Benedictions, invocations to depart
with God’s blessings, are a feature of
the church - every liturgical structure
ends with them. They were a feature of
the synagogue in Christ’s time – indeed
Christ himself uses them when he
dismisses his disciples on a new task.
The word benediction derives from two
Latin words that mean “to speak well
of”.
Benedictions are pronounced by
ministers at the close of worship
services as an expression of hope and
encouragement to God’s people to face
whatever their future might hold. This
makes them a Biblical norm for the end
of worship – something we should
consider doing each time we leave God’s
presence and go out into the world. If
you are involved with leading worship
in the church or in the home your next
question will be ‘Where do I go to find
them?’ Fortunately Robert Vasholz has
done the legwork for you. He has
collected in this one book the
benedictions found in scripture along
with some additional scripture enriched
blessings for use during worship.
Use them to help Christians have a
greater effect on the world.