WOV #723, "The Spirit Sends Us Forth to Serve"
Devotion
A motto we repeat in our congregation is “most of the time we are not here.” This saying reminds us that most of the time we are not in the safe and familiar confines of the church building, but out in the exact locations and situations where the world’s needs and God's grace come together. In our daily lives, these two realities converge and we are presented with the wonderful opportunity of revealing the presence of God’s grace.
This sending hymn is like the Aaronic benediction in Numbers 6:27: “They shall put my name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.” We are sent out by the Spirit in Jesus’ name into our families, among our friends, at our work, and in political arenas “to be the hands of Christ, to scatter joy like seed, and all our days, to cherish life, to do the loving deed.”
Prayer
Spirit of the living Christ, send us out in confident hope to comfort those who mourn, set the burdened free, to share a dream, to do the loving deed, to serve in peace, to proclaim the Gospel, and to do it all in Jesus' name. Amen.
"The Spirit Sends Us Forth to Serve," text (c) 1993, Delores Dufner. Published by OCP Publications. All rights reserved. Used with permission.