Prayers of Confession on Easter
Adapted from Acts 10:34-43
Pastor: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.
He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Submitted by Dustin Ray
Prayer of Confession and Pardon for Easter
Risen Christ,
The world despised and rejected you
You responded with grace, humility, and welcome
The proud questioned your power, devised your death
You responded with peace, forgiveness, and new life
Forgive us, Merciful One
Our arrogance
Our selfishness
Our scheming
Our violence
Forgive us, Merciful One
We are like them
Make us like you
Time of silent confession
Risen Christ,
We claim your grace, your mercy, your forgiveness
We claim your resurrection power:
Dying, you destroy our death
Rising, you restore our life.
You come now with saving power
Alleluia. Amen.
Prayer of Confession and Pardon for Easter © 2022 Lisa Ann Moss Degrenia, www.revlisad.com
Heavenly Father, let it not be said that we are disunified as a people. We are unified by our grumbling. We grumble against you for what you have done or left undone, according to our misplaced communal judgement. We rail against your provisions as being too little and too late. We cry out in protest when we experience a drought of that which we desire and want. It is our tendency to put the blame squarely on your shoulders. Although you lead us out of harm, protect us from the evil that would assail us, and give us all that we could ever need, we grumble that it is not enough. We are blinded to your goodness by our collective complaints. Forgive us, we pray, for not trusting you and for not thanking you as a truly unified people ought. Do not hold our unified grumbling against us. Cleanse us from breaking unity with you, we pray. Amen.
Gabe Fung
Lord Almighty, you have conquered sin and death. We celebrate that the grave cannot contain you. You are the author of life. However, we so often choose death. We choose to live for ourselves rather than follow you. We confess our need for your grace. Loving God, please give us new life as we come to you in silent confession.
Time of silent reflection.
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Almighty God, in raising Jesus from the grave, You shattered the power of sin and death. We celebrate Him! But we confess we remain captive to doubt and fear, bound by ways that lead to death. We come, asking You to forgive our sin and eradicate evil in the world; by Your Word and Spirit, purify the good, and raise us from death to a life more abundant and free. Transform us into faithful followers of Jesus Christ, the One who rules the world and is Head of the Church. This we pray in the Name of our Risen Lord, Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
(Prayer of Adoration)
Thine is the glory – risen conquering Son
Endless is the victory, Thou over death have won.
Jesus – You are amazing! You are wonderful!
What we couldn’t do – You’ve done:
Breaking bonds of fear, sin, guilt and death
which kept us imprisoned for so long.
We’re free – and You’re our Liberator.
We’re beloved – and You’re our Lover.
We’re joyful – and You’re our Laughter and Joy.
That’s why we love You. That’s why we praise You.
That’s why we need You every day. After all …
(Prayer of Confession)
We aren’t very good at living like Your forgiven and free people.
Having received grace –
we’re still reluctant to give grace to others.
Having been forgiven – we still find it hard to forgive.
Having been loved just as we are –
we still struggle to love others as they are,
not as we want them to be.
Forgive us, Lord,
we don’t live much like Your resurrection people.
In small ways and big ways,
we hold onto our old lives and nurse our old ways;
particular ways and personal ways,
like those we now confess to you in the quiet
of Your presence in this place of worship: (Silence)
Gracious, Heavenly Father, we are people who often live our lives in routine, but who rarely enter into the fullness of the abundant life. In Easter, You accomplished the impossible. You proved Your Word and Your faithfulness with the remarkable power of the resurrection of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. We, however, live as though the tomb was not empty. Forgive us for not walking in the light of Your love. Forgive us for doubting that Your Word is reliable and true. Forgive us for refusing to believe that You would do what You promised. As we confess our sins and doubts, we also affirm that through the cross you have conquered these once and for all. May we live abundantly in the power that raised Jesus from the dead. We pray humbly in Jesus Name. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Gracious God, we worship our risen Savior, but we find ourselves weighed down by many things. We would prefer an easy faith, one that does not require us to identify the many ways that our thoughts, words, and actions have scorned Your love. But faith is never easy. It requires our very souls. Forgive us when we choose to remain captive to fear and doubt. Remind us that Jesus gave His very life so that we might draw near to You. Deepen our faith, and enable us by Christ’s resurrection power to live no longer for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose again on our behalf, through Christ our Lord, Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Loving God, you are the author of all life. You created the heavens through the words of your mouth. You also are constantly creating new life. However, we don’t accept the new life you give us. We choose to live without hope. Please help us to see that in you, we are made more than conquerors of all that seeks to destroy us. Please forgive us for our lack of faith as we silently confess our sins to you now…
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Heavenly Father, we confess that we come to this day of resurrection as imperfect people. Although we may have faith, we also carry doubts and apprehensions. Just as Jesus’s disciples were unsure of his presence with them, we are unsure of your presence with us. We go out into a world of demands without the full confidence that you are our guide and our sustainer, and we are too often motivated by our own shortcomings and anxieties than by your grace and love. Forgive us, and help us to see your Holy Spirit’s work in all things. We pray these things in the name of Jesus, who returned to his disciples despite their own faults, and we ask that you hear us as we continue our confession in silence…
Submitted by Allen Thompson
Glorious God, You have always known that our sinful disobedience is serious enough to bring history and creation to complete destruction. You have cared enough to provide the only possible way of survival in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Part of Your perfect Easter plan is too mysterious for us to understand, but this part is clear: “You love the world so much You sent Your only Son, that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have everlasting life.” Forgive us for not trusting Your love in the way we live each day. For we ask it in the Name of Jesus, our triumphant King of kings and our Risen Lord of lords. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Gracious God, we confess that we think of Easter as the springtime holiday rather than the mystery holiday, the hope-time holiday, the now-its-up-to-us holiday. We’re more at home with bulbs and bunnies than mortality and resurrection. We confess that were afraid to talk about death and we avoid those who are dying or leave their tender care to others. We confess that sometimes we engage in personal and community behaviors that are life-denying. Sometimes we let thing die—hopes and dreams, relationships, communities of faith—because we aren’t willing to claim your tomb-opening power. Accept our repentance and be risen in each of our lives. Amen.
Gracious God, through that Easter morning, you changed everything. Yet we don’t change the way we live. You have freed us from sin and death, yet we daily choose to distance ourselves from you and to sin against others. We fail to live in the freedom you offer through the cross. We try to earn your grace and compare ourselves to others. Please help us to live free of guilt and full of your Spirit as we come to you in silent confession…
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Holy God, You are the resurrected Christ, the One who defeated death. And yet, we don’t trust You to move with power in our lives. Forgive us for trying to do things on our own, for not allowing You to help us overcome our sin and our fears. For not believing that You are enough. Remind us that by Your death and resurrection
we are able to have abundant life. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Lord God, today we celebrate the greatest day in all of human history. Yet, we confess that sometimes we do not see all that You want us to see. In fact, at times, we are not looking for any answers at all. Sometimes we even are walking in the wrong direction. But You, O Lord, are a God of great faithfulness. We confess our sins of indifference and confusion. Have mercy upon us. Forgive our sin, O God. Today we come to You confidently, with eyes wide open, ready to be filled with understanding and wisdom. May our hearts be filled as You encourage us with Your truth and grace, by the power of the Holy Spirit. We ask this in Jesus’ Holy Name.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Almighty and Gracious God, we praise You for Your victory over sin and death. You raised Jesus from the grave and crowned Him Lord of all. We confess we have not consistently bowed before Him. We have not daily acknowledged His rule in our lives. Instead we have gone along with the world’s way and failed to give Him glory. Forgive us, and raise us from our sin through Your Word and Spirit. Transform us into faithful followers of Jesus Christ, the One who rules the world and is Head of the Church. In His Name we pray. Amen.
Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church
Almighty God, you have raised Jesus from death to life, and crowned him Lord of all. We confess that we have not bowed before him, or acknowledges his rule in our lives. We have gone along with the ways of the world, and failed to give him glory. Forgive us, and raise us from sin, that we may be your faithful people, obeying the commands of our Lord Jesus Christ, who rules the world and is head of the church, his body.
Time of silent reflection and confession…
Submitted by Austin D. Hill
Sin clings to us as if we were its most precious possession. But just as death’s grip on Jesus was broken on that first morning, so God will release us from the grasp of sin.
On this first day of the week, as on all the other days, let us confess to the One who offers us resurrection life,
We wander in the shadows of temptation,
ignoring the Light you offer to us.
We are asked to proclaim the good news of life anew,
but continue to speak the old words of despair.
You would anoint us with the Holy Spirit,
but we put up the umbrellas of fear to keep it from touching us.
Change us, rebuild us and renew us O God,
with the same power which restored Jesus through his death and resurrection.
Build in us new life and help us to follow the example of Jesus and depend on you in all things.
Jacob Traeger
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Check out our Calls to Worship on Easter.