Time of Preparation
Begin by taking inventory of your surroundings. Are things in your vicinity conducive to a time of personal worship? Are there any changes or adjustments (turning off tech, making yourself comfortable) you need to make before you begin?
When you are ready, take some time to sit in silence and prepare your heart for worship. Ask God to clear away any distractions that might keep you from being truly present in this moment.
Confession
In this second movement, we simply see ourselves for who we are: people who need God.
“Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through your word”
—Psalm 119:37 (NLT)
One Sunday many years ago we sang "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" in worship, and afterward a member pulled me aside, dismayed by the line "the things of earth will grow strangely dim." They felt it preached a "pie in the sky" theology that ignored the world God calls us to serve.
I was taken aback, and almost agreed. What does it mean for the things of earth to grow "strangely dim"? Wrestling with that question for a few days, though, actually left me with a deeper appreciation for the hymn. It isn't inviting us to ignore the world. It doesn’t encourage us to be "so heavenly minded we're no earthly good." It invites us to examine our attachment to earthly things, and how those attachments might become disordered and unhealthy. When the things of earth grow dim, we don't stop seeing them; we stop being ruled by them. Their shine fades, and they fall into proper perspective.
As we enter a time of repentant prayer, ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart for anything in this world that has an unhealthy grip on you — any disordered attachment that needs to be brought to the cross. Spend some time gazing on the love of Jesus shown for you, and let that love put everything in perspective.
Watch how your priorities shift in light of our Saviour's love. Because grace doesn't steer us away from this world — it sends us back into it, to tell what Jesus has done for us.
His Word shall not fail you He promised
Believe Him and all will be well
Then go to a world that is dying
His perfect salvation to tell
SONG OF CONFESSION: Turn Your Eyes (lyrics here)