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call to confession / declaration of forgiveness

confession and pardon: walk by faith and not by sight

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Prayer of Confession
God who knows each heart, you call us to walk by faith and not by sight, giving us new vision that goes deeper than outward appearance; yet how often we remain blind, returning to a human point of view, relying instead on our society’s signs of right or wrong, success or failure.  We miss your warning signals of internal corruption or moral deficiency in those in whom we put our trust.
Forgive us, O God.  Become our Vision as we keep learning to walk by faith. Teach us to observe ourselves and others as you do, with prudence and wisdom as well as compassion and love, so that your deeper way of seeing might grow within us and among us, in Christ’s name, Amen.
Silent Prayer   
Assurance of Grace
Just as Paul reminded the Corinthians of their new way of seeing, he told them that anyone in Christ is a new creation, that everything old is passed away, and all is made new!
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.Thanks be to God. 

confession and pardon: a gospel difficult to practice

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Call to Reconciliation
Called to proclaim repentance, we are reluctant to look at our own failings. Invited to witness to God’s loving forgiveness of sins, we would rather not speak aloud of our own. Let us trust in the One who offers us hope and healing, as we pray together, saying,

Unison Prayer of Confession
You call us to proclaim a gospel we find difficult to practice, God Most High. We watch our clocks to make sure we spend more time with ourselves than with you. We are hesitant to witness to your power from on high, as we are uncertain of your presence in our lives. Forgive us, God of Light. Fill us with the healing presence of your Spirit, that we may proclaim your good news, as we participate in the life and suffering of our world, as did your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
L:    Choosing to set aside judgment, God gives us justice; choosing to let go of punishment, God fills us with peace; choosing to release anger, God’s steadfast love rests upon us.
P:    Forgiven, redeemed, restored – we will tell everyone, through the lives we lead, what God has done for us. Thanks be to God. Amen.

 

Submitted by Rev. Thom Shuman, author of Lectionary Liturgies.

confession and assurance: love one another

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Prayer of Confession

God of compassion and mercy, you sent us your Son as the savior of the world, and told us to love one another as much as you loved us.  Yet, we struggle to love each other.  We have a hard time loving those who are not like us, who disagree with us, or who ask us to face the truths about ourselves.  You told us to love one another, because love is from God.  And we often do not love those we think are dirty, hungry, lost, or undesirable.  It is written that perfect love casts out fear, and yet we are afraid.  Afraid for our safety, our wallets, and how others perceive us.  Forgive us, God, and show us how to love thy way you command us to love.  Release us from our judgment and our fear.  Open our hearts so that they might receive your perfect love for us, and offer it to the world.

(Silent Confession)

Assurance of Forgiveness

Friends, the good news is this: love is from God, and we are loved by God. God sent Christ into the world to atone for our sins, and in him we are forgiven.

Submitted by Rev. Julie Jensen, First Presbyterian Church, Cartersville, GA

confession and pardon: pruning

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Call to Confession

There are many things that can cut us off from the One True Vine. Our sins are like so much dead wood. When we confess the dead places in our lives, God offers us the forgiveness we need to prune them away and allow us to thrive once more. We come now to confess the parts of our lives that do not bear fruit…

Prayer of Confession

Gracious God, we confess that we each have places in our lives that could use some pruning. Our words do not always give grace to those who hear, our actions do not always witness to our baptism in your name. We have ignored those who need our help the most and focused on hoarding more for ourselves. Our selfish desires only serve to wither us and turn us into dying branches. Forgive us, and prune away our dead places so that we may bear fruit generously in your name…

…moment of silent confession…

Assurance of Forgiveness

We are grafted into the Living Vine. The Vinegrower has tended to us and removed our sinful and withered ways. We are given another chance to live and bear fruit. For these gifts of love and life, let us stand and sing praise!

This confession would be appropriately followed by a Gloria of some sort.

Submitted by Rev. Rebecca Page Lesley, Suffolk Presbyterian Church, Suffolk, VA

confession and pardon: fears like pocket lint

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Call to Reconciliation
There come those moments when we stand exposed, our failings, our hurtful words, our harmful ways open for all to see. But God takes these moments, and these sins, redeeming them through compassionate love, making us new people, children of the Living God. Let us come, in these moments, with our prayers to the One who waits to forgive us and make us whole. Please join me as we pray together, saying,

Unison Prayer of Confession
We carry our fears around with us like so much pocket lint, Compassionate Heart, when you would take them and toss them aside, spent and useless. You invite us to sit and chat with someone who wants to know more about you, but we are busy running errands. You give us a simple command  –  to love, and we complicate it with rules, worries, and doubts.

Forgive us, Vine Grower.  You have planted those seeds of mercy, of hope, of grace deep within us, so we might bear rich and nourishing fruit for others. May we not get in the way of your Gardener, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, who will use the Holy Spirit to bring forth an abundant crop.

Silence is kept

Assurance of Pardon
God abides in you! God is breathing, living, forgiving, restoring you in this moment, and in the days to come. This is the good news for us!
As God is in us, so we can live, work, care for others, so that love, hope and joy might touch all people. Thanks be to God, we are forgiven. Amen.

 

Submitted by Rev. Thom Shuman, author of Lectionary Liturgies.