Confession: Priorities

Here’s a prayer of confession from the Center for Christian Ethics.  It was written by Bruce Gillette and Carolyn Winfrey Gillette.

Unison Prayer of Confession
(inspired by Luke 16:1-13; Matthew 6:33)

O God, we want to have our cake and eat it, too:
we want to be a friend of the world and still be your friend.

Yet, Jesus taught us: “No one can serve two masters.”

Give us strength and courage to get our priorities straight:
help us to seek your kingdom first.
Help us to live faithfully and joyfully in the world,
and to be friends with the people you call us to serve.
Help us also to remember that our best relationship
is the one we have with you,
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness
(inspired by James 3:17)

“The wisdom from above is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield,
full of mercy and good fruits,
without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy” (James 3:17).
In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven,
and we are given a new way to live.
Let us accept God’s grace,
and live new lives of faith, obedience, and joy.

~ from a worship service written by Bruce Gillette and Carolyn Winfrey Gillette for the Center for Christian Ethics.  Posted on http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/174967.pdf