Prayers of Confession on Good Friday

“It is finished.” With those words, You declared victory. Sin, death, and evil lost their power. We are the church: Each of us recipients of Your victory. In Jesus, we have won! But often we deny Your victory. We allow sin, evil, and death to reign as if we do not have a Savior. When challenged in our faith, we throw up our hands in defeat. We fail to rely on You. Lord, we are sorry for our failures. Cause us to trust Your words and to stand firm in Your victory. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Gracious God, you freely embraced death for us. Every day we choose our own will. We choose not to die to ourselves for you. We take the gift you gave us and squander it. Please give us the courage to die to ourselves every day. Please forgive us for our selfishness as we silently confess our sins to you now…

Submitted by Austin D. Hill

Lord God, the grace and mercy, that You express to us through Jesus Christ is almost impossible to understand. How, in Your holiness, could You possibly cancel the debt incurred by our sin? But that’s exactly what You have done through the miracle of the shed blood of Christ. You have provided us with the ultimate example of forgiveness. Yet, we often look at our own opportunities to forgive as a duty rather than a privilege. At times, we forgive others with reluctance and gnashing of teeth. Sometimes we “forgive” with conditions. Teach us more about humility, Lord. Help us to show others the same compassion that You have shown us. Everything we have, we have only because of Your mercy towards us. We receive Your gracious forgiveness, Father, and commit ourselves to pass the torch of total forgiveness to others. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.

Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

Adapted from “The Precious Blood” in The Valley of Vision

Leader: Blessed Lord Jesus, before your cross I kneel and see the heinousness of my sin, my iniquity that caused you to be made a curse, the evil that provokes divine wrath.

All: Show me the enormity of my guilt by the crown of thorns, the pierced hands and feet, the bruised body, the dying cries. Your blood is the blood of incarnate God; its worth is infinite, and its value is beyond all thought.

Leader: Sin is my sickness, my monster, my foe, my enemy, born in my birth, alive in my life, strong in my character, intermingling with my every thought. Sinner that I am, why should the sun give me light?

All: Yet your compassions reach over me, your heart rushes to my rescue, your love endured my curse, your mercy bore the stripes I deserved. Let me walk in humiliation, bathed in your blood with a tender conscious, triumphing gloriously as an heir of salvation.

Submitted by Dustin Ray

Lord of Hosts,

We come before you today in a tone of solemnity. We recognize that while it was Judas who betrayed you for 30 pieces of silver, that we often betray you as well. We know what is right, what is good for us. We know that we belong to you. Called to serve, we often serve ourselves. Called to humility, we puff ourselves up. Called to love, we choose to love only those who love us back. But in your Word you give us a different path to walk. A humble path where all are worthy of our love and respect. Forgive us Lord, where we have chosen to withhold rather than to offer. In your son Jesus’ name,

Amen.

Stuart Strachan Jr.