confession: suffering, endurance, character, hope

One: God, you pour out love and offer us peace, and yet we have trouble with grace.

We boast in our suffering, our busyness, our frustration, as if these earn us your favor.

All: We forget that you have already brought us near to you through Christ,

we forget that you make yourself known through your Spirit,

we ignore your outstretched hand inviting us to life with you.

One: We long for endurance, character, and hope, but we glorify our suffering and end up with idolatry of ourselves.

All: Forgive us, Holy One, and pour yourself into our hearts again this day,

that we may give glory to you in all we say and all we do.

~silence~

Amen.

Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, the Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL.