Confession: Philippians 3: 17
Here’s a prayer of confession inspired by Paul’s words in Philippians
3:17. It was written by Moira Laidlaw.
Prayer
of Confession
(inspired by Philippians 3:17)
The apostle Paul says:
“Brothers and sisters, join
in imitating me,
and observe those who live according to
the example you have in us.”
Is it possible
to claim these words as our own and repeat them as our words?
Let’s have a time of silence where we think
about these words and their
relevance for our lives as followers of Jesus
Christ.
Let us pray:
Merciful God, we hear these words of Paul,
and know that his life was spent
living and proclaiming
the gospel of Jesus Christ not only to the people of his day,
but to people in every age since.
He could invite people not only do as he said, but to do as he did.
When we are happy to tell others to do as we
say,
but want the freedom to do as we choose,
even if that means surrendering some of our Christian values;
Forgive us, O God.
When we strive to imitate the lifestyles of the rich and famous,
and ignore the plight of those who are poor and the powerless;
Forgive us, O God.
When we look to others than Jesus Christ as the source of our standards;
Forgive us, O God.
When Jesus weeps over our behaviour even as he wept over Jerusalem;
Forgive us, O God.
God of grace and truth,
we remember Jesus’ commitment to travel towards the cross
to give true and everlasting meaning to the depth of divine love.
Empower us with the Holy Spirit to deepen our
commitment to follow Jesus,
even when that means being ridiculed or persecuted,
or sharing in the struggles and sufferings of others.
This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen
Assurance of Forgiveness (2 Corinthians 5: 17)
Hear the good news:
Those who are in Christ are a new creation;
the old has passed away, behold, the new has
come.
All this is from God
to whom we have been reconciled through Christ.
And so I declare to you, in Jesus Christ we are
forgiven.
Thanks be to God!
