a community creating for the relentless return of Sunday
God of all gods, Master of all kings, we have dodged your call and detoured from your path so much that we are often lost and cannot hear you. We deny dreams of your kingdom come, your will done by rebuilding ruins with relics. Our exile from you means a nightmare of struggling with others. Forgive our self worship and reveal the mystery of the dream you have for us…
(silent prayer)
Submitted by Rev. J. Christy Ramsey, Carson City NV
Call to Confession
God calls us to rest in grace, to let down our guard and be truthful about ourselves and the world. When we allow some breathing room, we can see the Spirit moving, calling us to a new way of life. Before God, with all the people of God, let us confess our brokenness and make room for healing. Let us pray.
Prayer of Confession
Your Love is hard at work, O God. Yet we resist, insisting we must do the work ourselves. We resist, unwilling to allow the undeserving to be loved. We resist, wanting to control the methods and outcomes. We forget to give thanks, instead wavering between trying harder and giving up. Forgive our hard-heartedness, and remind us that you are Love. Forgive our narrow vision, and turn us again to walk your way. Forgive our ingratitude, and open us to receive as well as give. Free us from our selfish desires, and make room for your work to grow in us.
~silence~
Assurance of Forgiveness
Hear this good news: God is at work in you. Live this truth: God’s grace is more than enough for whatever you carry. Know that you are forgiven, loved, and free.
We will rejoice and be glad! Amen.
Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, the Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL
Call to Confession
It is tempting to think we have it all figured out, but then we fool only ourselves even as we crowd out the Spirit. When we admit our faults and our failings, we make room for the still small voice of God to speak, to us and through us. Before God, with the people of God, let us confess the ways we wound our lives, and the life of the world. Let us pray.
Confession
Living God, our lives are so full, and we keep filling them. Activities, knowledge, resume-builders, work, fun, stuff—more, more, more seems to be our mantra. There is no space for us to live or move or to just be. We confess that you are often unknown to us, for we cannot see how to fit you in. We confess that we like to feel important, and with you there is no power or status to be earned. We confess that we have more than our share of most things, yet still we want. Forgive our gluttony and arrogance of mind, body, and spirit, and turn us again to see your face. Silence in us every voice but your own, and make yourself known to us again this day. Amen.
~silence~
Assurance
Friends, hear this good news: God is not far from each one of us. In every breath, the Spirit makes us new, alive with Christ!
We are forgiven, loved, and free. Thanks be to God! Amen.
Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, the Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL
One: Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Way.
All: You call us to walk with you, but we prefer other ways, which seem just as good.
Your way is difficult, and requires sacrifice of status, money, and power,
while other ways offer us a good life filled with plenty.
Forgive us when we choose the good life instead of your abundant life.
~silence~
One: Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Truth.
All: But your truth contradicts everything we know about economies and institutions,
so we close our minds and hearts to the suffering our truths inflict on others
and on creation.
Forgive us when we accept lies as truth.
~silence~
One: Lord Jesus Christ, you are the Life.
All: Your life is the light of all people, but we prefer to put boundaries around life,
believing some lives are more valuable, some ways of living are more acceptable,
some lives cannot be tolerated.
Forgive us when we restrict your life-giving to our rules.
~silence~
Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, the Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL
All: God, we want so badly to do what is right. In our zeal we forget to listen for your voice, forging ahead on our own way since we cannot imagine another. We close our eyes to your image shining in the faces of the wrong people. We close our ears to your word coming from those with whom we disagree. We close our hearts against those who are different. Instead we offer advice, or ultimatums, or patronizing help, when what you desire is relationship, compassion, and justice.
~silence~
One: Forgive us, O God.
All: Heal our hard-heartedness. Shift our thinking. Open our eyes. Turn us to follow your way.
Submitted by Rev. Teri Peterson, the Presbyterian Church of Palatine, IL
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