Call to Worship

Children of God, when we face strife, upset, and harm in our midst, we so often turn to God and ask:

How many times should I forgive?

When Jesus answers that we should forgive again and again and again, we are tempted to repeat the question:

How many times should I forgive?

Until God turns the question around: “How many times have I forgiven you?”

Seventy times seven.

“How many times have I loved you?”

Seventy times seven.

“How many times has my grace been sufficient for you?”

Seventy times seven.

Let us learn, then, how to forgive not out of our own power, but out of God’s, who forgives us that we might be free to learn to live with one another well.

Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, March 2023.

Prayer of Confession

(spoken in unison)

Loving God, we confess that we struggle to forgive, and we struggle to create space for forgiveness to happen. We rush ourselves to excuse the harmful speech and actions of others as a way of suppressing instead of honestly naming the hurt we have experienced. We expect others to pardon our faults without also attending to our own need to repent. We demand forgiveness from others instead of recognizing forgiveness as a gift we give to one another and that we receive from you. We wield forgiveness as a weapon instead of a bridge that brings us back together. Forgive us, we pray, and free us to joyfully extend mercy and grace to one another, to set and respect boundaries with one another, and to receive from you the love and wisdom we need to grow as the community of Christ. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, March 2023.

Prayer for the Day

We Give You Thanks

We give you thanks, O Lord, we call on your name. We will make known your deeds among the peoples.

We’ll sing to you, we’ll sing praises to you; we’ll tell of all your wonderful works. We glory in your holy name; let the hearts of those who seek you rejoice.

We seek you, Lord, and your strength; and your presence continually. We remember the wonderful works you have done, your miracles, and the judgments you uttered.

You are the Lord our God; your judgments are in all the earth.

Amen and Amen.

Written by Tony Peterson, The Africana Worship Book, Year A (Nashville: Discipleship Ministries, 2006), 93.

Benediction

May you go from this place with a posture of forgiveness, leading and being led by the grace that saves us into right relationship with God, neighbor, self, and creation. Amen.

Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, March 2023.