CALL TO WORSHIP
Let us bless the Lord as long as we live.
We will lift up our hands and call upon God's Name.
O God, our God, our souls thirst for you as in a dry and weary land.
Because your steadfast love is better than life, our lips will praise you.
—based on Ps. 63:1-4
OPENING PRAYER
Eternal Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time and this place, and for the refuge you offer us from a chaotic world. With your Word you created the world, and by your Word you sustain us. Now during this hour of worship, may your Word refresh us so that we may be strengthened to share your Name with our neighbors. Through kind words and good deeds, may those who love you make the Gospel of your Son known in the world; for we ask this in his Name. Amen.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
For our failure to appreciate and enjoy the good things you provide for our lives, in your mercy,
Lord, forgive us.
For our insensitivity to the needs of others, and for our oversensitivity when we are hurt by them, in your mercy,
Lord, forgive us.
For becoming consumed in the business of life, and for losing faith in your sovereignty and power, in your mercy,
Lord, forgive us.
For moods of disobedience and for outright rejection of your will, in your mercy,
Lord, forgive us.
For consenting to wrong practices by our cool silence, and for listening to scandal, in your mercy,
Lord, forgive us. Reform our will, grant us courage; create in us a new heart, and put your righteousness in us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
[A silence is kept.]
Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God.
Through Jesus Christ we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in our hope of sharing the glory of God.
