sin

Good Friday Prayer of Confession

We come to you, Jesus, burdened with our own sin.
Our own calls for revenge and violence,
which may or may not have included the words, “Crucify, crucify!”
Our own betrayals, with or without the thirty pieces of silver.
Our own denials, whether or not we have heard the cock crowing.
You know the sins we carry, secretly or openly,
the way they crush us, the weight of them.
We bring these to your cross…*

You carry our burdens, Lord.
These, the simplest and gravest of sins,
are magnified into organizations and systems,
amplified in the actions of corporations and governments.
Selfishness, revenge and violence unfold on the largest scale,

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Good Friday Poem: Peter

My first thought was, “It’s not going to be me.”

Jesus, in a voice barely audible,

told us we would all become deserters.

When I protested, he looked at me,

singling me out,

and said that I would deny him too.

 

After everything we’d gone through together,

after all I’d left behind, these three years of ministry…

how could he doubt me?

Was I not the only one who stepped out of the boat,

waves raging, my one thought to be at his side? 

With all my heart, I’d told him what I knew to be true,

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Sanctuary Prayer

I weave a circle of prayer around this sanctuary

Protect, dear God, this space from sin.

Let evil thoughts be dropped in the parking lot

along with petty quarrels and all bitterness.

Let selfishness be relinquished on the steps

and pride be renounced at the threshold.

Let quarrelling be left at the door

and all hard feelings be hung up in the cloakroom.

Help us enter this hour of worship simply,

as children, eager to meet you here….

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When a Friend Sins Grievously

We love our friends,

we think the best of them until

their actions bring us up short.

The fall from high regard

leaves us dizzy and disoriented.

Esteem and trust plummet

as deep disappointment blossoms.

God, can you fathom the human heart?

Is our dismay a faint echo of your own?…

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Saviour in a Swampy Land

There’s a swamp of secrets here

stretching as far as the eye can see.

Secrets, crossed over with lies, half-submerged,

the muck of deception clings close

and there is something rotten in the state of grace.

You speak about your life, lightly,

and politely comment on the weather.

Your eyes tell a different story.

You are mired here, bone-mired,

in mud that will not let you go.

You are trapped and alone

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Abusing a Precious Gift

When all is not what it seems,

when evil masquerades as good,

when it seems the wrong path is calling us,

Jesus, we need your help.

 

When sexually explicit images appear before us,

when curiosity and desire urge us to linger,

when it seems innocent just to look,

Jesus, we need your help.

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Saved

Today we pray for the sorely tempted.

When the body aches for one thing alone

when the mind longs for one thing alone

when the spirit knows one thing alone

when we are on autopilot for disaster

lined up for the sweet siren rocks–

your voice in our headsets

calm and firm:

“Alter course.  Pull up.  Engage.”

You lift our glazed eyes to a distant horizon

and talk us through to a different landing.

We step on solid ground, shaking,

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Bitterness

Bitterness, like some evil intravenous

drips into each day

from a clear bag of memories.

He said, she said,

he did, she did,

he was, she was.

Daily, nightly, a steady dose

poisoning the soul.

Too many times the body convulses

shaken with anger

racked with sorrow

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The Grudge

The grudge sits squat and heavy

in the middle of the road between two people.

Built of solid rock by a team of experts

schooled in hurt feelings,

every chink is cemented with spite.

There are no windows or doors.

Unmovable as a mountain

it sits in the thoroughfare saying,

“Road closed.”…

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About Carol Penner

I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.

I love to write and to lead worship! If you are finding my writing helpful, I would love to hear from you! Feel free to use or adapt the material here, it is all written by me. If printing material, please credit “Copyright Carol Penner www.leadinginworship.com” (and say whether you modified it). If publishing, please contact me for permission. Contact me at carol@leadinginworship.com

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