We are all looking for happiness, so why do the streets of our cities hold so many unhappy people, and why do we sometimes see one of them in the mirror? Psalm 128 offers a repertoire quite unlike the songs on the radio, and it opens with a jarring line: happy is the one who fears the Lord. The sermon explains what that fear actually means and shows a God who orders our ordinary life at the kitchen table and watches over the future of our homes and cities. Listen, and you will find the paradox: those who fear God are no longer afraid of anything else.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Psalm 128 was a song pilgrims sang on their way to Jerusalem for the feasts. How does it change your reading of the psalm that it was sung on the road, and even when Jerusalem lay in ruins?
- The psalmist links happiness with the fear of the Lord and explains it as "walking in his ways". How do you understand the fear of God after this sermon, and how is it different from dread of a harsh, punishing God?
- The psalm describes a happy life not through luxury and adventure, but through work and a family around the kitchen table. Where do you usually look for happiness, and what does this picture say about your expectations?
- The sermon says all of life means stepping into new, unknown territory, like growing up, becoming a parent or retiring. What new season are you in right now, and what does listening to God as your guide look like there?
- In the story of the mother with a sick child, what helped most was a friend who simply kept showing up. How do you experience God's presence in ordinary daily life, and how can you be that kind of presence for someone?
- Those who fear God do not need to fear anything else. Which fear about the future, your health, money or loved ones do you want to hand over to God this week, and how will you do it?
