“Startle us, O God.”

For 26 years, John Buchanan has pastored one of the most prestigious Presbyterian churches on the North American continent: Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, Illinois. Almost every service at which Dr. Buchanan presided, he began and closed each worship service with these words of beginning and benediction:

Startle us, O God, with your truth,
and open our hearts and our minds to your word,
that hearing, we may believe, and believing trust our lives,
this day and all the days that lie ahead,
to your love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Go into the world in peace and courage.
Hold to the good.
Honor all of God’s children.
Love and serve the Lord,
rejoicing in the power of the Spirit.

Based on 1 Thessalonians 5:13-22

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