Call to Confession worship ideas
The call to confession reminds us of our sinfulness, our need for confession, and our ability and call to approach the throne of grace. Sometimes the call to confession is itself a prayer for God to hear the confessions and be gracious; other times it serves to call the congregation into confession. The exact form of the call may be influenced by whether the confession will be said corporately or by the leader alone. This part of the liturgy also informs the shape of the confession.
How do I write a call to confession?
The call to confession invites us to honest expression within the context of our covenant relationship with God. God's grace comes to us, creating a relationship with us in Christ in which honesty about our sin is welcome and safe. We confess our sin not so that God will forgive us, but because God has already forgiven us in Christ.
When we write a call to confession, we can use scripture or write words that call the congregation to remember their need to confess and be forgiven.
The call to confession, therefore, is a word of grace like the assurance of pardon and not an exercise that shames us into confession. The reading of God's law—the Ten Commandments, the summary of the law from Matthew 22, or a similar text—may also serve as a call to confession. God's law helps us to recognize human sinfulness even as the law provides a trustworthy guide for Christian living.
Where are calls to confession in the Bible?
- Psalm 32:1–6, "Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven"
- Psalm 66:16, 18–20, "Come and hear, all you who fear God"
- Psalm 139:23–24, "Search me, O God"
- Isaiah 1:18, "Come now, let us argue it out"
- Isaiah 30:15, 18, in returning and rest Israel shall be saved
- Matthew 22:37–40, the greatest and first commandment
- Romans 5:8, God proves his love for us
- Romans 8:39, nothing can separate us from the love of God
- Hebrews 4:14–16, we have a great high priest
- Hebrews 10:19–22, let us approach God with a true heart
- 1 John 1:5–7, God is light
- 1 John 1:8–9, if we confess our sins, God will forgive
- 1 John 2:1–2, if anyone does sin, we have an advocate