CONFESSION

Our God longs for honesty and holiness within the promise-based relationship God has established with us in Christ. In a culture that avoids talk of sin and our total depravity, regular prayers of confession foster honesty and openness in our relationship with God. Just as a marriage cannot flourish without honest confession, so our marriage-like relationship with God cannot flourish unless we freely and honestly express all facets of our life: hopes, fears, sins, desires, thanksgiving, and praise.

Explanation:
“The call to confession invites us to honest expression within the context of our covenant relation- ship with God. God’s grace comes to us, creating a relationship with us in Christ in which honesty about our sin is welcome and safe. We confess our sin not in order for God to forgive us but because God has forgiven us in Christ. The call to confession, therefore, is a word of grace like the assurance of pardon, not an exercise that shames us into confession." 

A full prayer of confession acknowledges that our sin is more than an isolated example of bad judgment. We are sinful people, and we live in need of a Savior. Our confession also acknowledges that sin infects not just persons but also societies, institutions, and all of creation. Along with the confession of personal sins, we confess our participation in the structures and institutions in which evil persists. Even as we confess our sin, we are claiming God’s promises in Christ, which are sealed in our baptism. [1]

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Explanation: The good news of the gospel is that in Christ we are forgiven! The announcement of this truth is one of the most beautiful moments in worship. Using scriptural words reinforces the truth that our assurance is based on God’s words of promise, not merely on our own hopes and desires. Just as confession acknowledges both personal and corporate sin, so also assurance of pardon declares the sure promise that God’s grace in Christ redeems not only individuals but also the whole creation.

In Practice: Pastor Paul will then explain that we all have sin in our lives. Through the fall of Adam and Eve, we have been separated from God and our sin for years has kept us from Him. This too is done through a responsive reading. Pastor Paul, who acts on behalf of God in leading His people on His mission, will read parts of Scripture, creeds, and confessions that bring about a heightened sense of our sin. The people of God then respond with an acknowledgement of their sin and confess corporately, that they have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

However, we do not end our time on a solemn note, we end on a joyous note. Praise be to Jesus Christ, our mediator and perfector, who became sin for us who knew no sin so that we would become his rightouesness [2]. It is specifically during this time in our gathering, that we remember that Christ has saved us from our sins, is currently saving us from our sins, and will continue to save us from our sins.

SONG OF RESPONSE

A fitting response after an assurance of pardon would then be to sing praises and prayers to the God for his faithfulness to us and to Jesus Christ our Lord. The songs that we sing in this response have a wide array to them. We will sings songs celebrating the work that Jesus Christ has done on the cross as well ones that sing of our thankfulness to him.

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[1] The Worship Source Book. 81-82. Print.

[2] 2 Corinithains 5:21 (ESV)