Assurance of Pardon

Even in our moments of doubt, our lack of faith, and the blindness which means we fail to see God amongst us, God is still at work. God is still healing. God is still forgiving. Even when you fail to see God, God still sees you, and still loves you. Sisters and brothers, your sins are forgiven.

Go in peace, and give praise to God!

St. Paul reminds us: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:3-4, ESV).

Sisters and brothers, your old selves have been crucified with Christ, and you will be united with him in the resurrection. Your sins are forgiven! Walk in newness of life.

Sisters and brothers, we are so fortunate that the Bible wrote down all the different ways people failed to follow God, because we also get to see how deep God’s fogiveness and love are through those people. The same forgiveness and love are offered to us through Jesus Christ.

Now return to the Lord with joy and gladness.
Sing a song of redemption!
Let sorrow and sighing be no more.
In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Thanks be to God.

"Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges by name.
He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life will I satisfy him
And show him my salvation.”

The Lord is righteous in all his ways,
and gracious in all his works.
The Lord is near to all those who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him.
He also will hear their cry, and will save them.
The Lord preserves all those who love him.

Take refuge in our God who knows we are mere mortals. He forgives us for our sins, even though they were aimed at his loving heart. Rejoice that the Lord, out of his grace, will not remember our sins against us. Amen.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. In Him, we are forgiven. AMEN

Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth,
“Say to the daughter of Zion,
‘Behold, your salvation comes!
Behold, his reward is with him,
and his recompense before him!’”
They will call them “The Holy People,
the Lord’s Redeemed”.
You will be called “Sought Out,
A City Not Forsaken”.

Amen.

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts.
You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean.
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness,
that the bones which you have broken may rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all of my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God.
Renew a right spirit within me.
Do not throw me from your presence,
and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation.
Uphold me with a willing spirit.

Therefore, beloved, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, to our God, for he will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Leader: "Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord! Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.” “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” In him, we are forgiven.

People: Thanks be to God!

Leader: Jesus knows our every weakness, and loves us still. Awaken to the promise of Christ's amazing grace.
Leader: Friends, believe the good news of the gospel.
People: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness. He will not always accuse; neither will he stay angry forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us for our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

Leader: As Jesus healed the afflicted and restored those who have died, he also forgives our sins and gives us new life. Friends, believe the good news of the gospel.
People: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

We wait for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our hearts are glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Amen.

And we write these things to you, that our joy may be fulfilled. This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not tell the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” We believe and although we fall short, we must persevere to the end. Hold tight to His Word.

The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. May the God of mercy, who forgives us all our sins, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life.

People: Amen.

When we find ourselves without hope, we can pray along with the Psalmist:

Should I say, “Yes, the darkness will envelop me
and the light around me become night
Darkness itself will not darken for You
and the night will light up like the day
for darkness is as light to you.

Leader: The good news in Christ is that when we face ourselves and God with the awareness of our need, we are given grace to grow, and courage to continue the journey.
Friends, believe the good news of the gospel.

People: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.

Psalm 8 reminds us, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have created; What is man, that you are mindful of him? and the son of man, that you care about him? For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and have crowned him with glory and honor.”

God is so much bigger than we can imagine. In fact, Jesus is big enough to grant even us – even me – even you – forgiveness and grace. Thanks be to a God that big.

Inclusive Wording

The Psalmist reminds us, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have created; What is humanity, that you are mindful of us? and the children of humanity, that you care about us? For you have made us a little lower than the angels, and have crowned us with glory and honor.”

God is so much bigger than we can imagine. In fact, Jesus is big enough to grant even us – even me – even you – forgiveness and grace. Thanks be to a God that big.

This is the covenant that I will make with them, after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds… I will forgive their inquity and I will remember their sins no more.

Leader: In Christ you are forgiven

All: Praise be to God

Hear the words of comfort of our savior Christ says to all who truly turn to him:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28)

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Also hear the Apostle Paul’s words:

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. (I Timothy 1:15)

Also listen to the Apostle John’s words:

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:1-2)

Hear the words of our Lord Jesus Christ to everyone who repents and turns to him:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28)

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. (John 6:37)

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. (I Timothy 1:15)

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Amen.

For he grew up before him like a young plant,
    and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    and no beauty that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by men,
    a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
    and passing over transgression
    for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
    because he delights in steadfast love.
He will again have compassion on us;
    he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
    into the depths of the sea. Amen.

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

In Christ, you are forgiven, adopted into God’s family, an heir to the kingdom!

Inclusive Version

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as his children. And because you are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but his child, and if his child, then an heir through God.”

In Christ, you are forgiven, adopted into God’s family, an heir to the kingdom!

Prayer of Confession

All: Certainly God is good to his people, to those pure in heart, but as for me, I nearly stumbled; I nearly lost my sure footing. I struggle with envy as I look at the those in the world who act arrogantly and yet just seem to get richer. I struggle with grief and bitterness towards God. I've lost my bearings and acted foolishly. Like a beast only driven by worldly desire and cravings.

Silent Confession

Assurance of Pardon

All: In all this, you haven’t cast me away. You keep me close to your side. You continue to guide me by your Word and counsel, and after all of this you will welcome me into your glorious presence!

What can the world offer to me that I don’t already have in You?!

There’s nothing for me here better than You. My flesh and my heart aren’t trustworthy, but You are and you give me strength! My cup overflows with endless provision!

Anyone who doesn’t have you doesn’t have life and will certainly perish. Our God is a consuming fire!

I know that my best can only come when I’m near You! I will run to You for safety and provision and tell others of all you’ve done for me!

Christ took our place in the grave, being bathed in death, taking away our grave clothes. Let us worship Him with full hearts, knowing that it is good and right to worship Him fully.

Nothing can stand against You
Nothing
No sin, no death
No prejudice, no division
Nothing can stand against our God
You’re making us whole and holy in your mercy and grace
Standing together in truth and grace
Standing together in power and love
Standing together in unrelenting hope
You’re making us one as you are One
Amen.

God welcomes all who come to him.
In weakness or strength.
With much, or with little.
Seek the Lord, while he can be found
Call on him while he is near
And be confident that Jesus will look upon you with compassion
In Him, you have forgiveness and the abundance of God’s life.

Because Jesus died for me, I know that the Lord saves me, his child; he will answer me from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but I trust in the name of the Lord my God. They collapse and fall, but I rise and stand upright.

Leader: Through the grace and righteousness of Jesus Christ, the plan of the Father, and power of the Holy Spirit, you who trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins—your sins are washed away!

All: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

The Spirit of truth has been given to a people who lacked truth. The Advocate has been sent. We who were once without life have been given new life. For it is by grace we have been saved through faith, and this is not our own doing; it is the gift of God–not the result of works so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Jesus says:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.”
“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied.”
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.”
Blessed are you who know you’re not enough, for God’s grace is sufficient for you. Your sins are forgiven, go in peace as God’s people.

The Lord is our Shepherd. He is aware of our wanton hearts. He has rooted out our sin and reversed its dire consequences upon His cross. The tree of life has become the cross of Christ. Although we have strayed, our Merciful God has not removed His steadfast love from us. He is faithful to His promise to restore us. In Christ, we are forgiven. Amen.

Paul writes in Romans 10, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. Amen.

The first chapter of the Gospel of John has this incredible statement: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” In other words, God knew we couldn’t save ourselves, so he saved us. Believe the Good News of the Gospel, that in Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Hallelujah!

Psalm 113 says this: “Who is like the Lord our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes." So does the Lord do for us. He stoops down to look at us, exactly as we are, and chooses to lift us up in the name of Jesus Christ. We are forgiven! Amen.

Zephaniah reminds the people of God that God will gather the exiles. God will restore his people. Believe the good news today. Through our Messiah, your sins have been forgiven. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Leader: But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel:
All: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.
Leader: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
All: when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Thus says your Lord, the Lord,
your God who pleads the cause of his people:
“Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;
the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more.
Live in the freedom of the Lord’s forgiveness.

Amen.

Hear now, O Church, who stands in the gap for the world as representatives of God. We have been made clean. As the angel of the Lord touched the unclean lips of Isaiah and made the man whole in word and deed, readying him to do his will, he has done the same for us by the cleansing touch of his Son, Jesus Christ. In him, the disparity between our word and deed is made right. In him, our unkindness in action and in word has been forgiven. Go now in the purity of the King to speak the Gospel through actions of justice, mercy, grace, and love.

In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight. Together we affirm that by Christ’s forgiving grace we are forgiven. Amen.

Brothers and sisters, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We know this to be true, that the word of the Lord goes out from his mouth, does not return empty, but accomplishes all that he desires and achieves the purpose he sent it for, that is our redemption, our salvation, and our reconciliation.

Thanks be to God.

Let us receive Christ’s pardon for all of our sins, and receive God’s peace that we can never generate on our own. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.

Your torture puts hostility to death
Your broken body breaks down every dividing wall
Your blood makes us blood

What wondrous truth
What dazzling grace

Bring us near again, Jesus
Help us remember and re-member
Make us one in your generous, fierce love

Let us remember that Christ forgives our sins because he bore them at Calvary, not because we deserve Christ’s pardon; and though our sins stubbornly cling to us, our Savior’s love releases us from their grip and gives us freedom to live the new life of grace. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.

Leader: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Leader: The good news is that Christ calls us to new life and enables us to begin again and again and again and again.
Leader: Friends, believe the good news of the gospel.
People: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

Jesus, you pour yourself out for us and the world
So we may be born again of water and the Spirit
So we may never thirst again

We thank you and praise you for your eternal blessing and forgiveness
Help us lead others to the well of your saving love

Amen

Leader: Through the grace of Christ Jesus who gave His body and shed His blood for our forgiveness, hear and believe that “he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.”

All: We praise you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who has graciously forgiven us and united us to Christ our King!

Jesus knows the wilderness of our need
Because he’s been there before, he will not hesitate to go there to find us
Because he’s been there before, he can lead us out
In the name of Jesus, we are found and forgiven

Glory to God, Amen.

Jesus, we bless you and honor you for your unending mercy, a flood of grace, pouring out and spilling over. We receive your mercy. We receive your blessings and pray for the Holy Spirit to make them real in our lives. Amen.

Our prayers of confession come close to God’s heart because God is merciful and gracious and eager to say: “I forgive you.” Let us receive God’s forgiveness with a resounding “Amen!”

The Lord our God is rich in mercy, slow to anger, and abounds in steadfast love. He does not pay us back what we deserve, but even while we were his enemies he sent his son to die for us. Christ died for you as God’s gift – not because God owed you, but because God loves you. You have been forgiven and you are freed to love others as God has loved you.

“But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”. We gratefully accept Christ’s sacrifice of love for the forgiveness of our sins and confess, “In Jesus Christ we are forgiven.” Amen.

This is what good news means:
There is nothing you can do
to make God love you any more…
and there is nothing you can do
to make God love you any less.
Beloved of God, know and believe that in and through Jesus Christ,
you are forgiven. Thanks be to God!

Know this, the Lord is slow to condemn and swift to forgive and so we can claim the words of the psalmist who declares, “Therefore my heart greatly rejoices. The Lord is their strength. He is a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.”

Dearest Brothers and Sisters, the One who was rejected by family, friend, and neighbor, is the One who expresses love for sinners like us. He epitomizes the love of which Paul wrote to the Corinthian Church: He is patient, kind, and humble. He does not insist upon his own way, complain, or hold grudges. He is saddened by sin and rejoices in truth. He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. For us, he endured the extent of shame and scorn upon the cross so that we may be unfettered and freed to live and love. In Him, we are forgiven.

Amen.

Jesus is the holy one of God who forgives our sins and pardons our iniquities. He pursues us with words of eternal life and in him we are forgiven, fed, and freed to live again. Amen.

Brothers and sisters, be assured of this, when we sin, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” Through Him, we are forgiven, freed, and restored to fellowship with God and one another through the light of his cross and resurrection.

When Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at the well, he told her, “If you knew the generosity of God and who I am, you would be asking me for a drink, and I would give you fresh, living water” (MSG). Sisters and brothers, Jesus’ forgiveness is as limitless and life-giving as a spring in the desert. So believe the Good News of the Gospel: in Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!

We are an imperfect people, but know and believe this, when we submit ourselves to the Lord and resist the devil the devil will flee. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Amen.

The grace of Christ is never deserved but always intentional. Receive this grace, intended for you and me—it has our names on it–this all-sufficient grace that turns our weakness, which has our names on it too, into God’s power, that made us in his image and remakes us into the image of Christ.

The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that when it seems all hope is lost, God is still working toward restoration. Friends, believe the Good News today: through the messiah, the righteous branch, our sins have been forgiven and we have been made righteous, too. Thanks be to God! Amen.

The Lord has hidden his face from our sin. He has blotted out all of our iniquity. In Christ and his cross, he has created within us a clean heart and renewed a right spirit within us. So that, we are not cast away from his presence. We are endowed with his Holy Spirit, restored to the joy of God’s salvation and given a willing spirit to do all that he asks and desires of us. For in Christ Jesus, the perfect suffered for the imperfect, the sinless became sin for the sinner; we are forgiven and freed to live in a right relationship with God. Brothers and Sisters, you are forgiven, indeed! Amen.

The God of David is our God. He hides his face from our sins. He blots our all of our iniquities. He creates in us a clean heart. He renews a right spirit within us. We will not be cast away from his presence, nor have his Holy Spirit taken from us. He has restored to us the joy of our salvation, and upholds us with a willing spirit. O, Children of God, we are forgiven because He has given his own sacrifice in place of ours. “For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”. Amen.

Hear the good news: For the joy set before him, Jesus Christ endured the shame of the cross, taking all our weakness and failure. Jesus went to the cross for the joy of having you as part of God’s Kingdom. Know this: you are forgiven, and in Christ all of those things which drag you away from God have lost their power. Be at peace. Amen.

Isaiah 56:8 says, “The Sovereign Lord declares – he who gathers the exiles of Israel: ‘I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.’” Sisters and brothers, the Lord grants us forgiveness and gathers us into His fold. We are not excluded for our sinfulness. We are gathered in our forgiveness. Amen.

Leader: In keeping with our Great High Priest, and with all authority of the Holy Spirit present with us now, I assure you that all who seek forgiveness from Christ of their sins stand before God forgiven today. Thanks be to God!

Hear the good news of God’s forgiveness of His grumbling and wayward people: He hides his face from our sins. He blots out all our iniquities. God creates in us a clean heart and a new spirit. He does not cast away from his presence or take his Holy Spirit from us. He restores to us the joy of our salvation and upholds us with a willing spirit. In Christ, who took upon himself the grumbling, griping, grabbing, and grappling sins of his people, we are forgiven. Amen.

Psalm 103 reminds us that God forgives all our sins and separates us from our sin as far as the east is from the west. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is God’s love for us. Friends, believe the good news. In Jesus Christ, your sins have been forgiven.

Thanks be to God! Amen.

Leader: You who trust in Christ Jesus for the forgiveness of sins: hear now and rest in the assurance of your pardon:

All: Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.

In the midst of pronouncing judgment, Malachi reminds Judah that God does not change. God is still faithful, even when God’s people are not. Friends, hear the good news today: God’s grace is sure. Your sins have been forgiven. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Friends, the Lord is our strength and our defense. He has become our salvation. In the life, death, and resurrection of His Holy One, the repercussions of our sin are shattered. We have been brought with him from death to life. We are forgiven, not simply because he breathed his last breath, a condemned criminal, who bore the weight of the world’s sin on his shoulders, but because he overcame the penalty of our sin by defeating the sting, breaking free from the bonds of death that early and dark Sunday morning. In Christ, we are forgiven and freed!

The Gospel of John declares that the Word made flesh was life and that life was the light of humanity. This Epiphany, the light of God has been made known to us in the person of Jesus. His life and light have arisen upon us. For all who receive him, he gives the right to become children of God. In him we are forgiven and freed, made to live no longer in darkness but in the light of life. Amen.

There’s no night so dark
the light of Christ cannot penetrate to dispel it.
There’s no pit so deep
the Lord cannot descend all the way to lift us out of it.
There’s no obstacle so high
that Jesus is not higher still and takes us over it.
There’s no place where we can wander or to which we can run
that’s too far away
for the King of the universe to seek us, find us
and bring us safely home.

With Christ, in Christ, and through Christ there’s always hope –
for if the grave cannot hold him and death cannot defeat Him,
nothing is impossible for Him.
This same Christ,
who offers His sure and certain hope to you and me,
is with us in this place today;
and He’ll be with you everywhere and always.

This is Good News! Alleluia! AMEN!

Psalm 70:4, which is a prayer for deliverance, says this: “May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, 'God is great!'” Sisters and brothers, Jesus grants us forgiveness, love, and salvation. In the name of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven! God is great!

Hear the good news – God is not silent, nor is God deaf. The one who watches over you does not sleep or slumber. God hears your prayers, even in those moments when you don’t know what to pray. And God speaks – the same God who commands the wind and the waves says to you: “your sins are forgiven. You are loved, cherished, held, precious to God.” Know that your God cares about the big and the small things in your life, and in Christ there is nothing to fear – even death has lost its power over you. Be at peace.

Out of the depths of darkness and despair we have cried out for your mercy, O God. Instead of marking our iniquities with the just weight of our condemnation, you have forgiven us, breathed new life into our souls so that we may now stand, a cleansed, holy, and fully alive people. In Christ, we are forgiven.

Brothers and Sisters, be reassured. Your sins are not held against you. By the work of God in Christ, you are forgiven. God “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

We affirm the good news that this saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. He personally bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might be dead to sin and alive to God. In Christ we are forgiven. Amen.

When we speak of our sin
When we stop the silence and cover up
God is faithful to forgive our guilt.
Thanks be to God!

Hear the good news! Who is in a position to condemn? Only Christ, and Christ died for us, Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. (Romans 8:34, Phillips)
Leader: Friends, believe the good news of the gospel.
People: In Jesus Christ we are forgiven!

Hear the Good News. God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem us, free us, and make us children of God. In the Name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven. Glory to God! Amen.

Glory to God in the Highest heaven!
Your peace surpasses all need, all evil, all understanding

You redeem our harm with your peace
You remove our guilt with your peace
You draw near to make us your peace
Glory to God in the Highest heaven!

Amen

Brothers and sisters, God does not leave us in our distress. He does not abandon us to our devilish decisions. While we choose to starve ourselves on a diet of our own making and choosing that leads to spiritual atrophy and deterioration, God provides us with the Bread of Life. Pursuing us, those who have rejected the wisdom of God, Jesus declares of himself in John 6:51, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, they will live forever.” The bread that he gives is for the life of the world, for you and me. It is his very body pierced and broken which reunites us to the wisdom, truth, life, and light of God. In Him and through Him, we are forgiven. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

Jesus explains in the parable of the Prodigal Son that the Father comes running to the son when he returns. God eagerly awaits our repentance and celebrates when we return to him. Therefore let us come before the Lord, confessing our sins.

Heavenly Father, forgive us for when we don’t invest in others as we should. You have plans to use each one of us, but we don’t always let you work through us. Please give us a clear calling for how you want to use us as we silently confess our sins to You now…

Asssurance of Pardon

God and the angels in heaven celebrated at the return of a prodigal. Friends, believe the good news: Through Christ Jesus, our sins are forgiven and our relationship with God is restored. Hallelujah! Amen.

Prayer of Confession

Jesus, we thirst
We thirst for love and belonging
We thirst for security and provision
We thirst for truth and hope
We thirst for healing for our wounds
We thirst for mercy for our sin, our guilt, our shame

Time of silent confession

Assurance of Pardon

Jesus, you pour yourself out for us and the world
so we may be born again of water and the Spirit,
so we may never thirst again
We thank you and praise you for your eternal blessing and forgiveness.
Help us lead others to the well of your saving love.

Amen

Prayer of Adoration

Joyful, joyful we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love –
Holy and wonderful are You:
Your grace is without measure,
and Your purpose sure and true;
Your power is unequaled
and You are sovereign and mysterious in all Your ways.
We thank You for the gift of this today, a new day;
a day when Your mercies are fresh, untainted and new,
and Your faithfulness again clearly visible.

Prayer of Confession

Yet, how often we spoil new days!
We repeat old patterns rather than live free.
We hold on to old hurts rather than forgive.
We complain when we don’t our way; and
ignore the needs of others, caught up in our own desires.
We believe lies told about others
and even the ones we tell about ourselves.
We’re complacent in the face of injustice and poverty.
And in all things, we’re better at making excuses
than at repenting and changing our ways.
Forgive us. We have sinned against you in thought, word and deed,
by what we have done and what we have left undone.
Hear now our silent prayers of confession and forgive us because of
Your great love.

Silent prayers of confession

Assurance of Pardon

The Lord declares, through the prophet Isaiah, that “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, and your sins like the morning mist” dissipated by the wind of my Spirit and melted into nothing by the brightness of my Son’s love.

Pastor: Great is the mystery of faith:

All: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!

Pastor: Praise to you, Lord Jesus:

All: Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory!

Pastor: According to his commandment:

All: We remember his death, we proclaim his resurrection, we await his coming in glory!

I tell you this: "To those who have received Christ and believed in his name, God has given the right to be called children of God." And "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life."

So I say to you that your sins are forgiven. Live joyfully, serving God in the freedom of this reconciliation.