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call to confession / declaration of forgiveness

confession: idolizing past and future

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Call to Confession

If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation—the old has gone, and the new has come. Yet we often have difficulty living in that new reality, clinging to the old ways that have passed. When we confess our sin, we make room for God’s truth to dwell in us, clearing the path for a new way of life. Before God, with the people of God, let us confess our faults and our failings. Let us pray.

Prayer of Confession

God, your faithfulness is for all generations, yet we often have a hard time living with you in this generation.
We love to look back, idolizing the past while forgetting we wear rose-colored glasses. We love our anxiety about the future, fretting about our individual long term security. We love our ideas about you, our lofty words and abstract concepts that do not affect our everyday lives.
We confess that it is rare for us to trust, to love, to follow with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Forgive us when we trap you in our memories or our intellects. Forgive us when we forget that you are also right here, right now, with a calling and a promise for us in this time and this place.

~silence~

Gracious God,
speak into our wilderness again, that we may learn to be your people. Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness

The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. From before the beginning until long beyond our imagination, God’s love endures. Know that you are forgiven, loved and free. Thanks be to God! Amen.

 

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

confession and pardon: bargaining and deceiving

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Prayer of Confession

Almighty God, we have sinned against you and against our neighbors.
We are quick to bargain with you to gain your blessing,
instead of being content with your grace.
We give in to the temptation to deceive others for our own gain,
instead of speaking the truth in love.
We let our fear or our greed disrupt our relationships with others,
instead of loving our neighbor as ourselves.
We focus on what you can do for us,
rather than offering our lives to you.
Forgive us our sins, and transform us into your faithful people.

Silent Confession

Assurance of Pardon

Hear the Good News: God is ready to forgive,
gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
God has not forsaken us, God has forgiven us.
Thanks be to God!

Assurance of Pardon adapted from Nehemiah 9:17 (NRSV)
Submitted by Rev. Lorinda H. M. Hoover, Glidden United Methodist Church

confession: easier

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Call to Confession

If we say we have no sin, we deceive only ourselves, and we leave no room for God’s truth to dwell in us. When we confess our sin, we are able to experience the abundant mercy of God’s everlasting grace, right here and right now. Before God, with the people of God, let us confess to our brokenness. Let us pray.

 

Prayer of Confession

All:  God, your will is for all creation to have abundant life. We confess that sometimes we do not understand your way, and often we prefer to walk our own way. We confess that sometimes we have received your good gift, then allowed that gift to become our god. We confess that it is easier to ask you to bless what we want to do, rather than to ask for the courage to do what you are blessing. Forgive our hard hearts and closed minds, our selfish ambition and cultural bondage. Free us to follow your way of justice, peace, and love.

~silence~

Gracious God,

silence every voice in us but your own, that we may be your faithful people. We pray in the name of the One who lived every moment in obedience to you, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

 

Assurance of Forgiveness

The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. From before the beginning until long beyond our imagination, God’s love endures. Know that you are forgiven, loved and free. Thanks be to God! Amen.

 

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

confession: creation scorned

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Call to Confession
Friends, we are made in the image of God, but that does not make us God. Though we often prefer to pretend we are perfect, when we ignore our sin we deceive only ourselves and there is no room for God’s truth to dwell in us. When we confess our sin, we experience the grace and mercy of God in the here and now. Before God, with the people of God, let us confess to our faults and our failings. Let us pray.

Prayer of Confession
Creator God, with a word you formed us from the dust of the earth and breathed the breath of life into us. You call us to live as stewards, reflecting your glorious image into the world.
When we have scorned your gift of creation, placing ourselves over and above rather than within and among, forgive us.
When we have ignored your gift of creativity, believing it inferior to the gifts of the intellect, forgive us.
When we have sought you in heaven and ignored you on earth, forgive us.
~silence~
Gracious God,
fill us again with your creative spirit, that your image may shine forth in our lives. We pray in the name of your creating Word made flesh, Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Declaration of Forgiveness
In the beginning, God planted goodness deep within creation—and through the grace of God, poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, we are able to live as the Body of Christ, showing that goodness to the world. Friends, live and believe this good news: In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Thanks be to God. Amen.

 

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

confession: the condition of our hearts

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Call to Confession

Some people say the great addiction of our age is busy-ness. Being busy confirms our importance in the world. Sitting still leaves time to consider the things we have done and the things we have left undone. This is hard work, but it is necessary for our relationship with God. Let us open our hearts in prayer.

Prayer of Confession
All-seeing God, You know the condition of our hearts. You know the words we never should have said and the words that might have helped but remained unspoken. You know the ways we spend our time. You know the things we leave undone and the things we did but wish we hadn’t. You know the reasons our lives spin apart. You know the ways we hold on too tight to what we don’t need and let important connections slip through our fingers. Have mercy on us. Have mercy on us.

Silent Prayers of Confession
Words of Assurance:
Minister: All things are held together in our Lord Jesus Christ. That includes every one of us. No matter what has happened in the past, those who turn to God are forgiven. This is the Good News that brings new life.
ALL: We thank God for it.
Submitted by Rev. Martha Spong