*You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know that you have either used or adapted it.*
Hymns
Hymn GTG #105, “People, Look East”
Hymn GTG #136, “Go, Tell It on the Mountain”
Hymn GTG #107, “Awake! Awake, and Greet the New Morn”
Leader: As we await the gift of God-with-us, we give thanks for all that God has already given to us.
People: Truly, we have been blessed by the Lord’s goodness
Leader: As we await the gift of the Messiah, we ponder how best to share these gifts with the world.
People: Truly, ALL should be blessed by the Lord’s goodness.
Leader: [Light purple candle] The fourth step on our journey of spiritual regifting is to bring God’s gifts to those who need them most.
People: We seek them out even as we seek the Christ-child: Come, Lord Jesus.
Call to Confession (based on Luke 2:9)
Leader: Mortals tremble in the presence of God’s glory because we know that we’re unworthy of its light. God’s glory, however, doesn’t come to condemn, but to surround us with an unfathomable, inescapable love. Trusting in this love, then, let us confess our sins without fear.
Prayer of Confession (based on Luke 2:10-11, 17)
You are invited to speak a word or short phrase that describes a personal or collective sin of which you repent and seek forgiveness.
When the gathered community is finished sharing, we pray together:
People: Glorious God, you have blessed us with the knowledge of our salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is good news, indeed! Yet even as we joyfully receive this news for ourselves, we confess that we have withheld it from others. Whether because we consider our neighbors undeserving or because we find ourselves “too busy”, the good news stops with us instead of spreading to all people. This is wrong, and we repent. Forgive us, Holy One, and send us forth again to proclaim your good news from the very mountaintops. In your mercy, hear our prayers…
(Silent prayers of personal confession)
Declaration of Forgiveness (based on Luke 2:10)
Leader: Don’t be afraid! Look, I bring good news to you - wonderful, joyous news for all people: in the name of Christ our Lord, we are all forgiven!
People: Thanks be to God!
No comments:
Post a Comment