A Prayer Confessing our Sins

This prayer was used for confession of sins at the Lutheran church I recently attended. It certainly touches on some of my besetting sins, so maybe you will see yourself in it as well.

Almighty God, merciful Father,

We have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed. We have done things we should not have done, and we have failed to do the things we should have done. We have been impatient. We have grumbled. We have been critical of others and we have been difficult. We have used coarse language and have taken Your name in vain. We have sought and received Your forgiveness and, then, we have refused to forgive our neighbor. Father, forgive us, renew us, and lead us so that we may be merciful, even as You are merciful. Amen

For more prayers see:

Martin Luther’s Prayer about the Word

A Prayer of Surrender

A Penitent Prayer

Wash Away Your Sins

The church I attended recently used the hymn, Today Your Mercy Calls Us” as their processional at the beginning of the service. It goes along beautifully with the theme this month. How wonderful it is to know that our sins have already been washed away. Listen and give thanks.

For more hymns see these posts:

Let Us Ever Walk With Jesus

Children of the Heavenly Father

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Most Certainly True

If you’ve read or been trained in the Lutheran Catechism, you’ll be familiar with the phrase, “this is most certainly true.”  It appears at the end of each of Luther’s explanations, a reminder that although most of life is uncertain, the things of the faith are not.  Recently my husband and I were vacationing near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where we were visiting with our daughter and our grandchildren.  We attended a Presbyterian Church one Sunday and I loved their confession of sin, because what it told me is most certainly true:

 From the Westminster Confession of Faith 15.4 (Of Repentance Unto Life).                                                                                                                                                      No sin is so small that it does not deserve damnation.  Nor is any sin so great that it can bring damnation upon those who truly repent.

Romans 8:1

“There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

(If you’re unfamiliar with the Westminster Confession of Faith, it is a systematic exposition of Calvinism, written from a Puritan viewpoint. It was originally drafted to reform the Church of England and to unify the various Christian sects in England at that time.  It addresses a variety of church doctrines).

Often people feel uncertain about whether their sins are really forgiven.  Maybe they have trouble forgiving themselves; maybe they are afraid that something they have done is so bad, it just isn’t forgivable. Martin Luther himself suffered from this anxiety.  He confessed over and over again without feeling absolved.  On the other hand, some are convinced their sins are so small, they don’t need forgiveness.  They are “good” people, at least in comparison to others. Neither attitude is correct.  We all need forgiveness, and through the atonement of Christ, we can all receive forgiveness.  Of that you can be certain.

For more on forgiveness see  these posts:

The Opportunity of Forgiveness

Forgiveness for Ourselves

Forgiveness: It Does a Body Good

 

God’s Light

In a previous quote I mentioned that God is light.  That made me think about all the ways that God provides light to His people.

The Holy Spirit “enlightens” us.  When Jesus was about to leave the disciples, He told them:

‘“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” John 16:12-12

It is the Spirit that opens the Scripture to us and allows us to understand God’s Word.  The Word itself is described as light is this passage:

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path ” Psalm 119:105

When we read God’s Word and the Spirit enlightens us, we will be guided into a way of living that is righteous and helpful to us and to others.

Finally God “lightens” our load.

‘Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28

When we rely upon God, when we trust Him to do what is best for us, it lifts our spirits and gives us hope.  We feel lighter because our sins are forgiven.  We know that whatever difficulties we face, they will not last forever (This Darkness Will Not Last).  In the end, we will bask in the light of His countenance and experience His light forever.

 

How Do We Know Our Sins are Forgiven?

The answer to this question was in my daily devotional reading today.  The quote is from the writings of J.F. Clark (1810-1888), an American theologian and writer.

“We need to know that our sins are forgiven.  And how shall we know this?  By feeling that we have peace with God,–by feeling that we are able so to trust in the divine compassion and infinite tenderness of  our Father, as to arise and go to Him, whenever we have sinned and say at once to Him,  ‘Father, I have sinned, forgive me.’  To know that we are forgiven, it is only necessary to look at our Father’s love till it sinks into our heart, to open our soul to Him till He shall pour His love into it;  to wait on Him till we find peace, till our conscience no longer torments us, till we can feel that our sins, great as they are, cannot keep us away from our Heavenly Father.”

P.S. Lutherans also know they are forgiven when they receive the absolution every week as part of the liturgy.  What a blessing! As Martin Luther said about the Gospel– We need to hear it every week because we forget it every week.

Katelyn’s Question #3

What is the basic moral nature of mankind?

This is a continuation of the following posts:

Is There a God? If So, What is God Like?– Or Katelyn’s Question #1

Katelyn’s Question #2

 

Sin is the basic human nature.  The term “original sin” is used to describe the tendency to sin which is born into all human beings.  This sin is inherited from Adam and Eve, because they ate from the tree of knowledge, against God’s command.  When Adam rebelled, his nature and that of all of mankind after him became sinful.  Romans 5:12 says:

“…sin entered the world through one man.”

Everyone was born with a sinful nature, but Romans 5:19 says:

“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

The answer to original sin is redemption and salvation.  Through Jesus, the Son of God, all Christians, and those to come have been redeemed, or saved from sin.  Jesus was sacrificed on the cross to deliver us from sin.  There is no other way to overcome sin than by the power of the Holy Spirit, a power that is received when one becomes a child of God.  Christians are to not only recognize their sinful nature, but repent and ask for forgiveness of their sins.  Proverbs 28:13 says:

“Whoever conceals their sin does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

Original sin is something all humans are born with, and it brings the consequences of ignorance, death and suffering.  Man is only saved from sin by the grace of God.  The Bible provides many verses that speak of redemption and remind Christians that their sins are forgiven through the death of Jesus.  Isaiah 44:22 says:

“I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist.  Return to me, for I have redeemed you.”

 

That’s What You Get for Loving Me

I seem to be on a kick of remembering old songs.  When I was in college, the one above was popular.  It’s about a scoundrel who tells all the girls, “if you love me, expect to be abandoned, broke and forgotten, because that’s just how I am!”  “Fair warning!”  (I’m not sure why I liked it, this guy is unbearably arrogant).  Anyway, it began bouncing around in my brain the other day, causing me to think about the many, better things we get for loving God.  I’m sure this isn’t a comprehensive list:

• Someone who will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5)
• Someone who will always listen (John 9:31)
• Our daily needs and pleasure in our work (Ecclesiastes 3:23)
• Wisdom (James 1:5)
• Christian fellowship (1 John 1:7)
• Fellowship with Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27)
• Spiritual gifts to serve the others (1 Corinthians 12:7)
• The Holy Spirit, who encourages and comforts (Acts 5:32)
• Forgiveness of sins (1 John 1:9)
• Salvation (6:23)
• Eternal life (John 3:16)

If we’re willing, even eager to take a risk on loving a flawed human being, who will no doubt disappoint us, why wouldn’t we take a chance on God’s love?  We stand to gain all the things above and more.  Love and trust God, and see what you get for loving Him.

Examine Yourself

“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.  Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.”  1 Corinthians 11: 27-29

Lutherans take the sacrament of Holy Communion seriously.  We believe that the bread and wine remains physically bread and wine, however, Jesus is present “in, with and under” the physical elements. Participants should examine themselves to be sure they rightly understand and appreciate the great gift being received.  Of course, many might say, “what does it mean to examine oneself?  How do I do that?”  In our congregation,  the Pastor reads what is called an “Exhortation” before we commune which explains this.  I thought it might be helpful to non-Lutherans and Lutherans alike to print it here.

EXHORTATION

Dear friends in Christ!  In order that you may receive this holy Sacrament in a worthy manner, it is necessary that you carefully consider what you must now believe and do.  From the words of Christ,

“This is My body, which is given for you;”  “This is My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”

You should believe that Jesus Christ is Himself present with His Body and Blood, as the words declare.  From Christ’s words, “For the forgiveness of sins,” you should in the next place, believe that Jesus Christ bestows upon you His Body and Blood to confirm to you the forgiveness of all your sins.  And finally, you should do as Christ commands you when He says,

“Take, eat;”  “Drink of it all of you;” and “This do in remembrance of me.”

If you believe these words of Christ, and do as He has commanded, then you have properly examined yourselves and may rightly eat Christ’s Body and drink His Blood for the forgiveness of your sins.

You should, also, unite in giving thanks to Almighty God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for so great a gift, and should love one another with a pure heart, and thus, with the whole Christian Church, have comfort and joy in Christ our Lord.  To this end, may God the Father grant you His grace;  through the same, our Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen

Note:  The Exhortation Before Communion is taken from The Ambassador Hymnal for Lutheran Worship