A Culture of Blessing

I have an idea about our church culture, and it involves you. I’ll introduce it here, but I hope to say much more about it.

First, it starts with God.

God is good, and he does good (Psalm 119:68). 

His word tells us he is love (1 John 4:8, 16). It never says he is wrath. 

His wrath is the necessary response to sin — with sin being much more heinous than we realize. Sinners, fundamentally, suppress the truth of God. They make a world of shut eyes and plugged ears, polluting the air with lies about who God is. Therefore, in his righteousness God must uphold the reality of his worth. God himself, his worth, is both our highest good and that to which God is most committed. As one theologian explains, “Because God loves himself supremely he cannot suffer what belongs to the integrity of his character and glory to be compromised or curtailed.” His wrath, then, maintains a true witness (Romans 1:18ff).

But his ‘heart’ is to bless, not curse (see Lamentations 3:33; Ezekiel 33:11). His ‘heart’ is to display his glory for our everlasting delight. That is God’s ultimate goal, even in the presence of judgment. Oh that we would know the riches of his glory, forever! (Romans 9:22–23; Ephesians 2:7)

The ‘So That’ People

And, what’s more, God’s blessing on us, his people, is so that we would be a blessing to others. We are blessed to bless, given to so that we can give.

We see this in Psalm 67:1–2, when the psalmist seeks God’s blessing so that God’s saving power is known among all nations. In a sermon a few years ago, I explained that this is central to the storyline of the whole Bible. God has always meant for his people to be the “so that” people. One of the clearest places we see this in the New Testament is when Paul tells the Corinthians, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). Grace to you for grace to others. 

We are conduits of God’s blessing, and I want that to be evident in all our times together. 

Canopy of Blessings

Here’s the relevance for us in this season:

On Sundays, we come to worship and walk through a smog of curses. We still ask that you pay no attention to the agitators on Summit, and you’re doing great. Thank you. Zero engagement is the tactic. But it’s not lost on me what is happening. They form a picket of lies. They are seeking to intimidate and shame us, to cover us with curses from “mother god” (that is the false god one of the agitators referenced when I met with him).

We should ignore them. 

But, when it comes to us, for one another, I want us to create a canopy of blessings, not curses. 

The idea came to me from Psalm 109:28, “Let them curse, but you will bless!”

What if we went full throttle on blessing one another? 

What if we each make it a point on Sunday mornings to speak words of blessing to those we encounter on their way to worship?

Getting Practical

I am imagining that on Sunday mornings we greet one another with simple blessings like “Good morning! God bless you!” Or “Hey, the Lord bless you!” Or “Jesus bless you!” Or “Grace to you!”

There are all kinds of ways that we could bless one another, but let’s start with words. Let’s make this the way we talk to one another. All of us. We fill the sanctuary, the rooms, the entire property and grounds, with God’s blessings. It becomes our culture. It’s just in the air, and it becomes the defining atmosphere of our gathering.

Nothing but ourselves can hold us back from making our Sunday gathering the most encouraging, life-giving, grace-imparting, transformative time of the week. God already meets us there by his Spirit. We come to worship him, and he draws near, and I believe this ministry of blessing is ready for the taking. 

Again, I’m eager to say more about it, but for now, would you prepare to speak a blessing to someone on Sunday? 

Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you — in his goodness and blessing — for the glory of God (Romans 15:7).