Prayers Of Confession And Pardon For Lent
Worship
Restore Me
Litanies, Prayers And Dialogues For Lent and Easter
Righteous God, our refuge and our strength; mightily we have
sinned and greatly we need your forgiveness. Not only have we
listened to the subtle temptations of Satan, but we have openly
worked for the Sin which you so rightly oppose Knowing our human
weakness we have come to you seeking strength for our souls and
relief for our bodies. For we need to speak to Satan as Jesus
did, saying "Be gone!"
Forgive us O God, purge our unrighteousness in the holy fire of
your love and forge us into your pure and shining instruments.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "The free gift is not like the trespass."
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Thanks be to God! In the name of Jesus Christ, you are
forgiven! Amen!
O Wisdom of the Ages, you gave us minds that we might seek your
truth, however, by our selfishness we have used them to create
idols that excuse the comfortable ways in which we have chosen to
live. Lord, we have become like Nicodemus, unable to see past the
physical and into the spiritual life to which you have called us.
Forgive us our negligence. Inspire us to become seekers and
speakers of truth, that we and our world, might come to know the
way that leads to life eternal.
(silent prayer)
M: And Jesus said: "Ask, and it will be given you; seek and you
will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." In the name of
Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Glory be to God in the highest. In the name of Jesus Christ,
you are forgiven! Amen!
Redeeming God, the sin of our lives lies heavy upon our hearts.
We have rejected suffering as a fact of faith. No longer do we
endure in our pursuit of you, instead we have demanded drive-thru
convenience and instant gratification in our prayer life. The
only character we have developed is that which encourages our
continued moral decline. There is little that we have done which
has not disappointed you, and we are truly sorry.
Forgive us, O God, and raise us up again by your grace.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "While we were still powerless, at the
right time Christ died for us." In the name of Jesus Christ, you
are forgiven!
P: We rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ! In the name
of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Amen!
Sustaining God, stumbling along through life we have sinned and
fallen from your presence. Walking in the dark we have stubbed
our toes upon the unfruitful works of this world. We have judged
our sisters and brothers by their appearance or stature and
neglected to look upon their hearts. We have built enormous
edifices to the egos that have ruled our lives. From buildings to
bombs, and fortunes to feelings we have given our lives over to
the designs and ideals of other human beings. Our shame lies in
our sin, and our sin has been revealed to us today in your light.
Save us, O God and wake us up to the reality of life in Christ,
that we might walk as children of light.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "There is no condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus." In the name of Jesus Christ, you are
forgiven!
P: Glory be to God Almighty! In the name of Jesus Christ, you are
forgiven! Amen!
Have mercy upon us, most merciful God. Our bodies are dead
because of the sin in which we live and we are beginning to put
out the fire of your Spirit. We have turned to our sisters and
brothers in need and only sought to comfort them with empty
phrases; no longer do we even wish to follow up our words with
our actions. It has been easier to blame you for our own
problems, instead of asking for your help in dealing with them.
You have commanded us to "Come out!" however, we have cowered
within the tombs of sin in which we have buried ourselves.
Forgive us, O God, resurrect us and raise us into the glories of
your life.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "God who raised Christ from the dead will
also give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit, who
lives in you." In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Thanks be to the Lord Almighty. In the name of Jesus Christ,
you are forgiven! Amen.
Mighty God, sustainer of all that is and redeemer of the
oppressed; forgive us. Our foremost thoughts have been how we can
make our nation and ourselves equal to you. We have continually
sought servants and demanded the time of others, while humbling
ourselves to no one. We have accepted all the praise in our lives
for ourselves and deemed that no one is as good, or as proficient
as we are. We have sunk all that we are into sin, into self-
centeredness.
Forgive us, O God, and enable us to truly be the Christians you
created us to be.
(silent prayer)
M: And Jesus said: "I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me I
will not drive away." In the name of Jesus Christ, you are
forgiven!
P: Glory, praise and honor be to God alone! In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven!
Lord Jesus, in whose hands healing has always been brought to the
sick; save us and forgive us, for we are sick with sin. Our faith
in you has become the business of religion and in the bureaucracy
of the church we have become money-changers for society. Our
faith no longer rests in you but on only those signs of the
church in action around the world. We have become shallow and
unstable.
Forgive us; knot the cords of your love and use it to purge this
sin from our hearts and create in us anew clean hearts and right
spirits to your continued glory.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "The Lord redeems the life of servants;
none of those who take refuge in God will be condemned." In the
name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Thanks, glory and praise be unto God! In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven! Amen!
O God, our rock and refuge, in the light of this place as we
gather in prayer the manifold darkness of our lives becomes all
too plain to see. We love the darkness of human power and
destruction more than the light of your healing and caring. We
love the darkness of self-concern and human abuse more than the
light of love for you and our neighbor. We love the darkness of
personal advancement and national security more than the light of
the Body of Christ and eternal security.
Forgive us, save us, and redeem us O God, for the further opening
of your kingdom on earth.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "For God so loved the world that the one
and only Son was given, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life." In the name of Jesus Christ, you
are forgiven!
P: By grace we have been saved through the one gift of God! In
the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Amen!
Lord Jesus, you have called us to be your servants, however all
we have truly served was ourselves. We love our lives too much to
risk them in uncertain ventures of faith. Human reason has
grabbed our souls and wrung the last vestige of true belief from
them as we watch T.V., listen to the radio, and read the
newspaper. We have chosen to put our trust in those resources
that can be proved on paper. Take us by the hand, re-turn us to
right relationship with you, save us from ourselves.
(silent prayer)
M: And God said: "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will
remember their sin no more." In the name of Jesus Christ, you are
forgiven!
P: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Amen!
El Shaddai, compassionate and comforting God, we are sorely in
need of your brooding love. Like the errant children we are, we
have followed the crowd and ignored the warnings of your parental
concern. We have placed status, station, and racial pride before
the great commandment of your love and in our rebellion we have
closed our eyes to our responsibility as stewards of this great
creation. We have degraded, despoiled, and defamed your chosen
servants for following your Word in their lives. Help us, O God,
to stand before the world as your disciples; no matter the cost.
Redeem us, and draw us closer to your loving breast.
(silent prayer)
M: The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest! In the name of Jesus Christ,
you are forgiven! Amen!
Saving God; redeem us from the pit of our self-serving, self-
centered and self-indulgent humanity. Too easily we have fallen
to the temptation of leading Jesus to the cross and following the
crowd in condemnation. You have given us a world to which we must
stand before you as stewards and that stewardship we have given
over to greed, hate and fear. For we disfigure and maim this
beautiful creation everyday with bombs, chemicals and blood.
Forgive us and free us for joyful obedience.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "Christ died for sins, once for all, the
righteous for the unrighteous." In the name of Jesus Christ, you
are forgiven!
P: Praise God! In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
Amen!
Redeeming God, too easily we have followed the ways of human
society and not those of discipling Christianity. Not only have
we denied you and laid aside the burden of your cross; but we
have sought dominion over the whole world for our own gain. We
have adulterated ourselves before the throne of human passions
and not thrown ourselves upon the throne of grace. Save us, O
God, save us from ourselves for the warring madness of humanity
is upon us.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "Jesus our Lord, was put to death for our
trespasses and raised for our justification." In the name of
Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Thanks and praise be to God Almighty! In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven! Amen!
God of power and might, Lord of love and peace; humbly we come
into your presence in prayer today, asking for your forgiveness.
We have strayed from the path Jesus walked in this life and
listened to the many and varied temptations of Sin. In the light
of our own eyes we thought, and acted as though "might makes
right," all the time forgetting that even the greatest power of
our nuclear forces is weaker than your greatest weakness. Living
on the brink of mutual assured destruction, we have tested you as
we ought not to have done.
Forgive us, o Lord. Lead us once again into your paths of peace
and let your loving light shine upon us.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "Whoever clings to me in love, I will
deliver; I will protect the one who knows my salvation." In the
name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Glory to God!
Amen!
God of grace, your love never ends; before the world was made you
loved creation and after time expends you will love all that was.
In the face of your love we have continued to live lives that put
ourselves first. We have seen bread and wine as only food for our
bodies. We have used the water of baptism to only temporarily
quench our human thirst. We have misunderstood your great
promises; and so approached life not as Stewards or Caretakers,
but as Robber Barons and Magnates. We stretched forth our hand
over creation and marred its beauty as we hacked and clawed it to
pieces.
Forgive us our self-indulgence. Strengthen our inner selves.
Enable our continued life as your children. Make us to understand
once again that only you are God.
(silent prayer)
M: And Jesus said: "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of
the Lord." In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Thanks be to
God! Amen!
O Redeeming God, protector of all who trust in you; we have come
together to hear your will for our lives, whether we agree with
it or not -- for we have sinned and fallen short of your glory.
The lackadaisical nature of our commitment to your church makes
us not even worthy to so much as gather the crumbs from under
your table, yet you have given us a place at your banquet. Our
chosen inability to sit still long enough to hear your response
to our prayers brings us only damnation. We continually hide the
lamp of our life under the basket of conformity.
Forgive us, O God. Open the eyes and ears we have closed, to the
source of our salvation in Jesus Christ, and create in us your
love once again.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "God is faithful, and will not let you be
tempted beyond your strength; but will also provide the way of
escape that you may be able to endure." In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven!
P: As parents love their children, so God loves us and does not
repay us according to our iniquities. In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven! Halleluiah! Amen!
Loving Lord, all we like sheep have gone astray. Like the
prodigal son we have gleefully accepted our inheritance in you
and have gone and squandered it on the life of this world. By
actively participating in, or passively ignoring it, we have
contributed to our world's falling further away from the original
goodness you created. Our weekly lives, more often than not, deny
our Christian heritage; while our inner conversations with you
have become in our eyes only useless monologues.
Forgive us, O Lord. Help us to live. Enable us to trust in you
alone. Make us worthy of our ancestor Joshua. Save us from
ourselves.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "If anyone is in Christ, there is a new
creation; the old has passed away, the new has come." In the name
of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: For our sake God made to be sin the One who knew no sin, so
that we might become the righteousness of God. I the name of
Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Amen!
Mighty Redeemer, do not remember the former things, nor consider
our past, for we are straining towards what lies ahead; we are
pressing towards the goal of our call in Christ. And yet, we are
held back by the strings of our human lives. It is still easier
for us to ignore suffering, illness and depression in the world
than to speak your prophetic word of release, and enact your
empowering love. Our continued complicity with an unchristian
political system and world has endangered our immortal souls.
Forgive us, O Lord. Redeem our lives from the pit of humanity.
Enable us to only do your will. Help us to only hold true to the
Gospel.
(silent prayer)
M: And Jesus said: "I am the resurrection and the life; anyone
who believes in me, though they die, yet shall they live, and
whoever lives and believes in me shall never die." In the name of
Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of
knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ, you
are forgiven! Glory to God! Amen!
Awesome God, companion and helper to the lonely; We are without a
doubt in need of your everpresent love. For we have chosen to
follow the crowd and ignore the warnings of your covenantal
concern. In the arrival of Jesus we will meet not the comfy and
cuddly savior we expect, but the judge and sovereign whose
decision is final. The depth and intensity of our sin has blinded
us to the discipleship responsibility you demand and we have
become like the priests meeting Jesus on the road wishing that
the noise of his passage could be lessened and so no longer
disturb us.
Redeem us, restart and resurrect in us that intensity of belief
and action which does categorize your chosen children.
(silent prayer)
M: "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners." In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest! In the name of Jesus Christ,
you are forgiven! Amen!
sinned and greatly we need your forgiveness. Not only have we
listened to the subtle temptations of Satan, but we have openly
worked for the Sin which you so rightly oppose Knowing our human
weakness we have come to you seeking strength for our souls and
relief for our bodies. For we need to speak to Satan as Jesus
did, saying "Be gone!"
Forgive us O God, purge our unrighteousness in the holy fire of
your love and forge us into your pure and shining instruments.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "The free gift is not like the trespass."
In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Thanks be to God! In the name of Jesus Christ, you are
forgiven! Amen!
O Wisdom of the Ages, you gave us minds that we might seek your
truth, however, by our selfishness we have used them to create
idols that excuse the comfortable ways in which we have chosen to
live. Lord, we have become like Nicodemus, unable to see past the
physical and into the spiritual life to which you have called us.
Forgive us our negligence. Inspire us to become seekers and
speakers of truth, that we and our world, might come to know the
way that leads to life eternal.
(silent prayer)
M: And Jesus said: "Ask, and it will be given you; seek and you
will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." In the name of
Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Glory be to God in the highest. In the name of Jesus Christ,
you are forgiven! Amen!
Redeeming God, the sin of our lives lies heavy upon our hearts.
We have rejected suffering as a fact of faith. No longer do we
endure in our pursuit of you, instead we have demanded drive-thru
convenience and instant gratification in our prayer life. The
only character we have developed is that which encourages our
continued moral decline. There is little that we have done which
has not disappointed you, and we are truly sorry.
Forgive us, O God, and raise us up again by your grace.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "While we were still powerless, at the
right time Christ died for us." In the name of Jesus Christ, you
are forgiven!
P: We rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ! In the name
of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Amen!
Sustaining God, stumbling along through life we have sinned and
fallen from your presence. Walking in the dark we have stubbed
our toes upon the unfruitful works of this world. We have judged
our sisters and brothers by their appearance or stature and
neglected to look upon their hearts. We have built enormous
edifices to the egos that have ruled our lives. From buildings to
bombs, and fortunes to feelings we have given our lives over to
the designs and ideals of other human beings. Our shame lies in
our sin, and our sin has been revealed to us today in your light.
Save us, O God and wake us up to the reality of life in Christ,
that we might walk as children of light.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "There is no condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus." In the name of Jesus Christ, you are
forgiven!
P: Glory be to God Almighty! In the name of Jesus Christ, you are
forgiven! Amen!
Have mercy upon us, most merciful God. Our bodies are dead
because of the sin in which we live and we are beginning to put
out the fire of your Spirit. We have turned to our sisters and
brothers in need and only sought to comfort them with empty
phrases; no longer do we even wish to follow up our words with
our actions. It has been easier to blame you for our own
problems, instead of asking for your help in dealing with them.
You have commanded us to "Come out!" however, we have cowered
within the tombs of sin in which we have buried ourselves.
Forgive us, O God, resurrect us and raise us into the glories of
your life.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "God who raised Christ from the dead will
also give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit, who
lives in you." In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Thanks be to the Lord Almighty. In the name of Jesus Christ,
you are forgiven! Amen.
Mighty God, sustainer of all that is and redeemer of the
oppressed; forgive us. Our foremost thoughts have been how we can
make our nation and ourselves equal to you. We have continually
sought servants and demanded the time of others, while humbling
ourselves to no one. We have accepted all the praise in our lives
for ourselves and deemed that no one is as good, or as proficient
as we are. We have sunk all that we are into sin, into self-
centeredness.
Forgive us, O God, and enable us to truly be the Christians you
created us to be.
(silent prayer)
M: And Jesus said: "I am the bread of life, whoever comes to me I
will not drive away." In the name of Jesus Christ, you are
forgiven!
P: Glory, praise and honor be to God alone! In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven!
Lord Jesus, in whose hands healing has always been brought to the
sick; save us and forgive us, for we are sick with sin. Our faith
in you has become the business of religion and in the bureaucracy
of the church we have become money-changers for society. Our
faith no longer rests in you but on only those signs of the
church in action around the world. We have become shallow and
unstable.
Forgive us; knot the cords of your love and use it to purge this
sin from our hearts and create in us anew clean hearts and right
spirits to your continued glory.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "The Lord redeems the life of servants;
none of those who take refuge in God will be condemned." In the
name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Thanks, glory and praise be unto God! In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven! Amen!
O God, our rock and refuge, in the light of this place as we
gather in prayer the manifold darkness of our lives becomes all
too plain to see. We love the darkness of human power and
destruction more than the light of your healing and caring. We
love the darkness of self-concern and human abuse more than the
light of love for you and our neighbor. We love the darkness of
personal advancement and national security more than the light of
the Body of Christ and eternal security.
Forgive us, save us, and redeem us O God, for the further opening
of your kingdom on earth.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "For God so loved the world that the one
and only Son was given, that whoever believes in him should not
perish but have eternal life." In the name of Jesus Christ, you
are forgiven!
P: By grace we have been saved through the one gift of God! In
the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Amen!
Lord Jesus, you have called us to be your servants, however all
we have truly served was ourselves. We love our lives too much to
risk them in uncertain ventures of faith. Human reason has
grabbed our souls and wrung the last vestige of true belief from
them as we watch T.V., listen to the radio, and read the
newspaper. We have chosen to put our trust in those resources
that can be proved on paper. Take us by the hand, re-turn us to
right relationship with you, save us from ourselves.
(silent prayer)
M: And God said: "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will
remember their sin no more." In the name of Jesus Christ, you are
forgiven!
P: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Amen!
El Shaddai, compassionate and comforting God, we are sorely in
need of your brooding love. Like the errant children we are, we
have followed the crowd and ignored the warnings of your parental
concern. We have placed status, station, and racial pride before
the great commandment of your love and in our rebellion we have
closed our eyes to our responsibility as stewards of this great
creation. We have degraded, despoiled, and defamed your chosen
servants for following your Word in their lives. Help us, O God,
to stand before the world as your disciples; no matter the cost.
Redeem us, and draw us closer to your loving breast.
(silent prayer)
M: The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners. In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest! In the name of Jesus Christ,
you are forgiven! Amen!
Saving God; redeem us from the pit of our self-serving, self-
centered and self-indulgent humanity. Too easily we have fallen
to the temptation of leading Jesus to the cross and following the
crowd in condemnation. You have given us a world to which we must
stand before you as stewards and that stewardship we have given
over to greed, hate and fear. For we disfigure and maim this
beautiful creation everyday with bombs, chemicals and blood.
Forgive us and free us for joyful obedience.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "Christ died for sins, once for all, the
righteous for the unrighteous." In the name of Jesus Christ, you
are forgiven!
P: Praise God! In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
Amen!
Redeeming God, too easily we have followed the ways of human
society and not those of discipling Christianity. Not only have
we denied you and laid aside the burden of your cross; but we
have sought dominion over the whole world for our own gain. We
have adulterated ourselves before the throne of human passions
and not thrown ourselves upon the throne of grace. Save us, O
God, save us from ourselves for the warring madness of humanity
is upon us.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "Jesus our Lord, was put to death for our
trespasses and raised for our justification." In the name of
Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Thanks and praise be to God Almighty! In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven! Amen!
God of power and might, Lord of love and peace; humbly we come
into your presence in prayer today, asking for your forgiveness.
We have strayed from the path Jesus walked in this life and
listened to the many and varied temptations of Sin. In the light
of our own eyes we thought, and acted as though "might makes
right," all the time forgetting that even the greatest power of
our nuclear forces is weaker than your greatest weakness. Living
on the brink of mutual assured destruction, we have tested you as
we ought not to have done.
Forgive us, o Lord. Lead us once again into your paths of peace
and let your loving light shine upon us.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "Whoever clings to me in love, I will
deliver; I will protect the one who knows my salvation." In the
name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Glory to God!
Amen!
God of grace, your love never ends; before the world was made you
loved creation and after time expends you will love all that was.
In the face of your love we have continued to live lives that put
ourselves first. We have seen bread and wine as only food for our
bodies. We have used the water of baptism to only temporarily
quench our human thirst. We have misunderstood your great
promises; and so approached life not as Stewards or Caretakers,
but as Robber Barons and Magnates. We stretched forth our hand
over creation and marred its beauty as we hacked and clawed it to
pieces.
Forgive us our self-indulgence. Strengthen our inner selves.
Enable our continued life as your children. Make us to understand
once again that only you are God.
(silent prayer)
M: And Jesus said: "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of
the Lord." In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Thanks be to
God! Amen!
O Redeeming God, protector of all who trust in you; we have come
together to hear your will for our lives, whether we agree with
it or not -- for we have sinned and fallen short of your glory.
The lackadaisical nature of our commitment to your church makes
us not even worthy to so much as gather the crumbs from under
your table, yet you have given us a place at your banquet. Our
chosen inability to sit still long enough to hear your response
to our prayers brings us only damnation. We continually hide the
lamp of our life under the basket of conformity.
Forgive us, O God. Open the eyes and ears we have closed, to the
source of our salvation in Jesus Christ, and create in us your
love once again.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "God is faithful, and will not let you be
tempted beyond your strength; but will also provide the way of
escape that you may be able to endure." In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven!
P: As parents love their children, so God loves us and does not
repay us according to our iniquities. In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven! Halleluiah! Amen!
Loving Lord, all we like sheep have gone astray. Like the
prodigal son we have gleefully accepted our inheritance in you
and have gone and squandered it on the life of this world. By
actively participating in, or passively ignoring it, we have
contributed to our world's falling further away from the original
goodness you created. Our weekly lives, more often than not, deny
our Christian heritage; while our inner conversations with you
have become in our eyes only useless monologues.
Forgive us, O Lord. Help us to live. Enable us to trust in you
alone. Make us worthy of our ancestor Joshua. Save us from
ourselves.
(silent prayer)
M: Hear the Good News: "If anyone is in Christ, there is a new
creation; the old has passed away, the new has come." In the name
of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: For our sake God made to be sin the One who knew no sin, so
that we might become the righteousness of God. I the name of
Jesus Christ, you are forgiven! Amen!
Mighty Redeemer, do not remember the former things, nor consider
our past, for we are straining towards what lies ahead; we are
pressing towards the goal of our call in Christ. And yet, we are
held back by the strings of our human lives. It is still easier
for us to ignore suffering, illness and depression in the world
than to speak your prophetic word of release, and enact your
empowering love. Our continued complicity with an unchristian
political system and world has endangered our immortal souls.
Forgive us, O Lord. Redeem our lives from the pit of humanity.
Enable us to only do your will. Help us to only hold true to the
Gospel.
(silent prayer)
M: And Jesus said: "I am the resurrection and the life; anyone
who believes in me, though they die, yet shall they live, and
whoever lives and believes in me shall never die." In the name of
Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
P: I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of
knowing Christ Jesus as my Lord. In the name of Jesus Christ, you
are forgiven! Glory to God! Amen!
Awesome God, companion and helper to the lonely; We are without a
doubt in need of your everpresent love. For we have chosen to
follow the crowd and ignore the warnings of your covenantal
concern. In the arrival of Jesus we will meet not the comfy and
cuddly savior we expect, but the judge and sovereign whose
decision is final. The depth and intensity of our sin has blinded
us to the discipleship responsibility you demand and we have
become like the priests meeting Jesus on the road wishing that
the noise of his passage could be lessened and so no longer
disturb us.
Redeem us, restart and resurrect in us that intensity of belief
and action which does categorize your chosen children.
(silent prayer)
M: "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners." In the name of Jesus
Christ, you are forgiven!
P: Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest! In the name of Jesus Christ,
you are forgiven! Amen!
