month in our services.

The CrossPoint (Great Co)Mission
Another thing to keep in mind is that CrossPoint’s Sunday morning service is an outreach event first and a worship service second.  Both of these ideas are imperatives. Our worship service is always both, but it is important that anything we do on a Sunday morning works through the first imperative to reach the second (not the other way around).  This is actually pretty easy to understand.  If we explain the things we are doing for the guest then the people who have been attending for years will also understand.  If we expect people to understand without explanation, then only the people who have been around for while will get it.  We don’t want that.

As we include these  ancient liturgical elements into our modern worship services we must be intentional, creative, culturally incarnational, and prayerfully diligent to keep our eye on the mission.  Every element must work to reach the unchurched as well as deepen the faith of the people who are already part of the mission.  Our “liturgy” must be attractional, inviting, user-friendly, and authentic, as well as God honoring, theologically articulate, Biblical and deeply Christian.  Horizontal as well as vertical.  Both immanent and transcendent.

With all of this in mind, we submit the following plan:

Every Sunday
• Introit (Entrance) - Opening song
• Invocation - We begin in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  One God.
• Praise songs, Hymns, Spiritual songs
• Salutation (Meet and Greet)
• Hymn or Song of the Day (Feature Song)
• Sermon
• Offering/Offertory
• Confession/Absolution (In response to God’s Word)
• Prayers of the People
• Benediction/Blessing

1st Sunday
• Apostles Creed
• Baptism
• Welcome new members
• Epistle Reading (pertaining to Baptism)

2nd Sunday
• Old Testament Reading
• The Lord’s Prayer (Sung or spoken)

3rd Sunday
• Confession/Absolution - in preparation for Lord’s Supper.
• Epistle Reading (Words of institution)
• Lord’s Supper

4th Sunday
• Gospel Reading
• Apostle’s Creed (unless 5th Sunday)

5th Sunday
• Epistle Reading
• Nicene Creed

Tension
Is it possible to worship GOD in a way that is both reaching out to the people who need to hear the message of hope while at the same time deepening the faith and stimulating the growth of the people who already believe?  Yes, but the two ideas will always be in tension.  We have to intentionally include the components that will both reach outside to people who do not yet believe, and also inspire and nurture the people that GOD has already called to serve Him as part of our mission. Tension is good, with just the right amount of tension we will make something beautiful.  Think of a guitar string.

Now go and tune your liturgy!

 Discussion
- What elements do you think should be added to your worship service?
- What elements are not needed?

How to Build a Worship Service

Published August 13th, 2009 in All of Frank's Articles, Ancient, Modern, Truth | 2 Comments »

Modern LiturgyLiturgy
The work of the people, the order of worship. The list of things that happen on a Sunday morning. Every church has a liturgy, some simply call it something else. Have you ever thought about what should be included in this list? What should not be included in this list? What does the Bible say about Christian worship? What elements have been included in that “list” since God’s people got together to worship Him in the time of Moses? David? Solomon? Nehemiah? Jesus? Peter? Paul? Augustine? Luther? Calvin? King James the First? John Wesley? Pretty much any Christian worship service until around 1900 when the revival meeting paradigm of preachers like Billy Sunday started to become adopted on Sunday morning, stripping the elements down to music, prayer and preaching. Up until then, there was more to it.

Are we starving our people? Are we careful to articulate the historical, Biblical faith? Are we providing every opportunity for the Holy Spirit to work through our services to build up the believers and reach out to the lost?

Something to Think About
In looking at the liturgies going all the way back through history, it seems to me that there are 15 essential components. 15 elements that have not only been included historically, but should be included for the ongoing health and foundation of any body of believers. I’m going to list them with a brief explanation, I’ll be interested in your comments.

15 Essential Elements:

1. Introit (entrance) - Opening song. Music helps draw us into an attitude of prayer and praise. (Psalm 100:4, Colossians 3:16)

2. Invocation - A call for God to be present with us, specifically the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Matt 28:19, 18:20, Eph 2:18) Side note: how long can a person attend your church before they know for sure that you believe in the Trinity?

3. Confession/Absolution - We acknowledge that in spite of our sins we are loved and accepted by God, in turn we love and accept each other. (John 1:8-10, Rom 7::14-8:4) We are reminded that if we confess our sins that God is faithful to forgive us and make us clean. (John 20:23) These are words of comfort and hope.

4. Praise songs, hymns, spiritual songs - We sing together as God’s people, thanking Him and giving Him honor. What we sing, we know and believe. Side note: What are we teaching our people through the songs we teach them?

5. Salutation - We greet one another.

6. Reading of Scripture - We are to devote ourselves to the public reading of the Bible, all of the Bible. Law, Prophets, Psalms, History, Gospels, Epistles, OT and NT. (1 Tim 4:13)

7. Hymn or Song of the Day - A song that is specifically tied into the day’s teaching and readings.

8. Sermon - The teaching and application of the scriptures. What God demands of us (Law) and what God does for us through Christ (Gospel).

9. The Creed - The people proclaim their confession of faith and belief with the words of the Nicene or Apostles Creed. (1 Cor 15:1, 1 Pet 3:18, 1 Tim 3:16)

10. Prayers of the People - A time for prayer requests, intercession, and thanksgiving for the congregation, community and nation as well as the whole church. (1 Tim 2:1-2)

11. Offering/Offertory - Gifts, tithes and offerings are a response to God’s blessings. (1 Cor 16:2, Ps 116:12, Ps 51)

12. The Lord’s Prayer - We say the prayer that our Lord taught us to pray. (Matt 6:9, Luke 11:2)

13. The Lord’s Supper - We received the grace and blessing of our Lord through the meal that He instituted on the night of His betrayal. It is a time of thanksgiving, remembrance and examination. (1 Cor 11:23-26, Matt 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20, John 1:29)

14. Benediction - The Aaronic blessing, given to Moses to be said to the people as they left worship, through Christ we have been blessed and now we are to be a blessing to the world as we go. (Numbers 6:23-27)

15. Baptism - Any reading of the Great Commission shows us that this is a vital work of the church.

AMEN

With God’s help and blessing we intend to make sure that these elements are included at CrossPoint on a weekly (or monthly) basis. We are asking Him to help us incorporate these important components in ways that are creative, missional, attractional, incarnational, and a natural out-flowing of the mission He has entrusted us with.What are your thoughts? Am I missing anything?

Discussion
- What elements do you think you should add to your church service?
- What elements are not needed?

In your own tongue

Published May 31st, 2009 in All of Doug's Articles, Ancient, Modern | 2 Comments »

supreme-court.jpgToday is Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the church.  Although the church was born in Jerusalem and was in the earliest days pretty much a Jewish sect God’s actions at Pentecost show clearly where He was leading his church. 

5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

There are times when you read the bible when you read a question like that and you just want to slap the guy.  Dude, how stupid are you if you cant get the point of God talking to everyone in their own language.  The point is - the door is open to everyone. 

So it was on Pentecost Sunday I find myself in church sitting next to a Nigerian family and worshipping alongside Indians, Tamils, Indonesians, Americans, other Africans, Dutch, several English, and another Scot.   We sang songs that we all knew, read from familiar scriptures, and said the Lord’s prayer.  When we greeted each other there were the immediate differences (Nigerians dress well to go to church, often in bright traditional robes, a colorful spectacle) but there was also the peace that comes from shaking the hand of a man you have never met yet somehow you know.  That is what it means to be a Christian, it means knowing the essence of another human being and knowing that human essence is grounded in being a created child of God our Father. 

This week President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor as his choice for the supreme court of the United States.  Much of the talk centered around a quote made by Judge Sotomayor some time ago about the richness of the experience of a Latino woman when compared with others.  There is no doubt a story to tell in that woman’s journey.  Justice Thomas has a similar story and it is eloquently told in his biography “My Grandfather’s Son”.  These are two great American stories but to emphasise them goes against the notion that God teaches us at Pentecost and I think ultimately makes for a poor supreme court justice. 

Pentecost was a time when God got to the heart of the matter and overcame our individual stories and dealt with us in essence.  God said, I don’t care if you are Cretan or and Arab, I am going to deal with you just the same way.  I will demand of you the same and the rewards of heaven will be open to all too. 

I can’t help thinking that bringing our differences to the centre and making them the definition of our humanity makes for bad law and poor judges.  Better instead to behave like God at Pentecost and demand the same from all and let all have access to the riches of grace. 

Ancient Stones

Published March 29th, 2009 in All of Doug's Articles, Ancient, Truth | 2 Comments »

callanish.jpgFrank wrote in his last post that “worship changes everything”.  He is right of course.  Worship is that centre of our Christian existence which defines our relationship with the world and with God its creator.  It changes everything and is everything. 

At the door of my small study in Houston I have a picture of the ancient standing stones at Callanish ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callanish_stone_circle ) on the island of Lewis.  These stones have been standing for as long as 5000 years - a pretty impressive number by any standards.  However, what makes this picture so arresting for those of us who have lived in Houston Texas, is the picture that is mounted alongside this ancient place of worship.  Placed alongside is the Houston downtown skyline shot from a position that presents the outline of these buildings of modern commerce in disturbingly similar outline to the ancient stones.  Placed together the images ask questions of those who don’t just walk quickly past to get to the PC or to grab a book.  Questions like, “is this all about worship?”  The Houston skyline, after all, boasts a building whose apex is modeled on a Mayan temple.   

There are sometimes when a piece of art shows you something that without the prompting would have been invisible.  Those two pictures side by side tell the story that we as human beings have the need for worship - we just worship different things today (at least in downtown Houston).  Just like those men and women on a remote Scottish island thousands of years ago we reach for something greater than ourselves to believe in.  And today it is the power of commerce and industry.  The architects who brought these building to life tell us that it will not be the church spire that saves us - it will be economic benefit.  I have to say that given the state of the world today perhaps it would be better if we started building tall steeples again and made those our places of worship.

Where I live in the Netherlands the architectural landscape is different. Certainly places like Amsterdam and Rotterdam have their city scapes which mirror parts of New York or Houston.  Outside these cities though the flat landscape is punctuated by windmills and church spires.  It is a peaceful sign of continuity in a country that can look at times like a Vermeer painting.  And, yet, the churches are empty, showing that the faith that shaped the country has moved on. 

The bible has a lot to say about worship.  yet perhaps not in the sense you might expect.  As Frank pointed out a lot of the metaphors speak of worship being a natural outpouring of life and living.  Part, in fact, of the reality of life as much as making a living, or a marriage, or a family.  When I thought through taking a new job recently it was my wife that pointed me towards Psalm 128 as a guide to those who try to balance worship, life, job, and family.

Blessed are all who fear the LORD,
       who walk in his ways.
 2 You will eat the fruit of your labor;
       blessings and prosperity will be yours.
 3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
       within your house;
       your sons will be like olive shoots
       around your table.
 4 Thus is the man blessed
       who fears the LORD.
 5 May the LORD bless you from Zion
       all the days of your life;
       may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem,
 6 and may you live to see your children’s children.
       Peace be upon Israel.

Worship is also about getting things in the right perspective.  As far as the psalmist is concerned when we fear the Lord and walk in his ways (the life of worship) we see our relationship to work and family take their proper place and have too their proper reward. 

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