Liturgy
Reflect with us on our Prayer of Confession and Assurance of God's Grace that we recite weekly in our service, and continue to think on these words throughout the week. 

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Heavenly Father,
We come to you like sheep that have gone astray,
In our sin we have wandered  
From Your care, kindness
and protection.
In our need we turn back to You
Through Jesus our Good Shepherd,
Who has laid down his life for us.
 
He is our Light,
illuminating the darkness,
And leading a way to back to You.
Through Him we know You,
And by Him we are known.
 
Hear, O Lord, our
hearts of confession.

ASSURANCE OF
GOD'S GRACE

Romans 5:1-2

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

CONFESSION OF SIN

Each week we take time to confess our sin to God as a part of regular worship. Sin is any kind of selfish thought or action that we carry out, which goes against who God is and what He says is good and right. While our sins grieve God and offend His holiness, He is also merciful and promises to forgive those who trust in Jesus. 

The Bible teaches that if we confess our sin, God is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9), and that Christians should confess their sins to one another and pray for each other (James 5:16).

So we confess in one voice together by reading our prayer out loud. We follow that by praying silently as individuals, remembering that as we come near to God, he promises to come near to us (James 4:8).

ASSURANCE OF
GOD'S GRACE

In short, this is our promise from God found throughout Scripture that our sin is completely forgiven! This is one of the happiest and most relieving parts of the Gospel message.  We never confess sin and leave ourselves in a place of guilt or shame.  Rather as we confess, we are reminded that through His grace, Christ has ensured that today is a new day. Today we have a fresh start! As we read this promise from God out loud - Christian, be comforted that through Jesus your sin is forgiven.