Confession

We read the following confession out of the Worship Together hymnal in church this past Sunday. I thought it was refreshingly honest...

We confess to You, Lord, who we are: we are not the people we like others to think we are; we are afraid to admit even to ourselves what lies in the depths of our souls. But we do not want to hide our true selves from You. We believe that You know us as we are, and yet You love us. Help us not to shrink from self-knowledge; teach us to respect ourselves for Your sake; give us the courage to put our trust in Your guidance and power.

We also confess to You, Lord, the unrest of the world, to which we contribute and in which we share. Forgive us that so many of us are indifferent to the needs of others.

Forgive our reliance on weapons of terror, our discrimination against people of different race, and our preoccupation with material standards. And forgive us for being so unsure of our Good News and so unready to tell it.

Raise us out of the paralysis of guilt into the freedom and energy of forgiven people. And for those who through long habit find forgiveness hard to accept, we ask You to break their bondage and set them free, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.