Prayer of Confession, A6E

Call to Confession

Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. (1 John 2:9) Our actions speak louder than our words. Let us confess our sin before God and seek God's mercy.

Prayer of Confession, E6A

Creator God,
forgive us.
In 1 John 3:15a, we read
"Everyone who hates their brother is a murderer."
By that definition, Lord,
we are murders.
We allow bitterness and anger
to simmer inside us
until it boils over in words that pierce
like weapons
and kill the spirits of those we target.
We incite quarreling
and refuse to listen to another point of view.
We behave as though we are entitled,
judging our neighbor by standards
we could not pass ourselves,
failing to remember that every human ...
every
human ...
carries the image of the Creator within them.
Forgive our foolish pride.
Forgive our self-centeredness.
Renew in us a spirit of love and compassion.
Help us to see the goodness of the Lord
in every human,
to humbly confess our failures in person,
to acknowledge our contributions
to the brokenness of the world,
and to reconcile with one another
in the name of Love.
Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayers.

Assurance of God's Grace

God has promised that when we confess our sin, God, who is faithful and just, will forgive us our sin and remove it as far as the east is from the west, remembering it no more. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. Let us live out that forgiveness by forgiving one another in Jesus' name.

Since God has forgiven us in Christ, let us also forgive one another. The peace of Christ be with you.
Please extend the peace of Christ to everyone you encounter this day.

*Liturgy based on Matthew 5:21-37.