Graduation

Click here to open/download a PDF of the Blessing Ceremony

The Blessing Ceremony's Background Story, By Ted Mallory

Many years ago, while my wife Bethany and I were teaching at Los Angeles Lutheran Jr/Sr High School in Sylmar, California the faculty wanted to customize the school's baccalaureate service. Bethany was the "Spiritual Life Director" (she taught 7-8 grade Religion, and coordinated Chapels as well as other prayer and service events and student-ministry groups). We looked into a book by Christian authors and family counselors Gary Smalley and John Trent called The Blessing. The authors believe that a blessing has three major components, a statement that the recipient is valued, physical touch, and a pronouncement of God's providence over the recipient's future. We tried to incorporate these into our ceremony.

Ten years ago, when we moved back to small town Iowa, the Pastor L.C. Gebhardt and Elders asked us to serve as Youth Counselors, leading the church's high school youth group (Lutheran Youth Fellowship, LYF) and accompany the group to the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans that year. When we had our second daughter, I more or less became the youth counselor while Bethany took care of our girls.

The Elders decided that St. John Lutheran, Charter Oak would have a "contemporary" worship service every fifth Sunday. At the time they felt that the Youth should lead contemporary service. I had the privilege of writing/arranging many of these and our youth-led Easter Sunrise services for a few years until Rev. Gebhardt retired and the vacancy pastor wasn't comfortable with laity involvement, or youth leadership, not to mention contemporary worship. Eventually school and family life led me to step down as LYF leader. Currently I am officially the high school Bible Class instructor, unfortunately not many teenagers like to attend Bible Class on Sunday mornings.

Before Gebhardt's retirement, a long-time member of St. John, Lynn Hoffman- herself a retired Lutheran School teacher (and one of those responsible for our now defunct preschool, Noah's Ark) wanted to do something to make the baccalaureate service at St. John, Charter Oak. I adapted what we had done at LALHS to something that could be incorporated as part of a worship service, rather than the entire service itself. St. John still uses this Blessing Ceremony every year at graduation time.

I wanted to make it available here for any schools or churches to use, free of charge. Really, it's a collaboration with my wife and our former colleagues and "standing on the shoulders of giants" like Smalley and Trent- consequently, I'm not looking for all kinds of credit, attention, or money for it, thus it is uncopyrighted. My hope is that by using it, you will be blessing the Seniors in your life and sending them out into the world with the knowledge that God goes with them.

8 Ways to be Blessed

Thursday, October 4, 2007 the Mapleton PRESS

It's been years since I taught at a Lutheran high school in L.A. I enjoy teaching in a public school too, but I really missed getting to talk directly with kids about their faith. A few weeks ago, I got the chance again. I began teaching the high school Bible Study, Sunday mornings at our church.

I really wanted kids to hear what Jesus actually taught and believed. This brought me to Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitudes (the blessings) from His sermon on the Mount. I won't re-print them here, because I'd like to encourage you to look them up.

One of the things that we learned (that frankly, had never dawned on me before) is that in this passage, Jesus isn't DESCRIBING what He thought were good people, He was PREscribing how He'd like His followers to be. Also, just like with the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20), God offers a promise (a blessing or "beatitude") that will come to anyone who lives out each of these 8 qualities. EX: If you hunger and thirst for righteousness, you'll be filled.

I thought it was important to look a little closer at "Blessed are the Peacemakers." Let's be clear, Jesus is talking in more broad terms than that. He's not saying "blessed are the antiwar protesters."

To really understand it, it may be worth your time to take a look at 2 Corinthians 5:16-20. Basically, being a peacemaker, is being a bridge-builder, someone who reconciles rather than becoming defensive, entrenched or self-serving. A peacemaker is someone who helps heal and build relationships as opposed to holding grudges, burning bridges or hiding out on their own private island. Ultimately, a peacemaker is someone who helps others come to be at peace with God.

Jesus is the ultimate peacemakers since through His sacrifice, we who are born at war with God in our natures can become part of His family.

Try rating yourself on a scale of 1-4 (4 being the highest) on each of the 8 qualities prescribed in the Beatitudes:
* Poor in Spirit/ recognize your need for God
* Mourn/ admit your guilt, take responsibility
* Meek/ Don't always have to get your way or be in control
* Spiritual hunger/ Want to know God better, He is #1 in your life
* Merciful/ Empathetic, compassionate, concerned for others
* Pure in heart/ Open, honest, known for integrity
* Peacemaker/ Work out differences without having to get even, constructive
* Persecution/ Willing to stand alone for what is right, can take criticism without being defensive or feeling self-pity.

You can even turn Matthew 5 :3-12 into a payer,

Dear Lord,

Teach us to be poor in spirit, to always remember that we are nothing without Your grace and mercy- Thank You that because of Jesus, we can now be called Your children (1 John 3:1).

Help us to recognize that our choices and actions all have consequences, Lord. Make us responsible for our mistakes and our sins, and help us to see how our lives effect the lives of others.

Lord, help us to put the needs of others before ourselves and our own selfish desires.
Give us a hunger and thirst to know You, Your Word and Your will better, God.

Teach us to have empathy for others and to have compassion on others, and help us to learn from our pain and our struggles, so that we can bring comfort to others.

Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me (Psalm 51:10)

Use me as a peace maker, as a bridge builder and a fence mender, help me to forgive those who trespass against me just as you have forgiven me. Make me Your ambassador, Lord.

Give us the courage to not be afraid to stand up for what we believe in and help me to not be ashamed of the Gospel, but instead, to let our light shine in this dark world, even if it means being made fun of or being unpopular.

Amen

Aaronic blessing

24 " ' "The LORD bless you
and keep you;

25 the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;

26 the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace." '

27 "So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them."

~Numbers 6:24-27
(New International Version)

Here's another opportunity to pray Scripture over your neighbors, friends, or loved ones. Try this:

LORD bless ________________
and keep them;

Reveal Yourself to them and let them know how much You love them, Lord
shower them with Your grace;

Look favorably on them and smile on them
and give them Your peace, Lord.

Put your name on them as Your precious child and possession, and bless them.

And here's a Psalm that you can sing or pray alone or in a group as a form of worship:

Psalm 67

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face shine upon us,

2 that your ways may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.

3 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.

4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you rule the peoples justly
and guide the nations of the earth.

5 May the peoples praise you, O God;
may all the peoples praise you.

6 Then the land will yield its harvest,
and God, our God, will bless us.

7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

This is an image of the Jabez Prayer written in Persian, the language of Iran- perhaps this was a language that Jabez would have known well.

Prayer of Jabez:
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I gave birth to him in pain." Jabez cried out to the God of Israel,

"Oh, that you would bless me
and enlarge my territory!
Let your hand be with me,
and keep me from harm
so that I will be free from pain."

And God granted his request.
~1 Chronicles 4:10 - NIV

“Oh, that you would bless me indeed,
and enlarge my territory,
that your hand would be with me,
and that you would keep me from evil,
that I may not cause pain.”
~NKJV

"Bless me, O bless me!
Give me land, large tracts of land.
And provide your personal protection--
don't let evil hurt me."
~The Message

I want to share with you a little bit about each part of this famous prayer each day for the next few days. first lets take "Oh, that you would bless me indeed,"

Here's what Webster's Dictionary says it means to "bless:"

1 : to hallow or consecrate by religious rite or word
2 : to hallow with the sign of the cross
3 : to invoke divine care for
4 a : PRAISE, GLORIFY b : to speak well of : APPROVE
5 : to confer prosperity or happiness upon
6 archaic : PROTECT, PRESERVE
7 : ENDOW, FAVOR

Someone once told me that in Hebrew, "to bless" simply means "to make happy." Surely All seven Webster's definitions are things that each of us need. So when you pray the Jabez prayer, ask God to do these 7 things for you:

Prayer:

Dear Lord,

1 : hallow me, make me holy, consecrate me- Set me aside for Your use, for Your holy purposes. 2 : Put your mark upon me, write Your name upon my heart.
3 : Keep me and care for me as Your child
4 a : May I bring you honor and draw attention to Your love and Your power- b : Lord, find favor in me and may I be worthy of your approval
5 : Dear God, PLEASE provide for me, if it be Your will, even grant me material prosperity, certainly, please help me to find happiness in this life
6 Lord, preserve and protect me
7 : Lord, make me useful to You, grant me skills and talents so that I can be Your instrument.

In Jesus' Name,
Indeed! Let it be so! Amen

Some Christians have been very critical of this prayer because they're afraid that it's a selfish prayer. First of all, why would He put in inthe Bible if it's somehow wrong or sinful to pray it? Secondly, look back at what you just prayed, think about what it means to bless or be blessed. Surely God wants to bless you, His child. How can it possibly be wrong to ask Him to bless you?

Bless us, Lord, bless us indeed!

How to Bless Your Neighbors Through Prayer

How to B.L.E.S.S. Your Neighbors Through Prayer

Yes, I believe that "Oh, that you would bless me indeed," means that it's Okay to as for God to provide for you and even to prosper you. And yes, I think that includes materially.

But yes, I do believe that it is better to give than it is to recieve. I do think that Jesus set an example for us to be humble and selfless, not proud and shelfish.

So, why not ask God to bless your neighbors, to make them happy, make them holy, use them for His glory, protect them and yes, to provide for their needs and bring THEM prosperity?!

How can you do that? Click on the link above to learn more. It's all about usung the BLESS anagram:

WHAT BLESSINGS SHOULD I PRAY?
Think of the word BLESS to remember five important ways to pray for your neighbors:
Body – health, protection, strength
Labor – work, income, security
Emotional – joy, peace, hope
Social – love, marriage, family,friends
Spiritual – salvation, faith, grace

Numbers 6:14-26 Prayer:

GOD bless you and keep you,
GOD smile on you and gift you,
GOD look you full in the face
and make you prosper.