Prayer of Confession, L2A

Call to Confession

In our distress, we call to the Lord, and the Lord answers us. (Psalm 120:1 pp) Let us call upon the name of the Lord and seek God's mercy.

Prayer of Confession

God of mercy,
forgive us.
We should not need to be reminded
to look to you for strength,
and yet we do.
We look, instead, to earthly idols
because we define strength
differently.
The strength that is lauded on earth --
that we, ourselves, bow to --
is wielded harshly,
with no regard
to the kind of compassion
or grace
we are seeking from you now.
The strength that is lauded on earth --
that we, ourselves, aspire to --
comes with power
that is often 
abused. 
Forgive us, Sovereign God,
Creator of all that is.
There is no greater strength
than the strength of God.
Teach us to turn to you in times of trouble
and to trust in your unfailing love
as the greatest power of all.

Assurance of God's Grace

 ... neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39) Friends, hear the Good News: In 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.