Confession Thursday 10.28.21
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation[g] under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. - Colossians 1:15-23 (ESV)
Thank you Father, for sending Christ,
the God-Man;
by whom, through whom, and for whom all things were made.
Thank you for reconciling us to yourself through his death,
for bringing us near when we were alienated,
for pacifying us when we were hostile,
for forgiving and freeing us from our evil deeds.
Forgive us for continuing to live as if we were your enemies
instead of your children.
We tend toward forgetfulness, faithlessness, and instability.
Have mercy by your great love.
Transform us by Christ and by the grace of his gospel.
Renew in us a fervent faith,
that we may follow Jesus with unswerving love and loyalty.
Make us stable and steadfast,
not shifting from the hope of the Gospel.
Confession Thursday is a weekly feature of Semper Ref. In keeping with the name of our website, we believe there is no true reformation in individual lives or the life and ministry of the Church apart from true repentance as God calls us to conformity with his word. The promise of the Gospel is not that we can repent deeply enough for God to love us, but that since God loves us he invites us into deep repentance. It is not the strength of our prayer that give us hope, but the fact that Christ is the propitiation of our sin. Because of this, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Unless otherwise noted, all the prayers of confession found here are written by the SemperRef editorial team. Confession Thursday prayers may be reproduced with permission if you cite SemperRef.org as the source.
