We confess our sin together, and then hear from Scripture the promise of God’s pardon. The two are written to go together, so they are kept together here.
2026
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
In your bulletin you’ll see the words of a prayer written some 450 years ago. Let’s read this prayer out loud together and confess our sins to God together.
Let’s pray out loud together now:
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name.
Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Brother, Sister, since you are safely in Christ, be assured He has heard your prayer and, because of His eternal Gospel, forgiven all your sins. 1 Timothy 1:15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners… John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Rejoice again in His great forgiveness and let's all sing of to one another of His abounding grace.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
We ask God for hearts to praise Him fully, because we know how fickle and weak we are. That is why we will take the time now to confess our sins to God in prayer. Today we will do this by reading an adaption of a prayer made by Nehemiah.
Corporate Prayer of Confession
Adapted from Nehemiah’s prayer of confession in Nehemiah 9:6–38.
Leader
O God,
You are the LORD, you alone.
You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host,
the earth and all that is on it,
the seas and all that is in them;
and you preserve all of them;
and the host of heaven worships you.
You are YHWH, the God who chose Abraham.
You found his heart faithful before you,
and made with him the covenant to bless all of his descendants.
And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous.
You redeemed Israel out of Egypt.
You made a name for yourself, as it is to this day.
You divided the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on dry land.
Congregation
However, like them, we have acted presumptuously and stiffened our necks and not obeyed your commandments.
Leader
We praise you that you are a God ready to forgive,
gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love
We praise you for not forsaking us.
For you gave us your good Spirit to instruct us and lead us
and you have not withheld your Word from us.
You have sustained us in our wildernesses
and we have lacked nothing.
Yet in our spiritual prosperity, we were filled and became fat
and delighted ourselves in all our blessings…
Congregation
Then we quickly turned and became disobedient
and rebelled against you
and cast your law behind our backs.
Leader
Our sins increased our sorrows,
so, in the time of our suffering we cried out to you
and you heard us from heaven,
and according to your great mercies you gave us a way out.
Congregation
But after this, we only turned to do evil again before you
Leader
Yet every time we turned and cried to you,
you heard from heaven,
and many times delivered us according to your mercies.
Plus, you warned us from your Word
in order to turn us back to your law.
Congregation
Yet here we are again.
We have acted presumptuously again
and not obeyed your commandments nor your rules
Leader
You have borne with some of us for many years
and warned us by your Spirit through your Word.
Congregation
Yet so often we have not listened.
Leader
Nevertheless, because of your great mercies in Jesus Christ our Lord,
you do not make an end of us nor forsake us,
for you are a gracious and merciful God.
Now, therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God,
who keeps covenant and steadfast love,
please forgive us for all our sins.
Congregation
You have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.
We have not kept your law or paid attention to your commandments
and your warnings that you gave us.
Leader
Even with all the blessings that are ours in Christ Jesus,
we have not served you with our whole heart.
nor turned fully from our wicked ways.
Congregation
So we plead again for your forgiveness.
AMEN
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (read twice)” (James 4:17)
Our typical problem is not that we do not know what to do… it is that choose to not do it. The right thing to do in any given situation can be difficult… costly.. hard. But when we refuse to do the right thing, the clear commands in our Bible, we sin. When we gossip. rather than address a grievance directly with our brother, we sin. When we keep watching that show or concert, even though we know it is sexually immoral, we sin. When we hold a grudge against a brother, rather than love him enough to overlook his fault and love him, we sin.
What right things have you been refusing to do. Find those in your mind right now, then I will pray for us and ask the Lord to forgive us for these offences. List of things from Covenant…
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Listen as I read this remarkable promise of grace that God extended to his rebellious people when they repented from their sins.
“Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. ‘They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” (Malachi 3:16–18)
One true sign of real repentance is a zeal to do what is right. To serve God.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Jean Calvin coined this memorable phrase to describe our ability to find things to worship besides God: “Man’s nature, so to speak, is a perpetual factory of idols.” — John Calvin, Institutes 1.11.8
He was only summarizing what Paul wrote to the Romans:
“Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonouring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” (Romans 1:22–25)
What we did all the time before God saved us, is what we are tempted to do all the time after He saves us: to make idols, to worship created things instead of our glorious, happy, Creator. Reflecting on this propensity to worship idols instead of the God who saved them, the Psalmist wrote of God's displeasure toward His people Israel:
“They served their idols, which became a snare to them. Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his heritage;” (Psalm 106:36, 40)
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Brothers and Sisters, the same Psalm that spoke of terrible idolatry, also spoke of one who stood in the gap to rescue His people:
“Therefore he said he would destroy them— had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him, to turn away his wrath from destroying them.” (Psalm 106:23)
Of course, we all turn to the Greater Moses, our Lord Jesus Christ. He stood before the eternal wrath of God on our behalf and cleanses us Christians from even our worst idolatries.
So, as we just sang:
"To Christ be all the honour given, The glory to His name."
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
At the end our service today, we will be eating and drinking the Lord's Supper together. The Bible is very clear that this meal is only for Christians, but sometimes Christians feel unworthy to participate in that meal due to their sins.
While I appreciate that sensitivity to sin, I think it is important to say that the solution to your sinful state is never to skip the meal! It is to repent and confess your sins and come to the table that welcomes sinful saints.
If you wait until you think you are worthy, you will never come. In fact, your staying back is quite proud and arrogant… because at its root is the thought that you can clean yourself up. You cannot. But you can always confess your sins.
So, I am going to give you a few moments to do that now. All of us have things we regret, and so all of us will take the time to confess those things and ask for His forgiveness. Believe this promise as you pray:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Not only is God quick to forgive our sins when we ask, He promises that a day is coming when we will need not to ask anymore.
“In those days and in that time, declares the LORD, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.” (Jeremiah 50:20)
Brothers and Sisters, since your only hope in this life and the next is the Lord Jesus, be assured He has heard your honest request for forgiveness and gladly given it. Let's sing to our King.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Many years after King David died, his son, Solomon, built a Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple became the meeting place between God and His people. On the day Solomon dedicated that temple, he asked God to always pay attention to the prayers offered there. This physical temple always pointed forward to the day, Immanuel, (God with us, Jesus Christ), would tabernacle with mankind. Jesus came and made Solomon’s temple obsolete. In this way, Jesus is the better Temple. As such, we offer our prayers to Him, to Christ. And so we take the words spoken at Solomon’s dedication of the Jerusalem temple, and point them toward our Better Temple, the true meeting place between God and man — Jesus Christ.
Please join me in spirit as I pray on our behalf.
Prayer Based on 2 Chronicles 6:36–39
If we sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with us… and discipline us… remember us, O Lord, when we come to our senses.
If we turn our hearts back to you and repent and plead with you in the land of our folly, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ and if we repent with all our heart and with all our soul and pray to Jesus asking Him to forgive us, then hear from heaven your dwelling place our prayer and our pleas, and forgive your people who have sinned against you.
Our sins are many, but your mercy is more.
So please do forgive us and restore us to Yourself.
This we ask with great confidence in the Name of Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, If you are repenting of your sins and appealing to Jesus to forgive you and cleanse you from them, then be assured that He has heard your prayer and done as you asked. Through His prophet, the Lord says of you, believer…
“‘Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.’” (Psalm 91:14–16)
Amen.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Brothers and sisters, listen to these words from Romans 6:
"What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 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.
Brother, sister, have you been walking in newness of life this week? Have you been doing so perfectly?
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Brothers and sisters, if you have honestly confessed your sins to the LORD and repented from them, take great comfort in this promise from God:
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus".
Let's sing of Christ together!
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
As you consider your own life…
Have you been loving your enemies?
Have you done good to those who hate you?
Have you been generous to others?
If you answer, "No," to these questions, then let's recalibrate our lives by repenting from our sins and asking God to forgive us.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Christian brother and sister. Because your hope is in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation and ongoing forgiveness, receive this promise as your own…
“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:8–12)
If you are in Christ, be assured your sins are truly forgiven. O, how we need Jesus!
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
I am sure you remember the Parable of the Talents… a story Jesus told about three slaves who had been entrusted with different amounts of money by their master. (A talent is a currency, like a dollar.) When the master came to settle accounts, the first two slaves are rewarded for their diligence. So, the master said to the slave who had been diligent and doubled his two talents…
“His master said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.””
But the story continues…
“He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.” But his master answered him, “You wicked and slothful servant!” (Matthew 25:23–26)
Each of us has been entrusted something from the Lord. He expects us to use our gifts to His glory, not bury them in the sand.
What have you been burying?
Are there acts of service you have been avoiding?
Have you felt compelled to use your money for His purposes, but held it back?
Have you selfishly clung to your time instead of giving it to others?
Please take a moment to confess your spiritual slothfulness or laziness to the Lord. Then ask Him to forgive you and give you grace to live diligently for Him.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
“‘They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” (Malachi 3:17–18)
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
As we just said, mercy flows through Jesus alone. Jesus alone is able to forgive. So let's take a moment to confess our sins to the LORD. Please pray silently in your heart and confess your sins to Christ now.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Pray silently in your heart and confess your sins to the LORD.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Brothers and sisters, if you have confessed your sins to God and asked for his forgiveness in Christ, rest in this promise from Romans 8:1:
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus".
Christian, it is now as if Jesus is saying to you what he said to the paralytic in Matthew 9:
"Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven".
And with this great confidence in our salvation we glorify our Saviour.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
David wrote what we can all acknowledge… the propensity of our hearts to wander from the Lord. So he prayed..
“With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!” (Psalm 119:10)
And he surrounded this verse before and aft with good counsel as to how to not wander…
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”
“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:9–11)
Have you been wandering from God in your heart?
Have you neglected to store up His Word in your heart?
Have you let impurity creep into your life?
If yes, then turn back to Jesus now and find forgiveness for your sins. I cannot do it for you. But He is willing to to receive you if you are willing to come. So, spend a few moments now in silent prayer confessing your wandering to the Lord.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Brothers and Sisters, if you have authentically gone to Jesus and asked for His forgiveness for your sins, then be assured that He says to you…
“I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.” (Isaiah 44:22)
Praise the Lord. Please stand and sing with me of this great salvation!
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Please pray along with as I pray and confess our sins on our behalf…
Prayer of Confession
Adapted from Daniel’s prayer of confession in Daniel 9:4–19
O Lord, the great and awesome God,
who keeps covenant and steadfast love
with those who love him and keep his commandments.
We have sinned and done wrong,
we have acted wickedly and rebelled,
turning aside from your commandments and rules.
We have not listened to your Word.
To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness,
but to us open shame…because we have sinned against you.
To you, O Lord our God, belong mercy and forgiveness,
for we have rebelled against You
and have not obeyed Your voice by walking in Your commandments.
O Lord, according to all your righteous acts,
let your anger and your wrath turn away from us.
For your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon us.
O our God, incline your ear and hear.
Open your eyes and see our brokenness and shame.
For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness,
but because of your great mercy.
O Lord, hear;
O Lord, forgive.
O Lord, pay attention and act.
Delay not, for your own sake, O God,
because we, your people, are called by your name.
AMEN
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Brothers and Sisters who are in Christ, be assured… 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If you have prayed and asked His forgiveness. you can be certain He has taken your sins and cast them behind His back. Praise the Lord.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
The reason we needed to be redeemed, called, justified, sanctified and glorified is simple: we sinned. And, sadly, our sins do not end the moment God saves us. Although we have been freed to not sin, we still do. And so we are grateful that our kind God allows us to come again and again to confess those sins and be forgiven. Please join me as I pray on our behalf. I read Leader, you read Congregation.
Holy Lord,
You come to us, but we do not recognize You;
You call, but we are slow to follow;
You command, but we negotiate instead of obey;
You bless, but we have not thanked You;
You love, but we have not loved You;
You forgive, but we have not forgiven those who wrong us;
You send, but we have given our all to our own mission;
You serve, but we have avoided the poor and needy;
You suffered, but we have sought a life apart from You.
Forgive us our sin, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with You there is forgiveness; therefore You are feared.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)
The mercy we need, is always found in Jesus Christ.
What a friend we have in Jesus!
Please stand and let's sing to one another of our elder brother and dearest Friend.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Part of what we do as we gather together week by week, is remind each other who God is, and who we are.
“Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!” (Psalm 115:1)
We are prone to seek our own glory. Every time we sin that is precisely what we are doing.
– We lie to protect our glory.
– We boast to boost our glory.
– We cheat to buy our glory.
Have you lied this last week? Boasted about your work or parenting or life?
“How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44)
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, please join me as I pray on our behalf, asking God to forgive us for exalting ourselves and seeking our own fame, popularity or glory.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Lord,
You are God and we are not.
Yet far too often, even in the last few days, we have sought the fame and recognition that belongs to you alone.
Jesus, you told us that we could absolutely nothing of eternal good and value apart from you. So, please forgive us for seeking a glory that did not belong to us. And also forgive us for spending too much of this past week living for ourselves, rather than living for you.
Do all of this, not because we deserve it, but because you are so good, gracious and merciful.
We ask in Your Name, Christ.
Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Christian, you can be sure of this promise…
“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:10, 13–14)
Praise God for His abounding mercy, patience and love for His people.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.’” (Hebrews 8:10–12)
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
We just affirmed in our Statement of Faith that the one true Christian Church is made up of only those people who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, who are presently indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and who SHOW their allegiance to Christ by their words and deeds.
But let me ask you this:
Have you shown your allegiance to Christ in ALL of your words and ALL of your works this week? Now, make no mistake, Christ-honouring words and God-glorifying works DO NOT save a person. But they do mark a saved person. You simply cannot be a fruitless follower of Jesus. Those don't exist. So brothers and sisters, let's all take a moment to silently confess our sinful failure to make much of Christ with all of our words and in all of our deeds this week, and let's also ask God for grace and strength to live for Christ this coming week. Please pray silently and confess your sins now.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
(60 seconds of silent confession)
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Brothers and sisters remember the words of the apostle John:
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
It's not your perfect words or perfect works that save you, Christian. It is your perfect Saviour, Jesus Christ. So we praise Christ, the one true Saviour; He is all we have, and he is all we need.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Please take a moment to prepare yourself to worship God. If you have been cherishing sins in your heart, take this time to humble yourself and seek His forgiveness. If you have been walking in prayerlessness this past week, again, bring yourself low before God, seek His forgiveness and mercy.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
God's Word is a wonderful gift. And in it He tells us that any time we fail to do what He commands, or happen to do what He prohibits, we have sinned. Those of us who know God know that we have sinned. And it is actually our joy to own that and confess those sins, in order to receive God's forgivingness. Please join me in this Prayer of Confession. I will read the parts marked leader and you read the parts marked Congregation. If you read this prayer in advance, then I am sure you saw it was based on the words of Psalm 38. So, let's pray with all our heart, the way God has instructed us to.
A Corporate Prayer of Confession Based on Psalm 38
Leader
O Lord,
Please do not punish us for our sins.
Hold back your discipline from us.
We feel sick over our sins.
We are drowning in our sins.
The guilt of our sins clings to us like a weight around our ankles.
Our sins are too much for us.
Congregation
We have been so foolish.
Our folly stinks. It is gross in Your sight.
We are crushed and full of sorrow for what we have done.
We are burning up with guilt.
We are groaning here.
Our hearts hurt.
Leader
O Lord, listen to our cries and sighs.
Our hearts are throbbing.
Our strength is fading.
Our hope is dimming, because of our sins.
Not even our closest friends and family can help us.
Congregation
Besides this, our enemy has laid even more snares.
He parades our ruin before You.
He meditates on how to trip us up.
Leader
But we will plug our ears and shut our mouths.
We have nothing left to say.
We will not listen to that Accuser.
But for You, O Lord, we will wait.
You are the only who can answer us in our need.
The world, the flesh and the devil will rejoice in our failings.
But not you.
Congregation
O Lord, we are ready to fall apart at the seams.
We cannot shake the pain of our guilt.
We confess our iniquities.
We are sorry for our sins.
Leader
Remember the strength of our enemies.
Remember the number of our enemies.
Remember the wickedness of our enemies.
Congregation
And do not forsake us, O Lord.
O our God, do not be far from us.
Hurry up and help us!
For You alone, O Lord, are our salvation.
All
Amen
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Leader
Christian, because your life is hidden in Christ and you have honestly asked for His forgiveness, be assured that:
“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.
[He] will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (based on Micah 7:18b–19).
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Listen to what God knows about you…
“The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.” (Psalm 33:13–15)
The Lord sees all of our deeds. Nothing escapes His notice, which means, He has had a full view on our sins of the heart, mouth and hand. Please take a moment to pray and ask Him to forgive you for every sin you can think of, as well as all the ones you have already forgotten, but He clearly remembers.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
The 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, in the section on the Worship of God, suggests there are appropriate times to practice "solemn humiliation." We understand this to mean purposefully bringing ourselves low, in order to acknowledge the greatness of our God. Listen as I read from Isaiah 40 and use the thoughts of this text, to solemnly go low before your God.
“All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him?”
“Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.”
“To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these [stars]? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.”
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” (Isaiah 40:17–18, 21–23, 25–26, 28)
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Many years ago, when another group of God's saved people had repented from their sins, God sent words of comfort to them by the Prophet, Malachi.
“17] ‘They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” (Malachi 3:16–18)
Brother, Sister – since your life is hidden in Christ with God, be assured that He has totally forgiven you of all of your sins. You are His and the object of His love. Serve Him now with your whole heart.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Corporate Confession and Word of Assurance Based on the Thoughts of Psalm 32
Leader
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the person against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Congregation
When we hide our sins, our souls shrivel up.
We groan in our hearts all day long.
But, You will lay Your hand of discipline on us,
And our strength will dry up if we do not turn.
Leader
Dear Church, acknowledge your sin to God,
And do not cover up your iniquity!
Congregation
We will confess our transgressions to the Lord.
And He will forgive the iniquity of our sin.
Leader
Let everyone who is godly
offer prayer to God at a time when He may be found.
Surely in the Day of Judgment, it will be too late.
Congregation
You are our hiding place, O Lord.
You preserve us from trouble;
You surround us with shouts of deliverance.
Forgive us of all of our sins.
Leader
The Lord does forgive you and tells you,
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
Do not be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.
Instead, listen to Me.”
Congregation
Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.
Leader
Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the person against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
We believe great things about Jesus. So did others.
“The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, ‘Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!’”
Yet some from these crowds joined in the mockery of Christ just days later.
“Matthew 27:39–40 And those who passed by [Jesus, on the cross,] derided him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’”
In fact, even the Apostle Peter had denied Jesus…
“John 18:25–27 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, ‘You also are not one of his disciples, are you?’ He denied it and said, ‘I am not.’ One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with him?’ Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.” (John 12:12–13)
God is never impressed by people who give Christ attention only when it is easy or popular. Is that you? A person who shows up to church at Easter and Christmas? This will not do. Even those of us who love Christ can be fickle in our love and loyalty to him. One moment bold in our affection for Him, the next denying Him with our words or actions. Has your love been fickle lately? Even over the last year? Then join me in renouncing this sin and asking God to forgive us.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Lord God,
We have not loved you as we ought,
nor obeyed you as we should.
We have been disloyal in our love
and fickle in our obedience.
Please forgive us of our sins.
Remember Jesus, when you look at us.
We plead His work alone for our forgiveness.
We ask in His Name, Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Brothers and Sisters, take heart. The Lord knows your weakness and remembers your frame. Even before we sin, he is ready to forgive. Before he denied Him, Jesus told Peter…
“‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail…’” (Luke 22:31–32)
Be sure of this: If you truly love the Lord, He will keep you faithful until the Last Day.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
In Psalm 66 the poet calls on us to worship God:
“Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!” (Psalm 66:1–2)
Yet, near the end of this Psalm, he acknowledges something….
“If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” (Psalm 66:18)
We should not expect God to hear our praises, if we are failing to confess our sins.
It is as simple as that. So, let’s take a moment to confess all our sins to the Lord in private prayer.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Listen then, to how the Psalmist concludes his poem…
“If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!” (Psalm 66:18–20)
Dear ones, if you have unearthed your sins, confessed and rejected them, then you can be sure God has heard your prayer. And He will never take His steadfast love from you. Praise be to Jesus, our Saviour.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
God is holy and worthy of our praise. One of the ways we praise Him is by how we live. What we think about and what we do. Sadly, those thoughts and behaviours can also be faked. We can fool each other and hide our sins from each other. But wise Solomon warned us…
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.” (Proverbs 28:13–14)
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Lord,
We all admit that we have coveted, envied, and boasted.
Whether it was last week, or years before, we confess that:
We have longed to have for ourselves, what You have given to others.
We have secretly desired the prosperous to fail.
We have had silly, lofty thoughts about our own worth.
And these are not our only sins, O Lord.
Please forgive us and cleanse us from every covetous, envious or boastful thought.
When you consider our sins, remember Christ and His sacrifice for sinners like us.
Restore us into right relationship with You.
Please make us humble, content, and full of love for other people.
We ask all this in the Name of our Saviour Jesus, Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Brothers and sisters, those of you whom God has already saved… ponder this for a moment.
“But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:4–7)
Our salvation is not based on our performance, but on His regeneration and justification of us. It is good to confess our sins, but that is not what saves us. Christ has saved us, by His grace, and for His glory. We are heirs of God because He paid the penalty of all of our sins on His cross. Praise the Lord. And let's sing to one another of our only hope — the saving work of Jesus our Saviour.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Brothers and sisters we have been called to worship God alone – we are not to worship idols. But we know, if we are honest, that we have worshiped idols this week. We have not been satisfied in God alone. We have run after false gods looking for satisfaction in them! [provide some examples of idols we run after and look for satisfaction in] And this is what God says about idolatry:
“All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.” (Isaiah 44:9–11)
Seeking after idols to satisfy us is a completely and utterly foolish way to spend our lives. Lives that are supposed to be spend to the glory of our one true and living God. As Isaiah says, idols are profitable for nothing. So please take a moment in silent prayer to confess your idolatry to the Lord, and ask for his forgiveness for your sinful idolatry in Christ.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
(Silent prayer of confession to confess our sin of idolatry and ask for forgiveness in Christ.)
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Brothers and sisters, because of our idolatry we deserve death. But if you are honestly repenting from your sinful idolatry and trusting in the one who paid the penalty for your idolatry by his death on the cross for you, listen to these words that Paul writes in Romans 8:
“‘There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’.” (Romans 8:1)
If you are in Christ, you can shake off your guilty fears of receiving God's punishment and wrath – for the spotless lamb of God and his bleeding sacrifice on your behalf appears before the holy God of the universe. You can live now with confidence in God's grace no matter your sin all because of Christ. Let's rejoice in this truth as we sing of it together now.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
God’s Word is good, delightful, true, and reliable. It always points us in the right direction. If we stay true to God’s Word, then we can be sure that we’ll stay on the path of righteousness. But, whether it’s forgetfulness, ignorance, or disobedience, we stray from God’s Word and we end up sinning. I invite you to answer these questions out loud, and be very honest as you do so:
1.Have you sinned against the Lord this week?
2.Have you gone astray from his Word?
3.Have you done that which is wrong in his sight?
That is not good. But…
4.Is God willing to forgive you again?
5.Did Jesus pay the penalty of your sin in full?
6.Do you now reject your sins and reaffirm your trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ which is your righteousness?
Then brothers and sisters, hear this Word of the Lord and rest in this truth:
“As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
If your are in Christ, be assured that God forgives you completely. Praise the Lord!
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
At the end of the longest Psalm in the Bible, a Psalm about the Bible, David writes:
“I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.” (Psalm 119:176)
How did he go astray? He must have not done what he recommended near the start of this Psalm.
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:9–11)
When we do not walk in the Word, by the Word, according to His Word — we go astray. Let's confess our waywardness and wordlessness to our God.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
(Pray on behalf of congregation. Ask God to forgive us for lack of Bible intake and for lack of living according to the Word.)
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
He whom John called, "the Word of God" – Jesus Christ our Saviour – said this of himself:
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." If you have confessed your sins and are believing on Christ, be assured, dear brother or sister, that Christ has paid the penalty for your neglect and disobedience of His Word. As he said to one woman, so he says to all of us now: "Go, and sin no more."
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
This prayer acknowledges to God our weak and feeble state and looks to Him as the Source of all Life.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
We have been singing and reading of God our Creator, and if you know your bible, then you know that it wasn't long after God created the world, that our representative Adam sinned. And because of that sin, he eventually died. Genesis 5:5 Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.
"And he died…."
Death came into this world because of one man's sin. And to that one sin, we have added all our own sins. Please join me in prayer as I ask the Lord to forgive us for our most recent trespasses.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Lord, we have not done all that you have asked us to do. And we have done too many things you have told us to not do. Please forgive us. For every lie, lust and lack of faith. And for the sins we cannot remember right now. We plead the blood of Jesus alone as our only righteousness. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, [but we Christians] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 3:23–24)
Brother, Sister… if you are in Christ Jesus, in spite of all your failings and sins, you have been justified by His grace as a gift. You are redeemed.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Immediately after writing these words about Jesus, Paul reflects on what Jesus has done for sinners like us.
“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.” (Colossians 1:21–23)
Christian, are you continuing on in the faith? If you belong to Jesus, you most certainly are! But as we have been learning, our path to glory is filled with temptations and trials along the way. Let's use this next song to ponder Christ's faithfulness to us. It is hymn that asks us all a question. And provides a perfect answer in the last verse.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Oh to have a heart completely free from sin.
"a heart perfect and right and pure and good,
A copy, Lord, of Thine".
But there's a reason we just sung, oh to have such a heart! Because right now, we don't. Jeremiah the prophet wrote of the human heart and said this (Jeremiah 17:9):
"The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?"
Jesus talked about our hearts too. He tells us in Matthew 15:19-20:
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.”
Knowing what God's Word and your LORD himself says about your heart, it is only fitting that we take a moment to silently confess our sins to God and ask for his forgiveness in Christ. Please confess your sins to God in silent prayer now. [Silent prayer of confession]
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Confess your sins silently and personally.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
Brothers and sisters, our hearts are a mess. But if you are repenting from your sins and are trusting in Christ, if you are genuinely broken over your sinful heart, I want to remind you of the words we heard preached last week from Romans 8:1:
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus".
But it gets even better: because not only does God give us grace in Christ, he gives us his Holy Spirit, the Helper. So let's sing of both persons. Let's sing of Christ, our hope; and let's ask the Holy Spirit for help.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
Last week, Connery taught us from Psalm 51.
“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.” (Psalm 51:4)
Those of us who are Christians know that we have never made it through a single week, let alone a single day, without sinning against our God. Amen? So we are here today to, in part, admit that to God and seek His forgiveness. This forgiveness of sins He will indeed give to all who genuinely seek for it. Let's use the words of this next song to ask Him for it.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
If you have confessed your sins to God, be assured of this, brother and sister: He has forgiven you in Christ.
“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. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.” (Micah 7:18–20)
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
There are many Psalms in the bible that teach us how to confess our sins and ask God for His forgiveness. One of those is Psalm 130. There the poet writes…
“Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” (Psalm 130:1–4)
Can you imagine if we had to defend ourselves before God for all of our sins? From the greatest of them down to the least? If that were the case, none of us would stand. But God does not demand a defence from us. He grants us forgiveness in Jesus Christ. So, we will heed the advice of the poet and cry out to the Lord from the depths of our guilt.
Confession of Sin
Service Leader
2-3 minute prayer on behalf of the members asking God to pardon us for all of our sins of the last year.
Assurance of Pardon
Service Leader
The same Psalmist concluded:
“O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”
Indeed, God forgives all those who have repented from their sins and put their trust in Jesus Christ. If that is you, friend, then rejoice in the clean slate and restored fellowship!
