I don’t often write words of Confession and Absolution, as I like many of the ones provided in other resources. But I thought I might take a stab at writing one here with the NL texts for September and October in mind. Let me know what you think and if it’s something I should work on doing more often. I have also been enjoying the Call to Worship from the “This Far By Faith” hymnal that our parish used over the summer, so I tried my hand at one of those too.

Confession and Absolution

In the name of the Father,
and of the ☩ Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

Faithful God of hope and compassion,
you work healing and wholeness into the world
and show your care to all people.
By the power of your Holy Spirit,
open our eyes and hearts to see
how we are unfaithful and lacking in mercy,
that we may confess our sin
and know that life is found only in you.
Amen.

Knowing the difference between good and evil,
let us confess our sins to God our Creator.

Silence for reflection and confession.

Faithful God,
we confess that we have not been faithful to you:
we regularly worship other gods,
we build idols out of symbols, ideologies, and ourselves,
we choose our desires over yours,
and we serve our wants over others’ needs.
We confess that we do not obey your rule
and for this we rightly deserve to die.
And so we look to you for mercy and forgiveness,
knowing that we do not deserve it.
We ask that you remember us
and take pity on us,
for the sake of your anointed,
Jesus Christ, who died that we might live.
Amen.

Just as God heard the cry of Hannah
and the lamentation of the widow,
so too, God hears our confession.
And just as God acted in their lives,
so does God act in our lives;
bringing grace and mercy
through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Know that through the work of the Holy Spirit
God has redeemed you and forgives you all your sins.
Amen.

Call to Worship

God made the heavens and the earth,
and formed us from dust, breathing into us the breath of life.
O come, let us worship our Creator!

God made a covenant with our spiritual forefather, Abraham,
and promised him a multitude of descendants.
O come, let us worship the God of promise!

God rescued Israel from the house of slavery,
and showed redemption through the blood of the Lamb.
O come, let us worship the God of salvation!

God worked through the lives and words of the prophets,
and continues to work in our lives today.
O come, let us worship the God of providence!

O come, let us worship!