Blessing or Benediction worship ideas
Depending on the worship service, blessings can happen at times in addition to the benediction, such as in a prayer for someone or as part of an ordination. However, the benediction is when a blessing always occurs within a service. The benediction takes place in, with, and around the sending of the congregation. It is a blessing offered among the priesthood of believers in which God's peace or grace is offered to the congregation to wrap them in God's shalom, peace, and wholeness and equip them to go faithfully into the world. Benedictions can take many forms, but often the ancient Aaronic blessing of the priesthood or a blessing from a Pauline epistle is used. Traditionally, and in some traditions exclusively, benedictions are offered by clergy at the end of service, but blessings are also offered among God's people to each other.
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.