CALL TO WORSHIP
Psalm 48

MUSIC
Curated by Nathan Gutzmann
Hope Darst - Peace Be Still
Hillsong Worship - It Is Well With My Soul
Bethel Music - Reign Above It All
Phil Wickham - Living Hope

PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Written by Yelena Pakhomova

As part of our worship today, I invite you to join me in a prayer of confession.

“Confession is a prayer of return.”
It is a reminder that we can change.

And that Divine mercy is found in the totality of our lives and not only in those parts that we see as good and are happy to reveal to others. Confession is about a return to integrity and wholeness that can help us start anew. Our prayer of confession today will have three parts and an element of response. After each section, you are welcome to join me in saying the Jesus prayer together.
It goes likes this: “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Let us pray.

I.
Our loving God,
whose grace finds us in our darkest times and whispers,
“This is not the end.”
As we check in with our hearts today,
we trust that same abundant grace will meet us
and guide us with gentleness.
Especially as we think about
those moments of anger or harshness
that we’ve allowed to boil over and spill to others,
the moments of mindless distraction we’ve slipped into,
and the ways we have not used our gifts.
For all those times, we ask you to forgive us, and we pray:

Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

II.
God of welcome,
who always makes room to include more people at the table.
We confess that often we’re not great at doing the same.
For withholding our presence from somebody who needed us,
for criticism, impatience, self-righteousness,
for the lack of empathy and ignorance of someone’s pain.
We ask you to forgive and renew us, and we pray:

Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

III.
God of true peace,
We confess our participation in the structures and institutions
that thrive on inequality
and, in pursuit of wealth, abuse your creation.
We confess our slowness to learn,
and our fear and suspicion that often stand
in the way of relationship and reconciliation.
We ask you to set us free from all fear
so that we can follow you with courage, and we pray:

Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Now receive this affirmation:
May you trust that you can never wander too far from grace.
May God’s love and mercy always guide you home.

Amen.