Here’s a beautiful act of confession for the second Sunday of Lent. It was written by Moira Laidlaw.
Prayer of Confession
(based on Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16, Mark 8:31-38; Romans 4:13-25)
Gracious God, you reached into Abraham and Sarah's lives
and asked them to dream the impossible dream—
that you would transform what appears to have been
a barren and lifeless situation
into one overflowing with promise and hope—
and, through faith in you, they believed your promises.
Forgive us, O God,
Forgive us, O God,
if we never get beyond thinking of your call on our lives
as an impossible dream or even as an unwelcome interruption.
Faithful God,
the apostle Paul emphasises Abraham's complete trust and faith
in your promises
and how he grew ever stronger in faith,
fully convinced of your ability to fulfil what had been promised.
Forgive us, O God,
Forgive us, O God,
when we find it hard even to hear your promises
above commercial assurances of transformation—
promises tempting us to trust the newest
and trendiest product to realise our dreams.
Merciful God,
Jesus revealed the great depth of your love
in his determination to defeat evil
even when this meant giving up his own life.
Forgive us, O God,
Forgive us, O God,
when we allow the power of evil to flourish
because we fear that taking up one's cross
would be just too costly an exercise.
Silent reflection on these words
Gracious and loving God, forgive our lack of trust in you;
Have mercy on us and forgive us.
Help us when we hesitate,
and strengthen us when we are weak
Breathe your Spirit afresh into our hearts and minds—our lives—
so that we have the courage to follow Jesus wherever he takes us.
Amen.
Assurance of Forgiveness
(based on Romans 4:20-25)
Faith was reckoned as righteousness...to us who believe in the One who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was handed over to death because of our sins and was raised for the sake of our righteousness. (Romans 4:20-25)
Hear and believe these words about God's amazing grace,
grace experienced through Jesus' sacrificial love,
as forgiveness of sins. Amen
Thanks be to God!
Thanks be to God!
— written by Moira Laidlaw, and posted on Liturgies Online. http://www.liturgiesonline.com.au/ Visit her site for other great lectionary-based resources.
For more worship resources for March 4, 2012 (the second Sunday of Lent), click on Lent 2 B in the list of “Labels” at the lower right side of the page. For more prayers of confession/words of assurance on this blog, click on Confession or Words of assurance in the list of “Labels” at the lower right, or see the scriptural Confession Index at the upper right.