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confession: caught up

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Call to Confession
There are many ways to get out of relationship with God, and when we do life can feel like a set of tires with all the air gone out of them. We are flat and friendless, limp and lifeless, lost and loveless. Our loving God wants to hear from us, wherever we are stuck on the side of the road. Let us confess the things standing between our hearts and God’s mercy as we pray together.
Prayer of Confession (Unison)
Gracious God, forgive us. We get caught up in the demands of the world and forget You. We run out of time to pray. We convince ourselves we know what is best. We doubt that You care about the details of our lives. We break down where we could build up. We forget You love us. We do not remember You can bring new life even when it seems all hope is gone. Forgive us for the ways we have broken our ties to You.
Silent Prayers of Confession
Words of Assurance (Responsive):
Minister: Sisters and Brothers in Christ, hear the Good News: all is forgiven.
ALL: Our loving God has heard our prayers.
Minister: We who felt dead are now alive in God’s grace and mercy.
ALL: We thank God for it.
Submitted by Rev. Martha Spong.

confession: naming our sin

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Naming Our Sin (following the hymn “Source and Sovereign, Rock and Cloud” described in the Glory to Godsampler this way: “These scriptural names and images of the Triune God express a theological view reinforced by the structure: the stanzas deal, in turn, with each Person of the Trinity and the refrain affirms their unity. The swirling patterns of the Welsh tune add much energy to the text.”)

L:  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  Remembering this promise of God, let us pray together.

P:  Holy God,  Each name for you in scripture and song tells a story of what you have done for us.  We confess that we limit ourselves to a few names, a few stories, and only a few memories.  We confess that we forget all the different ways and times you have shown us mercy and grace.  We confess that we don’t spend enough time remembering your promises which give us comfort in our present struggles and hope for the unknown future.  Forgive us, Gracious One, and help us to remember your faithfulness to your covenant this day and always.  This we pray in the name above all names, Jesus our Lord.  Amen. 

Hearing God’s Forgiveness

L:  When the flood waters covered the earth,

P:  God remembered Noah.

L:  When she grieved for children she didn’t have,

P:  God remembered Rachel.

L:  When the Israelites groaned under the oppression of the Egyptians,

P:  God heard their groaning, and God remembered the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

L:  When we confess our sins, God hears us and remembers the promise of the gospel:

P:  Our sins are forgiven on account of Christ’s name.

L:  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

 

Submitted by Rev. Stephanie Boardman Anthony, First Presbyterian Church, Hudson, WI.

confession: bewildered, afraid, impatient

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Gracious God, we come to you bewildered. You call us to peace, but we see a world at war. You call us to love neighbors, but we are afraid to leave our own places of comfort. Scripture tells us that we cannot bear all you have to reveal, but we are impatient in our desire for the coming of your Kingdom. Strengthen us in your truth and guide us to your service. Amen.

 

Submitted by Rev. Kathleen Sheets, Pastor, First Presbyterian Church of Jesup, IA

confession: new songs are hard

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O God, you call us to sing your song anew, yet we confess that sometimes we don’t feel much like singing. Sometimes we just want to sing of the past. Other times we ignore the witness of your people singing out through the ages. Forgive us when we trap your good news in our preferred language, when we insist that your grace must be known through our approved tunes, when we limit your story to the good old days. Forgive us when our lips are sealed in protest or in fear. Forgive us when we keep our voices low and our feet firmly planted, refusing to join you in the song and dance of holy life. Open our lips, O God, that we may proclaim your praise. Amen.

 

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

confession: suffering, endurance, character, hope

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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.