I love the time in our worship service of joint confession of sin. I don't know who writes these but they really cause one to see sin as God sees it and not in the generalized way we prefer to view our daily conduct and use of time and talents. This time of personal and congregational confession is always followed by Scripture and song reminding us of our truly amazing, great God and His undeserved mercy, love and the forgiveness given to the repentant sinner and saved sinner alike. This confession also serves to train us to be on guard for the multitude of unconfessed sin in our lives, to confess and forsake them immediately, act on what Elizabeth Elliot advises "do the next right thing", and see the growth-as incredibly slow as it is-in holiness.

I love the one from this morning:

Eternal God, You do not change. You have revealed yourself to us in Your Word. You call us to worship You in spirit and in truth.
~But we confess that we often worship not Your true self but who we wish You to be.

~We too often ask You to bless what we do rather than seeking to do what You bless.

~Forgive us for seeking concessions when we should be seeking guidance.

~Forgive us when our worship shapes You into what we want instead of shaping us into what You want.

Help us to meet You here, that we might bow before Your unspeakable majesty and so live for You now and ever, in Christ.

Isn't that just amazing?!! Here we are sinning even as we pray each day, making and praying to idols formed by our wants and imaginations rather than the One True God. Wow. This is definitely going in my prayer journal under the "forgive us our debts…" tab.