The closing words can make or break the whole worship service. Like the final sentence in a novel or scene in a movie, the closing prayer in some circles or the blessing in others determines the mood worshipers take from the experience.
Some sendings jolt the congregation. Take the time the assistant minister slipped into the service late and sat in the back. His office was near enough so that just as the pastor called on him for the closing prayer, he heard his phone ring. He automatically prayed: “Hello, Lord. This is Pastor Mike. May I help you?”
On the other hand, when things have fallen short during the service, a prayer may redeem the situation. A preoccupied mother sat with little expression of interest through worship I once led. The closing prayer reflected my rather mediocre sermon on the woman touching the hem of Jesus’ robe: “We thank you for people here who have allowed themselves to be touched by anxious and troubled persons and, like our Lord, have felt power go from themselves for others’ healing.”
The mother later confided, “My son and his wife are separating, and I was so concerned I could hardly pay attention during the service. But your closing prayer touched me. As Christ was for that woman, I want to be for my son and his wife.”
Benediction means “good word” or “to say well” (from the Latin bene dicere); it’s a blessing, as opposed to a malediction, or curse. Thus in the benediction, spoken to the congregation, the pastor blesses his people. Similarly, a closing prayer, addressed to God, accomplishes much the same purpose.
Both represent the last word in worship. Both are intended to bless and uplift the congregation. However, some intended benedictions convey no “good word.”
Bad endings
One common error involves taking a last shot at those who did not respond elsewhere in the service. One fervent evangelist took off his shoes at the close of a service and pounded them on the pulpit to dramatize his disgust over nonresponders. “I shake the dust off my feet!” he declared angrily.
He apparently did not care that his hearers, unlike those to whom Jesus referred (Matt. 10:14), had not refused to hear him, evidenced by their presence at worship. And, in contrast to the admonition of Jesus, the preacher did not leave that place; he returned the following evening, though some of the worshipers didn’t.
A second ineffective closing is the veiled apology. “O Lord, I’ve done my best today, feeble though it was. But let thy Spirit now take even our weak and humble efforts and let them not return unto thee void.”
Unfortunately, the Devil also takes our “weak and humble efforts” (often translated “poor preparation”) and uses them for his work!
In contrast, a third familiar mistake might be called Bless my great sermon! It goes something like this: “O Lor-r-rd, we have once again felt thy mi-i-i-ghty presence. Thy Wor-r-rd has come in grea-a-a-t convicting power this hour as through thy Spirit-led prophets of yesteryear. What can we say but ‘Thy blessed will be done as fer-r-rvently and as fu-u-ully as thy blessed Word was given today!’ “
To which we might reply like the elderly lady trying to compliment her pastor after worship: “I like each sermon you preach better than the next one.”
A fourth false finish resembles a sigh of relief. And here I confess. After a week with little rest due to our crying baby, I dragged through a woebegone sermon and pronounced my benediction with no small sigh of relief that must have sounded like “Thank God, I’m through with another one!” Pacing, tone of voice, mood—all communicate either positive or negative impressions.
Further, add these painfully misfitting roundup benedictions: the announcement forgotten earlier (And bless Brother Jones’s Sunday school class party at seven this Tuesday evening.); the forecast of the next service (God preserve you until we meet again at 7:30 for the twenty-fifth message in the Great Passages series.); and the epistle to the diaspora (Lord, keep all our members who are not here to participate in these renewal services dedicated to the celebration of the church covenant that still serves today as . . .).
Blessing the Bible way
Biblical benedictions remain a popular and appropriate way to close a worship service. Probably most familiar are: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his face toward you and give you peace” (Num. 6:24-26) and “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:14).
Other biblical benedictions include: 1 Kings 8:57-58; Romans 15:5-6, 13, 33; Ephesians 6:23-24; Philippians 4:7-9; 2 Thessalonians 3:16, 18; 1 Peter 5:10-11, 14; and 2 John 3.
Repeating or paraphrasing the sermon text in the benediction provides another way to close biblically: “Since we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, go with the blessings of God to be the workmen of God.”
Wrapping up worship’s theme
The closing remains a “good word” when it reflects and affirms the worship theme. A message on “God was in Christ” might lead into the closing prayer: “And by your grace made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth, help us to be more gracious to those around us—our family, our neighbors, our work and school partners, the stranger we chance to meet.”
We may also want to affirm the worshipers’ presence and plights as we conclude worship. After all: no worshipers, no worship!
I once heard a deacon masterfully speak for the congregation in a closing prayer. He said: “Dear Lord, we’ve just heard a fine message on being a Good Samaritan, and now we’re getting ready to go. We pray you’ll be mindful of our troubles and how some of us need a Good Samaritan to find us. Some of us do have strength enough to try to help others; yet that’s not always easy. Lord, help us at least to know that the one who first told this parable sure knew how to practice what he preached. Since none of us can even leave Jericho without you going with us, we’re counting on you. So go with us. Lord, and lead us; and we’ll try not to lag too far behind. In Christ’s name. Amen.”
How refreshing! The worshipers felt their presence and plight affirmed. One man asked the deacon, “How’d you know what I was thinking?”
Some closings include thanksgiving for those making decisions during the service and a petition for God to support them. While I frequently use a common benediction, when someone comes forward to register a decision, I try to affirm the decision in a closing prayer.
Eli did this when he learned of Hannah’s anguish as she prayed for a son and said to her, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you asked of him.”
Affirmed, Hannah replied, “May your handmaid always find grace in your sight,” and went her way no longer sad (1 Sam. 1:15-18).
Variety spices the end of services. I’ve tried all the following with good results:
— Silent meditation ended by the postlude or a spoken amen.
— Worshipers writing or voicing their own prayers.
— Reading or singing an appropriate hymn (“Lord, Dismiss Us with Thy Blessing,” “An Irish Blessing”).
— Passing the peace (shaking hands or embracing, saying, “The peace of the Lord be with you”).
— Worshipers coming forward (and perhaps kneeling) to share with the minister their prayer concerns or joys.
— Worshipers lighting candles or receiving bread or water to take out as symbols of the Light of the World, the Bread of Life, or the Living Water.
I’ve also used printed prayers and benedictions of others. For instance, this one from John Claypool:
Depart now in the fellowship of God the Father, and as you go, remember:
In the goodness of God you were born into this world;
By the grace of God you have been kept all the day long, even unto this hour;
And by the love of God, fully revealed in the face of Jesus, you are being redeemed. Amen.
The aim is not variety, but effect; not novelty, but impact. A unique ending to a service—thought out, appropriate, keyed to the worship intentions—can lodge in worshipers’ hearts and accompany them throughout the week. The last words we say—our “good words”—bridge the gap between worship and world.
— Lee Morris
Campus Minister, Berea College
Berea, Kentucky
1986 SPRING QUARTER 91
Copyright © 1986 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.
