Hebrews 13:20-24 — Benediction

Welcome:

We come to worship the one true and living God —

the Father who loved us,

the Son who gave Himself for us,

and the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.

One God, blessed forever —

He who calls us out of darkness into His marvelous light welcomes you.

Announcements:

Prayer this Tuesday @ 7p

†CALL TO WORSHIP based on Psalm 85

Pastor Austin Prince

Minister: Thus says the Lord: My salvation is near to those who fear me, that my glory may dwell among you. I will speak peace to my people, to my saints.

Congregation: Show us your steadfast love, O Lord, and grant us your salvation. Let us not turn back to folly.

Minister: The Lord offers to revive your hearts, that his people may rejoice in him.

Congregation: Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs up from the ground, and righteousness looks down from the sky. The Lord will give what is good. Let us worship God!

†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION

O Lord our God, Creator of all that is visible and invisible–the earth and all that dwells in it is for your honor. The earth declares it and we your people declare that you are the Lord. Receive our worship this morning as a testament to your glory. Perfect our worship by the blood and intercession of Christ, and send us the Helper, the divine Spirit that our words and actions could be pleasing to you. Receive our prayer offered in the name of Jesus.

†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #216

“Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”

†CONFESSION OF SIN AND ASSURANCE OF PARDON

based on Psalm 103:11-12

Hebrews tells us that our hearts are strengthened by grace. One of the ways God strengthens us is through honest confession and fresh forgiveness.

We are invited to draw near to the throne of grace with confidence, not because we are worthy, but because Christ is faithful. Let us come now, confessing our sins and receiving mercy, being renewed by the mercy of Christ, and find help in our time of need.

TIME OF SILENT CONFESSION

Minister: Let us confess our sins to our merciful God:

Congregation: Almighty and most merciful Father, we are thankful that your mercy is higher than the heavens, wider than our wanderings, and deeper than our sin. Forgive our careless attitudes toward your purposes, our refusal to relieve the suffering of others, our envy of those who have more than we have, our obsession with creating a life of constant pleasure, our indifference to the treasures of heaven, and our neglect of your wise and holy law. Help us to change our way of life so that we may desire what is good, love what you love, and do what you command, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Minister: Hear the promise of God: As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Christians, your sins are forgiven.

Congregation: Thanks be to God!

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Psalm 131

Elder Steven Hoffer

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

PASTORAL PRAYER & THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

†PSALM OF PREPARATION #23A

“The Lord’s My Shepherd”

SERMON Hebrews 13:20-25 // A Benediction

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Guide us, O God, by your word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in you truth find freedom, and in your will discover your peace through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

TEXT Hebrews 13:20-25

Hebrews 13:20–25 ESV

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. 22 I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. 23 You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. 24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. 25 Grace be with all of you.

AFTER SCRIPTURE

The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.

Intro

“I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation…” (Heb. 13:22)

This line here at the end of Hebrews that is so direct and so pleading.

In other words, the author is saying,: Stay with me.

Don’t dismiss this. Don’t set it down like something you already know. Don’t let your mind drift ahead to what you’ll do next. Listen. Receive it.

Because Hebrews has been doing something to us.

Again and again this letter grabs us by the shoulders and says: Do you understand what you are doing with Christ? Do you understand what is at stake?

For thirteen chapters Hebrews has pressed one great question into the soul:

What are you going to do with Jesus Christ? Not what you admire about Him. Not what you agree with in theory. Not what you plan to handle later. But: Where is your confidence? Where is your righteousness? Where is your safety?

Hebrews has had zero patience for divided trust. And then, after all the towering theology and bracing warnings and sober calls to endurance—after all the “don’t drift,” “don’t harden,” “don’t shrink back”—God gives His church a final word. And the final word is not: Try harder.

The final word is: Grace. Peace. Covenant promise. Divine favor resting on ordinary, struggling believers.

It is a benediction—good words from God.

And here is the thesis that will carry the whole sermon:

Your security does not rise and fall with your strength. It rests on God’s covenant faithfulness.

Or to put it as a refrain we will return to again and again:

Not your grip on Christ, but His grip on you.

Today we will hear this benediction in four movements:

The God of peace

The Shepherd raised by covenant blood

The God who equips the weak

The glory that reorders the heart

And then we will hear the final word of the whole letter: Grace be with all of you.

The Weight of Everything Hebrews Has Been Saying

But before we land on the benediction, remember what Hebrews has been doing.

It has been trying to re-align our minds and re-anchor our hearts around Jesus Christ—turning Him like a diamond in the light, facet after facet.

He is God’s final Word. Not one more messenger among many, but the climactic revelation of God. He is substance over shadow. The reality all old-covenant patterns were pointing toward. He is the great High Priest. Sympathetic and spotless, who brings us near not by our performance but by His own blood. He is the enthroned Lord. Seated, reigning, unshakable—while everything else trembles.

And then Hebrews turns and says: if this is who He is, then here is what is required of you—not to earn Him, but because this is the only sane response to Him.

Do not harden your heart. Do not drift. Do not shrink back. Endure. Hold fast. Live by faith. Rest exclusively on Jesus Christ.

That is why Hebrews 13:22 matters. When the author says, “Bear with my word of exhortation,” he is saying: don’t treat this like background noise. Let it do its work on you. Let it confront you. Let it comfort you. Let it change you.

And then, after all that hard, bracing, soul-searching clarity, God gives the church what we all need:

A benediction. A blessing. A final word from God that says, in effect:

I will keep you.

So hear it now. Hear the Word of God:

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. I appeal to you, brothers, bear with my word of exhortation… …Grace be with all of you.” (Heb. 13:20–25)

What Is a Benediction?

Many Christians have grown used to a benediction as if it is simply the church’s way of ending the service politely—spiritual closing remarks. Like the religious version of, “Have a nice week.”

But biblically, and especially in the Reformed tradition, a benediction is something far sturdier than that.

A benediction is a divine blessing pronounced by God Himself through His appointed servant, grounded in God’s covenant promises.

That means the benediction is not mainly a human-to-human moment. It is not the pastor’s personal optimism. It is not a religious wish.

In worship there are many things we say to God—praise, confession, prayer, thanksgiving. But the benediction is not our word to God.

It is God’s word to us. God gets the last word.

And that is not a small liturgical preference. It is a theological statement about how grace works.

Grace is not you climbing up to God. Grace is God coming down to you.

Grace is not you manufacturing spiritual life. Grace is God speaking life where you were empty.

Grace is not you securing your own future with your religious consistency. Grace is God pledging Himself to you by covenant promise.

When the benediction is pronounced, the pastor is not inventing blessing out of his own hopes. He is not manufacturing anything by personality or charisma. He is not speaking a private desire.

He is, as a servant of Christ, speaking what God has promised to give.

That is why the benediction is typically spoken with the words of Scripture. Because it is not “my blessing.” It is God’s blessing.

There is a pattern woven through the Bible:

God initiates the blessing.

God attaches His name to His people.

God gives what He pronounces.

Think of Numbers 6—the Aaronic blessing—where God commands the priests to bless the people and says, “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” God doesn’t say, “Say nice words and hope it goes well.” He says, “Put my name on them—and I will bless them.”

So a benediction is not merely expressive speech. It is covenant speech. Gospel speech.

It is not a wish: “I hope you’re okay.” It is a promise: “The Lord bless you.”

Now, we have to be careful here. This is not superstition. This is not a magic formula. The words do not work by mechanical force as if syllables have power in themselves. The power is not in the man. The power is in God—who binds Himself to His Word and delights to bless His people through the means He has appointed.

So why do we end worship with a benediction?

Because worship ends the way the Christian life works:

Not with human effort, but with God’s gracious word resting on His people.

Not, “Now prove yourself.” Not, “Now go earn what you just received.” Not, “Now don’t mess it up.”

But: “The Lord bless you.” “The Lord keep you.” “The Lord be gracious to you.” “The Lord give you peace.”

This is a Reformed distinctive worth cherishing—not because we love tradition for tradition’s sake, but because it trains the heart in reality:

The Christian life begins by grace. It continues by grace. It ends by grace.

And the benediction confronts one of the most persistent lies we carry around—sometimes quietly, sometimes loudly:

“I am only ever as secure as I am strong.”

Isn’t that how we often live?

If I’m doing well, I feel okay. If I’m disciplined, I feel stable. If my prayer life is consistent, I feel safe. If my emotions are steady, I feel confident. If I’m productive, I feel at peace.

And when those things wobble—we wobble.

We may not say it out loud, but we act like our security rises and falls with our spiritual strength.

The benediction is God’s loving contradiction to that lie.

It says: You are secure because I am faithful. You are sustained because I have covenanted. You are kept because I keep.

And even the bodily posture of the benediction preaches, if we let it.

Why does the pastor lift his hands? Because it is a posture of giving—an embodied reminder that something is being delivered, not achieved. And why do God’s people often hold their hands open? Because it is a posture of receiving—an embodied confession that grace is not earned; it is received.

No one deserves the benediction. That’s the point. We come empty-handed—and God sends us out blessed-handed.

So when Hebrews ends with a benediction, it is not ornamental. It is not “churchy.” It is God saying to weary, tempted, pressured Christians:

Not your grip on Christ, but His grip on you.

Now let’s hear what kind of benediction this is.

1) The God of Peace (Heb. 13:20)

Explain

“Now may the God of peace…” (Heb. 13:20)

That is a title—revelation of who God is for His people. Not the God of nervousness. Not the God of chaos. Not the God of endless instability.

He is the God of peace.

But biblical peace is deeper than calm. It is more than the absence of tension. Peace in Scripture is God setting what is crooked straight. It is reconciliation—God and man made right; man and man made right; the broken made whole; the guilty brought near.

And Hebrews immediately anchors this peace in the place it seems most impossible:

“…who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus…” (Heb. 13:20)

Illustrate

Death is the ultimate disturbance—the final unraveling. It is the reminder that everything in this world is fragile.

And behind death is the rotten core of all that is wrong: sin—and all its full-grown fruit: guilt, shame, fear, estrangement from God, and the sentence of death itself.

So Hebrews is saying: take the worst thing hanging over you—the thing you cannot outwork, outrun, or outlive.

God has made peace there.

Apply

So let me press this gently, but plainly.

What is the dread beneath your activity? What guilt are you trying to outwork? What shame are you trying to manage? What conflict are you trying to “solve” with control? What fear do you keep busy so you don’t have to name it?

The God of peace does not merely give coping tips.

He raises the dead.

There is a finality to Christ’s work. At the cross He declared, “It is finished.” Striving must cease—not because obedience doesn’t matter, but because peace with God is not built by your effort. It is built by Christ’s blood.

We don’t strive to accomplish it. If we strive at all, we are striving to see it. That’s what this benediction is calling us to. That is why we are to bear with these words. We must see the finality of God’s work of peace.

He gives that peace. And how has He done it? What lengths has He gone to to give that peace?

Christ

Peace is not an abstraction. Peace is a Person and an accomplishment.

God made peace with sinners by the death and resurrection of His Son. And that means peace is not first your inner quiet. Peace is first this: God is no longer against you in Christ.

Not your grip on Christ, but His grip on you.

2) The Great Shepherd of the Sheep (Heb. 13:20)

Explain

Hebrews continues:

“…our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep…” (Heb. 13:20)

Peace comes to us not as a mere concept but as a Shepherd. The one who made peace is the one who keeps His people in peace.

Illustrate

A shepherd speaks so the sheep can know his voice. A shepherd bears burdens the sheep cannot carry. A shepherd leads to still waters. A shepherd defends when the sheep are vulnerable. A shepherd does not abandon the flock when it wanders.

Apply

Do you hear Him speak to you—or have His words become background noise? Do you trust His wisdom—or are you being led by lesser voices: anxieties, appetites, resentments, online tribes, petty allegiances?

Here’s a comparison Hebrews invites you to make:

Compare Christ to the others you listen to. Compare His steadiness to their volatility. Compare His tenderness to their cruelty. Compare His truthfulness to their spin.

And then the question we often avoid:

Do you actually need a Shepherd?

Some of us live as if we are basically fine—just needing occasional spiritual maintenance.

But our need is not maintenance. Our need is rescue. We need leading. We need protection. We need peace delivered to us.

Christ

And Hebrews says: you have one.

He is great. He is risen. And His shepherding is covenant shepherding—meaning your wandering does not outlast His pursuing, and your weakness does not cancel His care.

Not your grip on Christ, but His grip on you.

3) The Blood of the Eternal Covenant (Heb. 13:20)

Explain

Hebrews continues:

“…by the blood of the eternal covenant…” (Heb. 13:20)

This means the resurrection of Jesus is not merely a display of power. It is covenant fruit. The Father raised the Son because the Son’s sacrifice was covenantally effective—accepted, finished, accomplished.

His blood did not merely make salvation possible. It secured it.

Illustrate

Think of what “eternal covenant” means: not temporary, not fragile, not dependent on the weather of your spiritual mood.

This is not a contract God offers and you keep alive by performance. This is covenant—God binding Himself to save a people through a Mediator.

Apply

So the logic of the benediction is this:

The God of peace raised Jesus from the dead because the covenant was fulfilled through blood. Christ stood there as Representative. And what happened to Christ is what you can now expect if you are in Him.

So ask yourself: what do you expect on the far side of your last breath?

If Christ is your Representative—if His resurrection is the covenant outcome of His blood—then His resurrection speaks over your death.

It promises that death does not get the last word over you. It promises that the covenant does not end at the grave. It promises you are not held by your strength but by Christ’s finished work.

And here is one of the most stabilizing moves you can make when you feel shaky.

Instead of asking, “How strong am I right now?” ask:

How strong is the covenant blood? How finished is Christ’s work? How faithful is the God of peace?

Christ

The comfort of the covenant of grace is not that you are impressive.

It is that the Triune God is faithful: Father, Son, and Spirit acting in perfect unity to save sinners.

Christ does not merely point the way. He takes your place. He bears your guilt. He fulfills the covenant. He rises as the guarantee.

Not your grip on Christ, but His grip on you.

4) The God Who Raised the Shepherd Will Equip the Sheep (Heb. 13:21)

Explain

Now the benediction turns from what God has done to what God will do:

He will “…equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight…” (Heb. 13:21)

This is where the benediction becomes intensely practical.

Hebrews ends with God’s promise to help you live.

And notice the logic: the God who did one thing—raise Jesus from the dead—can do another: equip you to obey Him.

Illustrate

Our hearts default to self-reliance. We live under the shadow of “never enough.”

We hear commands and feel accusation, as if God is perpetually disappointed—always irritated, always shaking His head.

So we treat obedience like a task: always producing, always proving, always pushing.

But Hebrews demolishes both despair and self-salvation.

It does not say: “God demands and you figure it out.” It does not say: “God saves and then you supply the rest.”

It says: God equips. God works. God produces what pleases Him.

As Philippians 2:13 puts it: “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Apply

Now press this into ordinary life.

When you wake up spiritually dull, what do you assume? When you’ve failed again in the same pattern, what do you conclude? When temptation pulls like gravity, what do you believe about your future? When you’re tired and impatient, what story do you tell yourself?

Is your instinct still:

“I’m only secure as I am strong”? “If I can’t be flawless, I may as well stop trying”? “God must be exhausted with me”? “I’ll try harder tomorrow”?

Hear the benediction answer:

God equips His people. By supplying what obedience requires.

Not by lowering the bar of holiness, but by empowering it.

And let’s be crystal clear. This does not mean we become faultless in ourselves. If God were to mark iniquities, no one could stand.

But it also does not mean obedience is a fantasy. God’s grace does not produce a vague fog. It produces real help for real faithfulness.

God is not asking you to make bricks without supplying the straw. He is not asking you to manufacture spiritual life from empty reserves. He is promising to supply what He commands.

So you can ask, right in the middle of the life:

What would it look like to bank on God’s promise of future grace? What would it look like to obey—not to stabilize yourself, but because you are stabilized by covenant blessing? What would it look like to take one faithful step—trusting the Shepherd is actually leading you?

And when you see good fruit—real patience, real repentance, real gentleness, real perseverance—what do you take from it?

Not: “Look what I did.” But: “He is there. He is working in me. He is keeping His promise.”

That’s what a benediction does. It is not just good words. It is promise-words you are meant to live on—confidence in grace not only behind you (forgiveness) but ahead of you (equipping).

Christ

And notice the phrase: “through Jesus Christ.” (Heb. 13:21)

God equips you through Christ—because your life before God is not autonomous. It is union with Christ. The Shepherd who died and rose now shares His life with His sheep.

Again, Not your grip on Christ, but His grip on you.

5) To Him Be Glory Forever (Heb. 13:21)

Explain

Hebrews adds:

“…through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Heb. 13:21)

This doxology is the final orientation of the soul. It is not a tack-on. It is the direction of a redeemed life.

Illustrate

God’s glory does not compete with your joy as if His magnification requires your diminishment.

God is not like a needy tyrant who must crush you to feel big.

When Christ is central, you become steadier, not smaller—because you stop trying to carry what you were never meant to carry.

Apply

So ask yourself:

What do you most want people to think of you? What do you most fear people discovering about you? What are you quietly trying to prove?

Those questions reveal whose glory you are living for.

And Hebrews, tenderly but firmly, says:

Let Christ be magnified—and your joy will deepen. Let Christ be central—and your life will steady. Let Christ be everything—and you will finally put down the burden of self-salvation.

Christ

The glory of Christ is not a threat to you. It is your refuge.

When He is glorified, you are freed: freed from the exhausting courtroom of self-justification, freed from the endless performance, freed to live as a beloved child under the smile of God.

Not your grip on Christ, but His grip on you.

The Final Plea and the Final Word (Heb. 13:22–25)

After the benediction, Hebrews closes with final remarks—personal notes, greetings, and a brief summary tone.

But the very last sentence is simple:

“Grace be with all of you.” (Heb. 13:25)

That kind of closing appears in many New Testament letters, but it is especially fitting here because Hebrews has spent the whole book dismantling every counterfeit foundation—every way of trying to stand before God by something other than Christ.

Not by old-covenant rituals. Not by shadows. Not by religious performance. Not by supplementing Jesus with “something else” to feel secure.

Only Christ. Only His blood. Only the throne of grace.

So Hebrews ends the way the Christian life must be lived:

With grace.

Grace for the guilty. Grace for the tired. Grace for the tempted. Grace for the sufferer. Grace for the slow-to-change. Grace for the whole church—all of you.

Which means, if you want one honest application to take home, it is this:

Receive this good word. Stop living as if your security depends on your strength.

The God of peace has made peace where it mattered most. The Shepherd has been raised by covenant blood. The same God who raised Him will equip you. And the last word over you is not condemnation, but grace.

So as you step back into ordinary life—work, family, conflict, fatigue, temptation, disappointment—hear God’s sending:

You are mine. I have put my name on you. I have made peace with you in Christ. I will keep you.

You are not sent out on probation. You are sent out under blessing.

The benediction is not God cheering you on from a distance.

It is God putting His name on you.

Not your grip on Christ, but His grip on you.

†HYMN OF RESPONSE #245

“Great is Thy Faithfulness”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

CONFESSION OF FAITH* Based on Matt 16:16; Mk. 16:9; Jn. 20:28; I Cor. 15:1-6; Rev. 22:13

Minister: Christian, what do you believe?

Congregation: This is the good news that we have received, in which we stand, and by which we are saved, if we hold it fast: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day, and that he appeared first to the women, then to Peter, and to the Twelve, and then to many faithful witnesses. We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus Christ is the first and the last, the beginning and the end; he is our Lord and our God.

THE INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE

Table Sermon

As we have been reminded this morning, we come with the promises of the God of peace. And here at this table, you are invited not only to hear those promises, but to taste the signs of that peace.

The blood of Christ—the blood of the eternal covenant—has been shed once for all. And because it has been shed, you are welcomed into table fellowship with God. Christ, the great Shepherd of the sheep, is not only telling you what is true in the midst of confusion—He is also at work in you, equipping you with what you need to endure, to obey, and to hope.

Because His body was broken—the true bread—you have been reconciled. And this meal is not a bare memorial, as though we were only raising a toast to a distant Savior. The risen Lord meets His people here: not by re-sacrifice, but by real communion, as we feed on Him by faith through His Spirit. This is covenant mercy made visible. This is covenant fellowship renewed.

So bear with the word you have heard today. Hear it. See it. Take it. And as you come, come in faith—repenting, resting, and receiving. And receive, with Christ Himself, the peace of God—and the grace that He sends with His people.

This table is for those who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and continuing union with his Church. If you do not repent of your sin, you must not come. If you do not trust in Christ alone for your salvation, you must not come. But if you confess your sin and rest in him, come: "O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him."

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Congregation is seated.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND THE SHARING OF THE SUPPER

Minister: Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you."

Congregation: By your divine presence, by the holy sacraments, by all the merits of your life, sufferings, death, and resurrection, bless and comfort us, gracious Lord and God. Amen.

Minister: Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "Drink from this, all of you. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."

Congregation: Whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup together, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Minister: Christ, the Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world;

Congregation: Grant to us your peace. Amen.

[motion to eat and drink]

†OUR RESPONSE #234

Tune: The God of Abraham Praise

The whole triumphant host gives thanks to God on high;

“Hail, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!” they ever cry.

Hail, Abraham’s God and mine! I join the heav’nly lays;

all might and majesty are thine, and endless praise.

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20–21, ESV)

Grace Notes Reflection

A final word from Hebrews: a benediction— a call to heed its central cry that all of the great work of Christ is not maintained and dependent now upon you, but will be guaranteed by God. These are promise-words. They are meant to be concrete pavers beneath your feet—places to set your weight for the rest of your life. They are solid ground that cannot be compromised by your good days or your bad ones.

As you head into a new week, lean more weight on these promise words. God has made peace for you by the blood of Christ. Rest. God has given you a great Shepherd in Christ; you will never be alone. God will equip you for the tasks ahead — go into each situation with a holy confidence.

I know you can’t yet see what He will do. I know many situations feel confusing. We don’t know what’s ahead, so we freeze in our duties, turn inward in anxiety, and become timid before those who are looking to us. But keep going—God will equip you to walk, even through the valley of the shadow of death.

God’s grace for you is not only behind you in forgiveness; it is also ahead of you, new every morning. And here is where His glory is displayed: as we trust His promises, take the next faithful step, and offer ourselves as living sacrifices under the smile of the God of peace.

Some questions that this sermon raised:

Do you receive the benediction as God’s word to you, or as a hopeful and optimistic closing?

Where are you tempted to treat God’s blessing as a wish rather than a covenant promise?

Where have you been living as if, “I am only secure as I am strong”?

What would it look like to put your weight on God’s promises before you feel strong again?

Where do you most need to trust that grace is not only behind you (forgiveness) but also ahead of you (help)?