Christmas 1C

L          As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (Colossians 3:12-13) Let us confess the ways we fail to live the life of love.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L          Hallelujah! Praise the Lord from the heavens;

C         Praise the name of the Lord, who has raised up strength for the people and praise for all His faithful servants, the people who are near the Lord. (Psalm 148:1, 13 -14)

L          …let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:15, 17)

Advent 4C

L       "Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired… in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, See, O God, I have come to do your will.” (Hebrews 10:5-7) Let us confess the ways we fail to do God’s will.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L       My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord

C       and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for you have shown strength with your arm, casting down the mighty from their thrones and lifting up the lowly. (Luke 1:46, 51-52)

L       He shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace. (Micah 5:4)

Advent 3C

L       Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:5-6) Let us confess the ways we fail to live gentle lives of thankful prayer.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L         Surely God is our salvation;

C       I will trust and will not be afraid, for the Lord my God is my strength and might and has become my salvation. (Isaiah 25:2)

L       Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. And the peace of  God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4,7) 

Advent 2C

L       See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me… But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?  For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. (Malachi 3:1-3) Let us confess our need to be purified.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L         Blessed are you, Lord, the God of Israel,

C       you have come to your people and set them free. You have raised up for us a mighty Savior… to set us free to worship you without fear, holy and righteous before you, all the days of our life. (Luke 1:68-69, 74-75)

L         In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.  (Luke 1:78-79)

Advent 1C

L         Show me your ways, O Lord, and teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. (Psalm 25:4-5) Let us confess the ways we fail to walk in the paths of the Lord.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L       Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love

C        Remember not the sins of my youth and my transgressions, O Lord. Remember me according to your steadfast love and for the sake of your goodness. (Psalm 25:6-7)

               

L        You are gracious and upright, O Lord, and lead the lowly in justice teaching them your way; therefore all your paths are steadfast love and faithfulness. (Psalm 25:8-10)

Christ the King - Year B

L       The testimonies of the Lord are very sure, and holiness befits your house, O Lord, forever and forevermore. Ever since the world began, your throne has been established; you are from everlasting. (Psalm 93:5, 2) Let us confess the ways we fail to honor Christ the King

L         The Lord is king, robed in majesty;

C       The Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength. He has made the world so sure that it cannot be moved. (Psalm 93:1)

L         Grace to you and peace from him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:4b-5b, 6)

Pentecost 25b

L           ...those who run after other gods shall have their troubles multiplied. (Psalm 16:3) Let us confess the ways we rebel against the law of love and follow after other gods.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L       I have said to the Lord,

C       You are my good above all other. You will show me the path of life where in your presence there is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:1, 11)

L         Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, holding fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for God is faithful. (Hebrews 10:19, 22)

Pentecost 24b

L          Put not your trust in rulers, in mortals in whom there is no help. When they breathe their last, they return to earth, and in that day their thoughts perish. (Psalm 146:3-4) Let us confess the ways we trust in the temporary things of this world.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L          Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help,

C       The Lord loves the righteous and sets the captive free. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind and lifts up those who are bowed down. The Lord shall reign forever, your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Hallelujah! (Psalm 146:5, 7-8, 10)

L          For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made by human hands… but he entered into heaven itself, to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. And just as it is appointed for mortals to die once, and after that the judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time… to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:24, 27-8)

All Saints Year B

L          Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord, and who may stand in God's holy place? Those of innocent hands and purity of heart, who do not swear on God's being, nor do they pledge by what is false. (Psalm 24:3-4) Let us confess the ways we pledge by what is false.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L         It will be said on that day;

C     Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation. (Isaiah 25:9)

L       See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 21:3-4)

Reformation

L           …we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For "no human being will be justified in his sight" by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:19-20) Let us confess the ways we know ourselves to be sinners.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L          God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

C         Therefore we will not fear, though the earth be moved, and the mountains shake in the depths of the sea; for the LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. (Psalm 46:1-2, 11)

L          But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed (which is) through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are now justified by God’s grace as a gift…(Romans 3:21-24)

Pentecost 21b

L          All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) Let us confess the ways we have gone astray.

Silence is kept for confession reflection

L       Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases…

C       He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his wounds we are healed.

L       The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities… because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Pentecost 20b

L            The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.. it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before God no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account. (Hebrews 4:12-13)

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L       O Lord

C       teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. Satisfy us by your steadfast love in the morning; so shall we rejoice and be glad all our days. (Psalm 90:12,14)

L            …let us hold fast to our confession …for we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Pentecost 19b

L       It is Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.(Hebrews 2:9)

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L       O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth

C       what are mere mortals that you should be mindful of them, human beings that you should care for them? (Psalm 8:1,4)

L       It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing  many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is )not ashamed to call (us) brothers and sisters… (Hebrews 2:10-11)

Pentecost 18b

L         The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.  (James 5:15-16)

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L         Keep your servant from presumptuous sins;

C       let them not get dominion over me; then shall I be whole and sound, and innocent of a great offense.

L       My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

Pentecost 17b

L       Who is wise and understanding among you? Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (James 3:13; 4:7-8) Let us confess the ways we fail to draw near to God.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L        Behold, God is my helper;

C        I will offer you a sacrifice of praise, O Lord, for you have rescued me from every trouble… (Psalm 54:4,6-7)

L        Who is wise and understanding among you? …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 3:13, 17)

Pentecost 16b

L       The Lord God has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught. The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward. (Isaiah 50:4-5) Let us confess the ways we fail to listen to the word that sustains.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L       Gracious is the Lord and righteous;

C       Our God is full of compassion. The Lord rescues us from death; our eyes from tears and our feet from stumbling. (Psalm 116:5,8)

L        The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; It is the Lord God who helps me; who will declare me guilty? (Isaiah 50:4 7, 9)

Pentecost 15b

L        What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. (James 2:14-17) Let us confess the ways we fail to live our faith.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L         Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help;

C       who keeps His promises forever and gives justice to those who are oppressed, who gives food to the hungry and sets the captive free. (Psalm 148:5, 7)

L       Speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:10, 12-13) 

Pentecost 14b

L       You must understand this, my beloved: be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. (James 1:19,22) Let us confess the ways we fail to be doers of the word.

Time for confession and reflection

L          O Lord, who may dwell on your holy hill?

C        Those who do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart; who do not slander or do evil to their neighbors (Psalm 15:1-3)

L       Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change… he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures. (James 1:17-18)

Pentecost 13b

L       Take up the whole armor of God so that having done everything you will stand firm. (Ephesians 6:13) Let us confess the ways we fail to stand firm.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L       Then the people answered,

C       “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods; we will serve the Lord who is our God." (Joshua 34:16, 18)

L       The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and God's ears are open to their cry. The righteous cry and the Lord hears them and delivers them from all their troubles. (Psalm 34:15, 17)

Pentecost 12b

L        Who among you takes pleasure in life…? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from lying words. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. (Psalm 34:12-14) Let us confess the ways we fail to pursue peace.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L       Let us be careful how we live.

C         (With wisdom we will) lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight. (Proverbs 9:6)

L       (Therefore) sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:19-20)

Pentecost 11b

L       ...do not grieve the Holy Spirit… (but) put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:30-32) Let us confess the ways we grieve the Holy Spirit.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L         Proclaim with me the greatness of the LORD;

C       I will bless the Lord at all times and the praise of God shall ever be in my mouth. (Psalm 34:1, 3)

L       Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

Pentecost 10b

L        …lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:1-3) Let us confess the ways we fail to live a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L        We confess and believe

C       There is one body and one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6)

L        The gifts he gave were… to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Pentecost 9b

L       All your works shall praise you, O Lord, and your faithful ones shall bless you. (Psalm 145:10) Let us confess the ways in which our lives fail to bless and praise God.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L       The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord,

C       You are righteous in all your ways, loving in all your works and always near to those who call upon you faithfully. (Psalm 145:15, 17-18)

L       (You) shall tell of the glory and power of God’s kingdom, for it is an everlasting kingdom and the dominion of the Lord endures throughout all ages. (Psalm 145:11, 13)

Pentecost 8b

L          “…remember that you were once without Christ… having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:12-13) Let us confess the ways we continue to live far off from Christ.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L          The Lord is my shepherd;

C         I shall not want (for) you restore my soul, O Lord, and guide me along right pathways for your name's sake. (Psalm 23:1, 3)

L          …you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. (Ephesians 2:19-20)

Pentecost 7b

L       Righteousness shall go before the Lord and shall prepare for God a pathway. (Psalm 85:13) Let us confess the ways we stray from the pathway of the Lord and fail to live in God’s righteousness.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L       I will listen to what the Lord God is saying;

C       for you speak peace to your faithful people and to those who turn their hearts to you. (Psalm 85:8)

L       Truly, your salvation is very near to those who fear you that your glory may dwell in our land; for steadfast love and faithfulness have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. (Psalm 85:8-9)

Pentecost 6b

L       Have mercy upon us, O LORD, for we have had more than enough of contempt, too much of the scorn of the indolent rich, and of the derision of the proud. (Psalm 123:3-4) Let us confess the ways in which we also are proud and show contempt to others who have less than we do.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L       Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy,

C       To you we lift up our eyes, to you enthroned in the heavens. Show us your mercy. (Psalm 123 1-3)

L       "My grace is sufficient for you, (says the Lord) for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10b)

Pentecost 5b

L       The Lord is good to those who wait and merciful to the soul that seeks patiently for God. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord; to sit alone in silence when the Lord has imposed it… (Lamentations 3:25-26, 28) Let us confess our reluctance to wait for the Lord.

Silence is kept for confession and reflection

L       Hear, O LORD,

C       Have mercy upon us and be our helper, O Lord. Turn our wailing into dancing and clothe us with joy. (Psalm 30:10-11) 

L       The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases and God’s mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in God." (Lamentations 3:22-24)