Summary: The Benediction was my favorite part of the Sunday morning worship service. As a young child, I thought I knew what Benediction meant. The cartoons I watched signed off with "That's all folks!" and I knew the cartoon was over. Benediction was the church's way of saying, "That's all folks!" Soon I could get up and move around. No longer did I have to be quiet and worry about the stern look from my Mother if I was not so attentive. Lunch was not far away. I loved the Benediction and everything that it represented! Much later in life, I learned what "benediction" really means. It simply means "a good word." As worship concludes, a "good word" is spoken to the congregation. Often, we bow our heads as if it is a prayer, but the "good word" is usually a word spoken more to the worshipper than to God. It sends us out from the worship where we have gathered in God's name to be scattered into the world to live on mission from God. The Bible is filled with benedictions. The ancient Hebrews used them; the Apostle Paul often closed his letters with one. Today, ministers sometimes use these biblical benedictions to send the congregation into the world. From the time I was five until I was sixteen, John Claypool was my pastor in the Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He had written his own benediction. Every week he spoke the same words at the conclusion of worship. Soon the congregation began to learn these familiar refrains and would even whisper them along with the preacher. As I grew older, the benediction took on new meaning for me. No longer was it just the end of worship. Instead, it became the chance for me to speak along with my pastor. The words that had become so familiar to me took on the profound effect of ritual. Each phrase of John's benediction began to be planted like seeds in my mind and heart. Most of John's sermons I do not remember. I will never forget his benediction. I have used it throughout my ministry. Have you heard these words before?[i]
