Benediction: Hope When Feel We Weak & The Grace Through Humanity (based on Matthew 11:28-30)

Even in the times in life when we feel weak, we have valid reasons to keep our hope alive because of God's bottomless goodness and love. May we remember that our fellow travelers on life’s path can be sources of that goodness and love.

May we also strive to be sources of God’s grace and hope to those who are in need of it.

Benediction: God's Inseparable Love (based on Romans 8:38-39)

As we make our way through life, may we be mindful of the fact that nothing can separate us from God's love; not even going through difficult times, not even those times when God can feel somehow distant or absent, not even our own shortcomings and missteps.  

May this truth give us both hope and joy in life.  May it inspire us to share God's boundless love in the world which God created and called "good." 

Benediction: Faithful Stewards of Grace (based on 1st Peter 4:10)

May you go as faithful stewards of God’s grace. May we use what we’ve been given to serve others with courage and love. 

Jesus' Great Commission = A Rebuttal To Nationalist Christianism & Rededicate 250 - by Rev Jim Wallis at Religion News

Jesus' Great Commission is a repudiation of White Nationalist Christianism.

Jesus' Great Commission offers a direct rebuttal to the Nationalist Christianism vision on display by some politicians today and at Rededicate 250.

Its call to make disciples of all nations rejects any privileged status for the USA, or for any racial or ethnic group, and, by its own logic, is a repudiation of White Nationalist Christianism.

Equally important is the distinction between making disciples and making converts. Jesus' Great Commission is an invitation into the life, teachings and values of Jesus — love, justice, compassion, forgiveness and care for others.

The kingdom of God, in other words, is not a political regime or a national identity. It belongs to the whole world.

The full article is available here 

Benediction: Life With Others Is What We're Designed For (based on Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

Trinity by Mark Jennings

Just as the God the Trinity is a relationship which brings out the best in each person involved, so has the human race been designed and hardwired by God.

Having fellow travelers on life's road allows us to be helped when we need it, as well as allowing us to help others as they need it; just as God the Trinity intended.

So in our everyday lives, let's be open to letting others in and let's be attentive to where others could use whatever help we can provide.

Benediction: Divine Connection Which Brings Comfort (based on Philippians 4:6-7)

If we strive to love and care as instructed by God, there will be plenty of things in life which can cause us to worry and/or be anxious. That's the reality of having an open heart, mind, and spirit. 

So may we remember that God is everywhere and within everything around us. Our all-surrounding God yearns for connection with us. May these truths brings us hope which comforts our spirits.  

Benediction: A Hopeful Understanding of God's World (based on Mark 12:30-31)

As followers of Christ, we are called to have a hopeful understanding of our world because God called the created universe "good" and is always working to make all things new again. 

We are called to bring this hope in God with us wherever we go. May it cause us to dedicate ourselves to helping to bring out the best in everyone and everything, here and now.

Benediction: Seeking Peace In Order To Seek God's Kingdom (based on Matthew 6:33-34)

In our lives, with God helping us: may we find stillness when we're distracted, may we find hope when we're anxious, may we find space to breath when we're overwhelmed, and may we find calm when we're rushed and hurried.

When we have found peace, may we seek to bring those gifts from God to our parts of the world, so that the kingdom comes here on earth as it is in heaven.

Benediction: Living Hopefully In God's Bottomless Love and Grace (based on Proverbs 3:5-6)

God's goodness and love are bottomless gifts of grace which we can put our trust in.  May we continually be on the lookout for those divine gifts in our everyday lives. May they cause hope and faith to grow within us so that we can partner with God in the work of bringing out the best in everyone and everything.

Benediction: The Lens Of Love (based on Matthew 5:17-48)

Jesus showed us how to view the world through the lens of love. Following that example can help us to fulfill our calling to be a blessing in this world which God created and called "good."

May God’s Spirit guide and sustain us as we pursue that calling in our everyday lives.

Benediction: Lead With Love and Make Life Better (based on Romans 14:13)

To help to bring out the very best in each other, may we lead with love in all of our relationships; just like Jesus did.

And, like Jesus, may we help make life better for all of those who interact with us by helping to lighten heavy burdens and ease difficult situations.

Benediction: May God's Love Rehumanize Us (based on Matthew 25:35)

May God's Spirit help us to pay attention to its still, small voice. May its guidance help us to weed out any dehumanizing prejudice and fear which have taken root within us and - in their place - cause rehumanizing empathy and hope to bloom in abundance.

May God's Spirit fill us with love and compassion. May we draw upon them to do our part in the work which God has called us to; of bringing out the best in everyone and everything.

Benediction: Everyday Goodness In God's World (based on Zephaniah 3:17)

In our lives, may we continue to seek out the everyday sources of love, joy, grace, and peace which are available to us in God's world.

May we draw upon them for encouragement, hope, and guidance.

Benediction: Hope For The Weak and Grace For The Weary Through Trinitarian Living (based on Matthew 11:28-30)

In times when we feel weak or discouraged, God's bottomless goodness and love offer us reasons to have hope. That hope can give us both the strength to carry on and a safe place to rest and recuperate in time.

When life's burdens feel heavy and like too much for us to bear on our own, God reminds us of others who can be the hands and feet of grace to us.

When we lean into living hopefully, purposefully, and with communitarian care; we are aligning with the way in which God the Trinity - itself a community of love - has designed us to live and thrive.

May we live and love like that. 

Benediction: Freed From Burdens To Be Grace To The World (based on Romans 6:16-18)

Thanks to God's goodness and grace, we can be free from unhealthy patterns and cycles in our lives. While brokenness weighs heavily on us and restricts us, God's love and mercy can unburden us and open up our spirits to hope and goodness.

In the freedom of that openness, we can do our part in the work which God has called us to; of being grace and bringing goodness to this world which God created and called "good."

Benediction: The Power Of God's Love In Weakness (based on 2 Corinthians 12:9)

In Christ’s birth, lived example, and sacrifice, God showed the power of love in ways that might initially seem like weakness to us.  May we keep this truth in mind as we look for signs of God in our everyday lives.

Despite the brokenness which we all have in some form or another as human beings, God’s Spirit desires to roll up its sleeves and get to work within and through our weaknesses; with the goal of helping us to be wellsprings of grace and renewal in God's world.

This truth gives us a good reason to have hope. May it inspire us to work towards bringing out the best in everyone and everything.

Benediction: God’s Plan For Renewal Is A Source Of Hope (based on Jeremiah 29:11)

God’s plan for the entire universe is one of renewed and abundant life. God desires for everything to thrive and to flourish. May this truth serve as a source of profound hope to us.

Benediction: Mirroring The Love Of God In Our Relationships (based on 2 Peter 1:5-7)

Since God has invited us into the same type of genuine and loving relationship which the Trinity has, we can live that out wherever we go in God's world.

Therefore, we should make sure that our relationships are shaped by goodness, empathy, patience, wisdom, and love. If we do so, we can be a partner in God's work to bring out the best in everyone and everything.

Benediction: Living As Reflections Of God, Who Is Love (based on 1 Peter 3:15)

As those who have chosen to follow Christ, we are called to make Christ's love the lens through which we see the world. This outlook can help us to faithfully follow Christ's example of loving in ways which work to bring out the best in everyone and everything.

So as we go about our everyday lives, may we strive to be accurate reflections of God; whose nature and essence is loving relationship and community.

Benediction: God Is Love Which Helps Goodness and Grace Come To Life (based on 1 John 4:16-19)

God is love. Whenever anyone lives out God's love, they help to make divine grace and goodness come to life in the world.

May the fact that God's love is bottomless and limitless give us the confidence to pour out that love anywhere and everywhere in our lives. May God's love completely drown out any fearful narratives so that we can work to bring out the best in everyone and everything.