Holy God, Creator of all that is, Donor of Grace, and Giver of Life: In this time of silence, and in our prayer together, let us look at our lives. In the season of Lent we are invited to consider how we live as followers of Christ – to look at our decisions and our actions straight on, and to hold them up to the example of Christ, and to make amends. Help us to be better, and to see more clearly, and to care more thoroughly. We need to be forgiven for our sin, for our mistakes, for mistaking what the world values with what you value. We are in such desperate need of your forgiveness. We are uncomfortable, or we feel guilty, or we follow brighter, shinier people, or we worry about what will make us look good. And sometimes when we do things like that, it’s not really about the other people, but about us. Sometimes, O God, we forget people, or we toss them aside – the difficult ones, the needy ones, the ones that are hard to spend time with, the ones who confront us. This we pray in the name of Jesus, who is with us always. Encourage our hearts, and help us to be your people, to the best of our ability in these strange days. Remind us every day that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Help us to lean on you and each other when things get hard and when we get depressed. We’re caught between the selfishness of wanting to do whatever we want without regard for others, and wanting to be helpful and generous. We’re losing patience and we’re losing hope and we’re losing our grip on faith. It is really hard to wear masks, to avoid public gatherings, to spend so much time watching screens. Holy God, we will be honest: this is really hard. Confident of God’s love, let us make our confession, first in silent prayers. Still, we engage in confession, admitting to God all that rests uneasily in our hearts. God is gracious and merciful and knows our needs even before they reach our lips. We ask that you give us the energy, intelligence, imagination, and love to be your people in all we say and do. We ask you to give us the courage to change. We believe that you have the power to turn us around to a more inclusive way of living, so we ask you to do that. We confess that we have not lived out your call to share in abundant life and unconditional love. We confess that it’s easier to lock the doors of our community than to receive those who don’t look like we look, love like we love, or vote the way we vote. We confess that we fear what is different. Holy God, we ask for your help, your power, your Spirit, so that we can amend our lives and grow more each day into the image of Christ. Confident of God’s love for us, let us offer our prayers, first in silence. The act of confessing our sin is not simply a recitation of our faults and wrongs, but also an opportunity to receive God’s mercy and share in that abundant grace. Remind you of this surpassing grace – in Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Amen.įriends in Christ, know this: the mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting, and I Forgive our sin, and empower us to be imitators of Christ in love and service. We do not turn to You as the source of our healing.įorgive us, we pray. We cast the first stone, and keep the logs in our own eyes. We confess that we do not follow Jesus in all that we do. Gracious and loving God, open our hearts so that we are able to admit to you the fullness of our lives – that which is beautiful and good, and that which is hurtful and hateful. Trusting in our Partner in grace, let us make our confession, first in silent prayer. When we offer God our confession, we join the beautiful work of reconciliation, which begins with our reconciling with God. Forgive us, help us to repent, and make us whole. We care for ourselves but not for others. We laze about in the good news of our faith and do not consider the deep commitment of faith. We anger at the slightest insult and imagine great vengeance upon those who wronged us. God of tender mercies, we admit that sometimes we don’t know what to do with ourselves. Let us then risk our confession, first in silent prayer. But throughout the scriptures, we learn that God is merciful and just, slow to anger, and eager to forgiven. To open our hearts to God is to risk vulnerability, judgment, and condemnation. So that we might dwell in You, in your grace, forever. We pray for forgiveness, for your goodness and mercy, We see scarcity even when you offer us abundance. We hate our enemies and refuse to break bread with them, We see courage and comfort in earthly things rather than in you. We wander tempting paths instead of following you. We stir the pot when we could offer peace, Attribution is appreciated: “Written by Beth Merrill Neel on her blog, ‘Hold Fast to What Is Good’. YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO USE OR ADAPT ANY OF THESE LITURGIES.
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