When do we pass the peace?

The passing of the peace can happen at various points in the service: following God's Greeting, the Assurance of Pardon, or in the sequence of the Lord's Supper or Communion.

Following God's greeting

Following God's greeting, worshipers can turn to each other to pass the peace of Christ as a greeting to each other. They can use phrases such as:

• God has greeted us with his peace. Let us now pass the peace of Christ to each other.
• As God has greeted us, so let us greet each other.

Following the assurance of pardon

After hearing the assurance of our forgiveness (after the prayer of confession), worshipers may be invited to pass the peace as a gesture of reconciliation and peace with each other. Christ's forgiveness of our sins offers us the possibility of genuine fellowship and reconciliation within the body of Christ.

Phrases that can be used:

• As God has forgiven us, let us now forgive one another.
• In gratitude for the gift of forgiveness, let us share God's peace with each other.
• Based on John 13:34: "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another."
• The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Congregation responds: And also with you.

Following the Lord's Supper or communion

In the Lord's Supper or communion liturgy, the passing of the peace calls attention to the communal focus of the meal.

Phrases that can be used:

• Thanks be to God: Christ has made us one.
• Based on John 14:27: Jesus Christ said to his disciples: "Peace I leave with you."
• Based on John 20:19–21: Jesus appeared in the locked room and stood among his disciples. He said "Peace be with you."

What is God's greeting?

God's greeting is part of the opening sequence in a worship service. The pieces of this opening sequence can include:

• Opening Prayer
• Words of Welcome
• Call to Worship
• God's Greeting

God's greeting, because it is God's words, frequently comes directly from the Bible. The pastor speaks the words of God over the congregation and the congregation receives them in the greeting. Some pastors raise their hands during the greeting and some congregational members bow their heads and/or open their hands as a gesture of receiving the word of greeting from God.

Where can I find God's greeting in the Bible?

• Isaiah 40:10–11, God will feed his flock like a shepherd
• Isaiah 41:9–10, God says, "Do not fear, for I am with you"
• Isaiah 42:6–8, "I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness"
• Isaiah 43:1–3, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you"
• Isaiah 49:15–16, God will not forget us
• Isaiah 54:7–8, God says, "With everlasting love I will have compassion on you"
• Zephaniah 3:17, the Lord , your God, is in your midst
• 2 Corinthians 13:13, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
• Galatians 1:3–5, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"
• Philippians 1:2, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"
• 2 Timothy 1:2, "Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord"
• 2 Peter 1:2, "May grace and peace be yours in abundance"
• 2 John 3, grace, mercy, and peace will be with us
• Jude 1:1b –2, "May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance"
• Revelation 1:4b –5, "Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come"

How do worship services end?

Worship does not end when we leave a worship service. A clear call to discipleship or sending reminds us that our worship continues through obedient and grateful living. Like the offering, this call reminds us that our worship must bear fruit in our witness. Having come together to meet God as the children of God, we go out with the mandate to promote God's rule in the world. This challenge can be given any of several names, such as exhortation, call to commitment, charge to the people, call to service, and commissioning.

The close of worship should convey two important convictions:

1. We live in faithful service not so that God will love us, but because God has loved us first. 
2. We live by the power of the Spirit and thus do not need to rely on our own strength. Because of these convictions, a call to service should always be followed by a blessing. The Bible gives us not only the call to obedience but also the promise of God's presence to sustain us.

The close of worship can include a blessing. This blessing is fitting with the sending as God's blessing equips the saints of the church to go faithfully into the world and life. Blessings are offered among the priesthood of believers. While traditionally (and in some traditions exclusively) offered at the end of service by clergy, blessing is offered among God's people to each other.

Other possible elements of this concluding part of the worship service could include prayers and songs.

See:

• Sending
• Benediction or Blessing
• Closing Prayer

Ideas from the Bible for the close of worship

• Psalm 41:13, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel
• Psalm 72:18–19, the Lord does wondrous things
• Psalm 106:48, Blessed be the Lord from everlasting to everlasting
• Micah 6:8, "What does the Lord require of you?"
• Matthew 22:36–40, the greatest commandment
• Matthew 28:19–20, the Great Commission
• Romans 11:33–36, the depth of God's riches and wisdom and knowledge
• 1 Corinthians 16:13–14, be courageous
• Ephesians 1:18–21, may you know the hope to which you've been called
• Ephesians 3:20–21, God can accomplish more than we can ask or imagine
• Ephesians 4:1–6, lead a life worthy of the calling
• Colossians 3:12–17, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts
• 1 Thessalonians 5:13–22, rejoice always, pray continually
• 1 Timothy 1:15–17, the Lord's grace to Paul
• Hebrews 13:1–3, show hospitality to strangers
• 1 Peter 2:17, love the family of believers
• 1 John 3:23, love one another as Christ commanded us
• Revelation 1:5–6, we are made to be a kingdom and priests to serve God
• Revelation 7:12, praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor be to Go

Close of worship ideas for Advent

Call to service or discipleship

• Psalm 72, God delivers the needy when they call
• Matthew 25:1–13, keep ready for the bridegroom
• Mark 13:33–37, keep awake for the master's arrival
• Romans 13:11–14, salvation is nearer to us now
• 2 Peter 3:13–15, in accordance with God's promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth

Blessing or benediction

• Romans 15:12–13, the root of Jesse shall come
• 1 Thessalonians 3:12–13, may the Lord make you increase and abound in love
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely

Close of worship ideas for Christmas

• Titus 2:11–13, the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all

Close of worship ideas for Ash Wednesday

• 1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely
• Psalm 90:13–17, may the Lord of all compassion satisfy you with his steadfast love
• Psalm 91:14–16, "Those who love me, I will deliver"

Close of worship ideas for Lent

• Matthew 4:4, 6, 22, live by the word of God
• Galatians 1:2–5, Christ gave himself for our sins
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23, may the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely

Close of worship ideas for Palm Sunday

Call to service or discipleship

• Luke 9:23, "Let them take up their cross daily and follow me"
• Philippians 2:3–8, have Jesus' mindset of humility

Blessing or benediction

• Philippians 4:7, the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds
• Galatians 4:4–6, we might receive adoption

Close of worship ideas for Maundy Thursday

Call to service or discipleship

• 1 John 4:7–11, let us love one another as God loved us

Blessing or benediction

• 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17, may God comfort your hearts and strengthen them
• Philippians 4:7, the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds

Close of worship ideas for Good Friday

Call to service or discipleship

• Philippians 2:3–8, have Jesus' mindset of humility
• Hebrews 12:1–3, let us run with perseverance the race set before us
• 1 John 3:16, we ought to lay down our lives for one another

Close of worship ideas for Easter

Call to service or discipleship

• Ephesians 3:20–21, God can accomplish far more than we can ask or imagine
• 1 Timothy 1:17, God is immortal and invisible

Blessing or benediction

• Hebrews 13:20–21, God raised to life the great shepherd of the sheep
• Revelation 1:4-6, grace and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come

Close of worship ideas for Ascension

Call to service or discipleship

• Matthew 28:19–20, go and make disciples
• Acts 1:11, Jesus will come the same way you saw him go

Blessing or benediction

• Revelation 1:4–6, grace and peace to you from him who is and was and is to come

Close of worship ideas for Pentecost

• Romans 15:13, may the God of hope fill you with joy and peace
• Galatians 5:22–23, 25, the fruit of the Spirit

Where are blessings in the Bible?

• Numbers 6:24–26, "The Lord bless you and keep you . . ."
• Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace"
• 2 Corinthians 13:11–14, "The grace of the Lord Jesus . . . be with all of you"
• Philippians 4:7, the peace of God, which transcends all understanding
• 1 Thessalonians 5:23, "May the God of peace sanctify you"
• 2 Thessalonians 2:16–17, may God comfort and strengthen our hearts
• 2 Thessalonians 3:18, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you"
• Hebrews 13:20–21, "may the God of peace . . . make you complete in everything good"

How do I write a blessing or benediction?

The blessing or benediction is a greeting from God at the beginning of a service and God's blessing at the end of the service frame the entire worship liturgy. Just as we begin with God's gracious invitation, so we end with God's promise to always be with us. In the benediction the dialogue of worship shifts from the people's response to God's parting words. The words of benediction (a Latin word meaning "to speak well" or "to speak a good word") are intended to bring a blessing.

The scripture passages listed above can be quoted to speak God's blessing over the congregation as they depart. Many of these scripture passages come from the letters in the Bible and are concluding remarks to letters. These blessings send the congregation on their way at the end of a service with a word making clear God's grace and blessing on their lives. 

Worshipers may choose to respond to the blessing by holding out their hands as a gesture of acceptance of God's blessing. They may also choose to respond vocally at the end, voicing "amen" aloud.

The blessing or benediction is part of the close of worship sequence which can also include a sending, a closing prayer, and song.

What does blessing mean and where did they come from? 

Blessing is the effectual goodness of God in verbal form. It is the authoritative speaking forth of God's shalom over another (as a pronouncement) or the experience of that shalom (as a condition). Blessing is typically a translation of the Hebrew beraka or Greek eulogia, literally meaning "to speak well." Related are the Hebrew asre and Greek makarios, describing the positive circumstances or happy disposition of one so favored. As all true blessings have their source in God, blessing is both the gracious channel of divine favor and the wellspring of human gratitude. For followers of Jesus, blessing marks both our person (ontology) and our purpose (teleology): we are blessed to be a blessing.

Blessings were an integral part of the Israelite liturgy, including the Aaronic blessing (Numbers 6:22–27) and the frequent pairing with curses to sanction covenantal stipulations (Deuteronomy 11:29; Joshua 8:34). They were also employed before meals (1 Samuel 9:13; Matthew 14:19) and especially before the sacramental meal (Matthew 26:26). Most New Testament letters close with a word of blessing.

More than anemically wishing another well, blessing has an objective weight, a physical reality. Note the visceral reaction of both Isaac and Esau to their awareness that Jacob had "stolen" the blessing in Genesis 27, or the effectual nature of Balaam's reluctant blessing in Numbers 22–24. Once conferred, blessing can no more be retracted than the wind; it carries a divinely infused life of its own.