Prayer of Confession, E3A

Call to Confession 

I appeal to you, siblings, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Romans 12:1) Let us present ourselves to God with all our shortcomings and failures and seek God's mercy:

Prayer of Confession 

You call us to unity, God,
but we are intentionally and persistently
divisive,
mostly among our siblings in Christ,
in whose name we are called to serve
together. 
You call us to follow Jesus,
but we make idols of leaders
and devote ourselves to false prophets
and to those who perpetuate this divisiveness
in an all-out effort to confuse and destroy 
your kin-dom.
You set an example for us to serve one another
as Christ selflessly served,
putting others ahead of ourselves,
but we systematically seek to undermine
the teachings of Christ,
the law of Love,
and the commandment to love our neighbors
through slander and prejudice and persecution
and violence.
Lord, in your mercy, 
hear our prayers for forgiveness.
We deserve to be judged by the same measure we judge.
We deserve to be treated as we treat your people.
We deserve your wrath.
Yet you continue to shower your grace on us
and to call us to new life 
according to the Holy Spirit at work among us. 
Transform our hearts, O God,
and lead us ever forward in humility, 
that we might learn from our mistakes
before we destroy what you called good.

Assurance of God's Grace

For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. 15 And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for the one who for their sake died and was raised. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) Hear the Good News: In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! Thanks be to God!

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 all whom you encounter this week.