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.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.”
—Luke 15:17-20 (NIV)
There are a lot of images we could use to describe repentance, but one we perhaps don’t think about as often as we should is this image from the parable of the lost son: the image of coming home. To repent, to confess our sin to God, is to take a step back in the direction of where we’re meant to be and who we’re meant to be.
I love this image of repentance because the focus is not on guilt or shame, but on returning. The invitation to bring our sin to God is not rooted in his displeasure, but in his desire for us to be whole, to come home.
Spend some time in prayer today and ask God to show you what it would mean for you to take a step towards the home we find in his grace and mercy. What would he call you to leave behind? To what might he call you to return?
SONG OF CONFESSION: Softly and Tenderly (lyrics here)