Reading of the Law of God
You shall not
make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the
fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands
of those who love me and keep my commandments. Exodus 20.4-6
Confession of Sin
Our Father, we know that You hate idols. And we also know that these idols
don’t have to be made of wood or
stone. We confess that we have harbored
idols in our hearts. We have offered to them what belongs only to You. We have given
them our trust and placed our hope in them. We have loved them. Please forgive us this great sin. We ask this in the name of our Savior, Jesus.
Amen.
Declaration of Pardon
For while we were still weak, at the right time
Christ died for the ungodly. For one will
scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would
dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:6-8
May the God of love and power forgive you and free you from your sins, heal
and strengthen you by his Spirit, and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord.
The Book of Common Prayer