Luke 17:20-37 | Not Yet... So What Now?

May Jesus Christ, the King of the World,
make His reign known through your life.

May His Kingdom’s present reality
be a constant reminder for you
to reflect His love and grace into this world
and invite others to know our King.

May His Kingdom’s future fulfillment
move you to focus your heart
away from the things of this present, fleeting age,
so that you may cling to that which is good and right and eternal
as you offer your life continually to the One who holds eternity.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.

Joshua 4 | Stones Don't Stack Themselves

May you remember and memorialize the things that God has done in your life.

May the Lord call to mind even in this moment
His provisions in your life---
whether they be momentary or eternal,
may they lead to deeper love and faith in Him.

May the Holy Spirit challenge you to find a way
to memorialize His acts of love and grace and power in your life
so that you will be reminded constantly of not only what He has done
but who God has proven Himself to be.

As the Israelites stacked stones to mark God’s faithfulness,
may you create ways to not only remind yourself of God’s works
but to also pass on the stories to those who need to hear
about the truth of God they reveal.

Take time to reflect on this year and all of its ups and downs;
may God meet you in that time and
help you to grow closer to Him through it.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.

Isaiah 61:1-3 + Luke 1:46-55 | God's Redemption in Christmas

May the message of redemption that we find in Jesus
be more than hopeful words to you this Christmas.

May you remember the mode of delivery
by which He brought this message,
coming not in power and fearsome majesty
but walking among His people as a peer.

Let this picture of Jesus as a Redeemer of men among men
be greater than words of nostalgia and warmth.

May you know the reality of redemption offered through Christ
as its eternal significance overshadows
the things of this life that are temporal and fleeting.

May you be shaped by the heart of Jesus our helper,
may you rejoice in the hope He brings,
and may you know the everlasting gladness
found in knowing the Healer of our souls.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.

Isaiah 9:6-7 + Philippians 2:6-7 | God's Mercy in Christmas

May God’s mercy on display in the arrival of our King Jesus
be a comfort to you this Christmas season.

With fresh eyes may you see the bewildering sight
of the King of kings arriving in a manger.

May His choice of humility highlight His majesty in your eyes,
may His choice of meekness reveal to you His strength,
and may His choice of mercy in coming near to save us
heighten your love for Him.

May the mercy of our God seen in the Christmas story be a signpost to you,
beckoning you ever deeper into trusting Christ your King.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.

Luke 2:8-20 | God's Glory in Christmas

May you find joy in the glory of Christ this Advent season.

May the unique simplicity of this year’s Christmas celebrations
be an opportunity for you to revisit once again
the simplicity of God’s glory that we see
in the story of Jesus’ birth.

May the absence of grandiosity in the gatherings
this season typically brings
allow you to ponder the absence
of pageantry in the arrival of the One
to whom this season’s glory belongs.

May the wonder of God’s glorious declaration
to such an inglorious audience as the shepherds
fill you with gratitude as you remember
that although we certainly don’t deserve it,
the good news of Christ’s arrival is for you as well.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 | In Everything Give Thanks

May your mind be drawn continually to the character of our God.

May you rejoice always
by remembering that the God who goes with you
is the same God who formed the world,
who made the sun rise this morning,
and who sent His Son to give you new life.

May you pray without ceasing,
remembering that Jesus not only
thanked His Father for daily bread,
but He also spent His darkest night
praying and looking to Him alone.

May you give thanks in all circumstances
by remembering the things that we know by faith are unchanging---
namely, that the love of God endures forever
and nothing can separate you
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.

Matthew 28:19-20 | God's Heart for the Discipleship of His People

May God’s heart for His people be on display among us.

As you go forward from this service time,
may your worship continue in many ways,
and particularly today in discipleship.

May you surrender yourself to Christ’s authority,
treasuring in your heart the status of disciple
while also acting out your faith
so that your life may be a beacon of hope
especially in days when hope feels far off for so many.

In following Christ with everything,
may you trust Him with it all,
including that whether your path is clear or not,
He will surely be with you even to the end.

As Christ builds into your life
through but not limited by others,
may you also build into the lives of sisters and brothers,
so that God’s heart is made clearer
as His church builds itself up in love.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.

John 20:21 | God's Heart for the Mission of His People

May the peace of Christ rest upon you so that God’s heart would be on display in your life.

May your heart be stirred by the image of Christ
who was obedient to the Father who sent Him
in every word and thought and deed.

May the Holy Spirit empower you
to embrace Christ’s example for your own life,
showing that you have been sent as He was sent
and you intend to live and love and speak truth as He did.

May we together as the church
accept the mission that we have inherited,
making Christ known through our lives
as we grow up into the image of our Savior.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.



Ephesians 4:11-16 | God's Heart for the Service of His People

May the Lord our God who unites us together in Himself
make clear to you the gifts you have received
so that you may contribute to the building up of His church.

That this church would be one
where brothers and sisters serve in gladness---
may it be so.

That this church would be one
where love is the source from which we build
as we lift each other up continually
to grow in faith and maturity in Christ---
may it be so.

That this church would be one
where the diversity in giftings among the people
would ultimately lead us to glorify God
and celebrate the creativity of our Maker---
may it be so.

That this church would be one of many communities
united around Jesus Christ,
pointing the world around us ever closer to His heart---
may it be so.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.

Ephesians 2:11-22 | God's Heart for the Unity of His People

May the God of all hope and love be seen in our midst this week.

In days when words of fear abound,
may you find unity with your brothers and sisters
around the hope that we share in Christ,
for our Savior is risen and His Spirit lives in us today.

In days when words of hate abound,
may you find unity with your brothers and sisters
around the love that we share in Christ,
letting the love you’ve received from the Father
overflow to those around you.

May the Holy Spirit create in each of us
an eagerness to maintain unity
and bless us with the wisdom to know
when and how to speak and act
so that we might translate the heart of our King
into this world and thus see His Kingdom take shape around us.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace.