Call to Confession: 

As we enter into a time of confession together, a way we regularly take seriously our sin and lay it before God, let’s prepare our hearts by hearing these words from 1 Corinthians 13:

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Prayer of Confession: 

Holy God,

Forgive us for the countless ways in which we have not loved others. Sometimes we are obviously unloving — we are inconsiderate or rude, we ignore those we don’t like, or we keep everyone at arms length. Sometimes we can be quite good at faking love — we pretend to listen while inwardly judging or we give “generously” but hold onto resentment.

Merciful Jesus, thank you for continuing to work on our hard hearts. When you were on earth, you loved others with a specific and meaningful love. You really saw people, not just for what they could give you, but you saw their hearts and loved them well in all circumstances. Lord, help us to love like you loved. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: 

In the scriptures we find assurances of our forgiveness and encouragement in our walk.  So hear these words from 2 Corinthians 5, and rest in its truth for us today:

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;  and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.