
The Blessing
Week One - “Bring Back the Blessing”
Genesis 12:1-3
In today’s world, giving someone your blessing is often the same as giving permission (marriage, contract, plans); acknowledging a sneeze, or invoking divine favor (Bless this food/mess/child.).
Origin is a bit different:
Hebrew word for blessing is “barak” which means “to kneel, to praise, congratulate, or salute”
“Barach atah Adonai” means “Blessed are you, O Lord our God”
**Primary posture of blessing - we bless God
BUT, the crazy thing about our God is that He
1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.” —Genesis 12:1-3
- When God blesses us, He is praising us, it is an indication of His favor. He is lifting us up.
“The Blessing” (a song by Elevation worship, Cody Carnes, and Kari Jobe) is a reminder that God is crazy about you, that He is for you, that what Jesus did changed what had been a curse for generations and made it a blessing for generations
24“ ‘ The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.” ’ —Numbers 6:24-26May His favor be upon you
And a thousand generations
And your family and your children
And their children, and their children —Exodus 20:6May His presence go before you
And behind you, and beside you
All around you, and within you
He is with you, He is with you —Exodus 33:14
- When we bless someone else, we are speaking highly of them. We are honoring them. We are specifically and intentionally elevating them.
We speak growth into being - it’s a gift, a blessing. We can trade in a currency of shame, or we can trade in a currency of blessing.
God has blessed us to be a blessing. We need to bring back the blessing!!!
- When we bless God, we kneel before Him and praise Him - the blessing isn’t about asking God for stuff. It’s acknowledging who He is.
“10,000 Reasons” - our opportunity to lift God high, to call to mind all of the ways God is worthy of our praise
Bless the Lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship His Holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I’ll worship Your Holy name
The sun comes up
It’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass
And whatever lies before me
Let me be singing
When the evening comes
You’re rich in love
And You’re slow to anger
Your name is great
And Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness
I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons
For my heart to find
What will be some opportunities you take this week to bless someone?
In the weeks to come - Legacy Breakers, Legacy Makers, Legacy Givers
It all starts with bringing back the blessing - taking hold of the fact that we are blessed and we are to be about blessing everybody else