Advent I (Hope)

Prayer of Confession
Holy God,
     we live as if you do not see us,
          do not see what we do
          and fail to do.
Bring us blinking into the light
     that we may live as your children
          full of hope and truth
          and grace upon grace. Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness
Hear the good news!
In Christ our hope of forgiveness
is fulfilled.
He comes to break the power of sin
and set us free again.
Alleluia! Amen.

Advent II (Peace)

Prayer of Confession
Righteous One,
     we ask forgiveness
     for settling for false peace,
          peace maintained by division and fear,
          instead of empathy and trust.
Teach us to be dissatisfied
     with anything but your true peace. Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness
Hear the good news!
Christ came into the world
not to condemn it
but to show it God’s great love.
In Jesus Christ
we are forgiven.
Alleluia! Amen.

Advent III (Joy)

Prayer of Confession
Lavish God, forgive us
     for expecting too little
          from you,
for settling for pale imitations of paradise,
     for store-bought joy
          and hesitant faith.
Break open our timid hearts
     to dare to reach for the glory
          of your joyous, life-giving Kingdom. Amen.

Assurance of Forgiveness
Hear the words of scripture:
“Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
He will come and save you.”
Even now, we are forgiven.
Alleluia! Amen.

Advent IV (Love)

Prayer of Confession
Merciful God, we regret
     that the world we welcome you into
     still has so little love in it.
We grieve that hate is so strong.
Come and fill our hearts with your love,
     until it spills out into the world. Amen.  

Assurance of Forgiveness
Hear the gospel promise:
“Mary bore a son,
and named him Jesus,
for he came to save his people
from their sins.”
In Jesus Christ
we are forgiven
and set free.
Alleluia! Amen.