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Easter

confession: abandoned your mission

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God of all time, of history, of things present, and of things to come, we confess our own abandonment of the mission you have given us. You gave us power through your Spirit and an indefinite timeline for your return. We have squandered time and wasted our gifts to fulfill selfish motives, separating us from one another. Like the disciples, we look to the sky for Jesus, instead of in the faces of the least of these among us. Forgive us, O God, and make us whole again. Reignite a holy passion within us, that we may fulfill your charge to be witnesses of your grace and glory. Amen.
 
Submitted by Rev. Elaine Murray Dreeben, Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church, Dallas, Texas

Confession: so full

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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

communion prayer: great and mighty shepherd

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The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.

 

It is right and good to give you thanks and praise, Eternal Shepherd,
for walk you with us each and every day,
through green pastures,
beside still waters,
along the summits of our rejoicing
and in the valleys of our uncertainty.
Your presence has sustained us from generation to generation,
in the wisdom of our mothers and fathers,
in the challenges of your prophets,
and most of all in our risen Lord Jesus Christ,
the great and mighty shepherd of all.
So we raise our voices with all our companions on this journey,
giving you thanks and praise now and always:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest!

Great God of power and might,
you are holy and yet you are present with us.
In Christ you came among us to be our true divine companion,
to know our humanity and to make us whole.
In Christ you suffered even the pains of death,
but nothing could take away the fullness of your life.
In Christ you rose to new life,
breaking the bonds of death once and for all
so that all creation might live in the fullness of hope.
Remembering all that you have done and are doing and will do,
we take these gifts of bread and cup
to celebrate your presence with us in Christ and in one another,
that they might be our holy offering of praise and thanks
and that our lives might always proclaim your life shared with us in Christ.

Great is this mystery of our faith:
Christ has died. Christ is risen! Christ will come again.

Gracious God,
pour out your Holy Spirit upon us
and upon these gifts of bread and cup,
that the bread we break
and the cup we bless
may be the communion of the body and blood of Christ.
By your Spirit make us one with Christ
that we may be one with all who share this feast,
united in ministry in every place.
As this bread is Christ’s body for us,
send us out to be the body of Christ in the world.

Guide us as we embody your love and joy
in all our lives and in your world.
Help us to walk with one another in mercy and peace,
in justice and joy,
each and every day,
that your abundant grace and faith might flow in us wherever we walk,
until we dwell secure in your love all our days.
Through Christ, with Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honor are yours, almighty God and Good Shepherd,
now and forever. Amen.

Submitted by Rev. Andy James, First Presbyterian Church, Whitestone, Queens, New York.