Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.

Leader: Our help is in the name of the Lord,
People: who made heaven and earth.  Psalm 124:8
Leader: If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?
People: But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared. Psalm 130:3-4
Leader: Since we are gathered to hear God’s Word, call upon Him in prayer and praise, and receive the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of this altar, let us first consider our unworthiness and confess before God and one another that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed, and that we cannot free ourselves from our sinful condition. Together as His people let us take refuge in the infinite mercy of God, our heavenly Father, seeking His grace for the sake of Christ, and saying: God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
People: Almighty God, have mercy upon us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life. Amen.
Leader: Almighty God, merciful Father, in Holy Baptism You declared us to be Your children and gathered us into Your one, Holy Church in which You daily and richly forgive us our sins and grant us new life through Your Spirit.  Be in our midst, enliven our faith, and graciously receive our prayer and praise; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
People: Amen.