At the start of each year, I as the Senior Pastor of Nowra City Church, declare a blessing over the church. This is a biblical concept. I have included the clip I recorded of the blessing as I would like the opportunity to declare a blessing over your year. I have also included the text.

The Text of the Blessing.

God Blesses Man

Genesis 1:22
And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”

Jesus Blesses Children

Matt 10:16

16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

Priest Blesses Abraham

Heb 7:1

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from war and blessed him,

Blessing of a father over his son – given in Faith

Hebrews 11:20

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

The power of our words

Proverbs 18:21

21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
      And those who love it will eat its fruit.

I want to declare a blessing not just over Nowra City Church, but also over your life too for 2013. And the theme of my blessing this year is centred around Ezekiel 37 – which is the Vision of the Valley of dry bones.

In the Message Paraphrase version of Ezekiel 37 it says – God grabbed me and God’s Spirit took me up.

In 2013, may you be grabbed by the right things.

· May you be grabbed by the things that matter.

· The things that have eternal consequences.

· The things centred around family and relationships.

· The things that make a difference in the lives of others.

May God grab you afresh

May you be grabbed by a fresh sense of awe of the majesty and the holiness of God.

May you grabbed by a deep humility as you ponder the transformational grace the message of the cross communicates so powerfully and so perfectly to a lost world

May faith grab you causing you to step into a greater experience of the power of fervent faith filled prayer.

In 2013, May you be grabbed by his loving presence, as you do life with a fresh understanding of the goodness of his provision.

May you be grabbed by a new passion for spiritual growth, taking the initiative to hunger and thirst after the deep things of the Word of God

May you be grabbed by outrage at the injustices in the world around us, to the point where you are stirred to action.

May the compelling heart of the compassion of Christ toward others, grab you and mess up you world, projecting you into at times an uncomfortable yet

wholly and divinely orchestrated life lived for others.

May you be grabbed by a new sense of purpose as the breath of the Holy Spirit breathes new life into areas of your world that have been dry bones.

May the breath of the Holy Spirit breathe new life into your spiritual journey and just like Peter in Acts, when the Holy Spirit breathed on him, he stood and proclaimed boldly the message of Christ, may you stand boldly for what you believe in and may your life be an authentic proclamation of message of Christ.

May you be grabbed by enthusiasm – a sense of you living like you are possessed by a God, because in 2013, you are possessed by the very God who formed and fashioned the world, who loves you in an indescribable way and who places value on you that is incomprehensible.

May curiosity, adventure, excitement, celebration and kindness grab you as you do life.

As God grabs you in 2013, and repositions you to a higher level just as He did Ezekiel, may your year be a year of strength, effectiveness and being positioned right in the very centre of that which God is breathing on.

I bless you in the name of the Lord

Peter

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Tags: 2013, Blessing, Blessing over 2013, Melanie Pilt, Nowra City Church, Peter Pilt, speaking a blessing, the power of our words