08/14/2025
What’s In A Benediction?
Last Sunday I used one of my favorite benedictions.
It was inspired by a saying from about ten years ago:
Dance like there's nobody watching,
Love like you'll never be hurt,
Sing like nobody's listening,
And live like it's heaven on earth.”
It was popular in part because it fit so well with the Christian virtues of Joy, Love and so on. I latched onto it immediately, but of course fiddled with it over the years. The benediction I used this last Sunday is my current and favorite version:
May you Believe like you’ve never known doubt,
Forgive like you’ve never been hurt,
Give like you’ll always have enough,
And Live as if God is right there with you,
which of course He is and always will be. Amen!
A benediction is sometimes called a dismissal with blessing.
And what I like about these blessings is that they are very much at the core of who we are as followers of Jesus. The only one missing from the list is love (which was mentioned plenty in the sermon). There’s faith, forgiveness, generosity, and the promise of God’s continued presence.
When I think about what is unique and essential about the teaching and ministry of Jesus I usually say that he:
Accepted the unacceptable
Forgave the unforgivable
Loved the unlovable
So that we might believe the impossible—
(That we may do all the above ourselves, through his grace.)
There are so many moments in worship that we don’t usually pay close attention to, but are important nevertheless. Calls to worship, pastoral prayers, affirmations as simple as “the word of God for the people of God,” the poetry of the hymns and praise songs we sing, and everything that goes along with the sacraments.
It is worthwhile to stop and reflect on them every once and while.
Maybe even a short, pithy benediction.
Archived Posts
The Cars Are Looking for A King
I don’t have a thing to add to Pastor Jessica’s excellent sermon this last Sunday. The fable/parable she shared has been one of my favorites for all the lessons she pulled from it in her message. I was playing around with my friend Chat GPT and after several abortive attempts, we came up with the following modernized version of Judges 9:7-15.
The Lost Benediction
Depending on the length of the sermon, I try to add a little something extra in my benedictions. This week I wrote up a benediction but then realized we’d be singing and waving our umbrellas to some New Orleans jazz.
Change of Focus This Week
Instead of sharing with you about yesterday’s sermon I’d like to invite you to do some background reading for next Sunday’s “Only Murders in the Bible.” Seeing that it is All Saints Day this Sunday, we are going to look at the very first Christian martyr, Stephen.
You Might Be Thinking It’s All About You If…
In working on Sunday’s sermon I asked my computer’s AI if she/he could come up with a few suggestions in answer to the above: "You Might be thinking it’s all about you, if…."
Prayer Changes Things
Here is a transcript of the prayer I prayed at the end of yesterday’s sermon.
Optimism, Faith, and Hope:
Practical Steps For Increasing All Three
Here are some practical, spiritual, and relational ways to grow faith, hope and optimism:
Listening Heart
It’s kind of crazy when you think about it. Wisdom in the Bible is all about listening. Of course it makes sense that wisdom would start with listening to God, to God’s law and commandments, as well as the promptings and leadings of the Holy Spirit.