Prayer Lab 3--Confession
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Father KID CAMPOUT
Introduction
Introduction
Confession! Everyone’s favorite kind of prayer, especially when you think about how we’re doing practices together on these Wednesday nights. Now, please don’t get up and leave. We are going to practice confession in a little bit, but NO I will not be asking you to turn to your table mates and confess sins to each other. Tonight we’re going to talk about what confession is and why we do it, and then our practice will be in our large group, I will lead us through a prayer of confession and you will participate in that silently or by journaling.
Sound OK?
James 5:16 “16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
Confess your sins to one another. That’s an exhortation we see in scripture; it was apparently a discipline of the early church. To confess one’s before God and with one another in the sure and certain hope that Christ has already forgiven us.
Now, confession of sin is as old as sin itself. Let’s look at Genesis 3—
Adam and Eve sin, they take the fruit from the forbidden tree. Their eyes were opened, they knew they were naked, they tried to cover themselves and when they heard God walking they hid. In guilt and shame they hid themselves from God.
By the way, this is the response many of us have today. We sin and we neglect prayer, we neglect scripture reading and meditation because we carry the shame and guilt of our sin. No, we say to ourselves, God doesn’t want to hear from me because I am sinful. I did this, or I did that. Sin creates a negative feedback loop in our lives, especially when we hold it close here.
God shows up in the garden and says, “where are you?” God knew where they were and what they had done. But he asks anyway. He gives them a chance to confess their sin. Genesis 3:10 “10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.””
We were afraid! So we hid. Still no confession of their sin. God responded: Genesis 3:11–12 “11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.””
Hmm...not quite the confession of sin we’re hoping for. Adam is blame shifting, hardly owning up to his sin. But at least it’s out in the open now.
And indeed, there is punishment for their sin. The curse of the fall is real, exile from the garden of Eden is real and potent. But that’s not all God does in response to this half-hearted confession of sin. God also promises, in the midst of the curse, that one will come that will crush the serpent. We call this the proto-evangelium, the first gospel. The promise of future redemption and restoration. And that’s not all that God does. Genesis 3:21 “21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.”
God covers their nakedness, that which they became acutely aware of because of their sin. He covers them in a way they could not. Two things to note: what’s required for their covering? An animal must die, blood shed for these garments of skin to be made. God makes the first sacrifice in scripture and he does so to meet their needs, yes, and to cover their shame.
Adam and Eve could not have received this grace, however, if they had remained hiding from God in the garden. Hiding from a God who already knew where they were and what they had done.
We must bring the darkness into the light and allow God to do his healing, merciful, forgiving work. That’s what confession is about.
Now, confession is hard for us! We’re very invested in looking like good moral people. Many of us put in a tremendous amount of energy into maintaining the image that we are good moral people. We say to ourselves, well I’m not that bad. I have cheated on my spouse and I haven’t killed anyone, I do some things wrong but I can fix it and make it better.
When that’s our attitude, thinking we really have nothing to confess, then that means we can’t see our own sin. It also means we’re missing out on God’s grace to heal and transform that part of our lives.
6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
We must not be deluded into thinking we have no sin! We all have sin to confess. But look at what it says: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And look at v. 7: If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus cleanses us.
Walking in the light, therefore, does NOT mean being perfect, but it does mean living in a way that we are aiming to identify our sin and expose it for what it is! When we do that, we are strengthening our union with Christ (we’re walking in the light with him!) and with one another! When we confess our sins and receive forgiveness our relationships with God and with one another are restored and strengthened!
Confession is this: opening up the bad in our lives to God. God who already knows what’s there. We don’t hide by being good, moral people, we don’t pretend. We’re honest, honest in our weakness and in our need for forgiveness. One writer on spiritual disciplines put it this way: “We tell it like it is—without rationalization, denial, or blame—to the only person in the universe who will unconditionally love us when we are bad. We hand over pretense, image management, manipulation, control, and self-obsession. In the presence of the Holy God we give up on appearing good and fixing our sin. We lay down our ability to change by the power of the self and instead we turn to Jesus and seek forgiveness.”
And we do so knowing that because He tasted the bitterness of sin on on the cross, a death he died that we deserved, a death in our place. He tasted sin so we could taste freedom from sin. He died so we would not be condemned. Every time we confess how we have missed the mark of God’s way, we open ourselves up to the mending work of the cross.
We’re saying, God, here is my sin, I’m not proud, but I trust you. I trust that you still love me. I trust that you still care for me. I trust that you will still forgive me. I trust that Jesus’ sacrifice was enough for all my sins. I trust that in you I can walk away from these things and into new life.
When we practice confession, we are living out the truth of our identity as New Creation!
We see confession modeled throughout scripture. On the Day of Atonement in ancient Israel, look at this
Leviticus 16:20–22 “20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.”
Here confession was corporate, the priest on behalf of the people. But the imagery is this: their sin was put on the scapegoat and their sin was cast away.
But we also see more personal confessions in scripture. David—we just studied this in 2 Samuel—writes a Psalm of confession after his transgression with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.
This is a Psalm of confession and repentance. As he confesses his sin before God, David seeks restoration and cleansing, he seeks a renewed heart that would seek God!
Or look at Psalm 32:1
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
And this is how he ends in Psalm 32:10-11
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
OK. So what does this look like for us? We ought to be careful when it comes to the practice of confession because it is easy for this to become legalistic (an obsessive accounting for each our sins) that ultimately leads us to depression and despondency. If we become obsessive, and then we fail (which is inevitable) we will be crushed! Crushed because of what I said at the beginning: it’s important for us think of ourselves as ultimately, morally good.
Confession is not done in shame, but rather with the assurance of forgiveness. I really want to emphasize that.
Practically what could this be?
One practical tool from church tradition is the Daily Examen, a prayerful reflection developed by St. Ignatius. It takes just 5-10 minutes at the end of your day:
Begin by becoming aware of God's presence, give thanks to Him for His love for you.
2. Pray for the discernment to understand how God is working in your life.
3. Review your day — recall specific moments and your feelings at the time. Recall specific sins, confess these.
4. Reflect on what you did, said, or thought in those instances. Were you drawing closer to God, or further away?
5. Trust in God’s forgiveness and look forward to tomorrow with hope.
The Examen helps us notice patterns of sin we might otherwise miss. It's not about beating yourself up, but about honest reflection that leads to growth. I found, when I have practiced this regularly, that as I got in the habit of examen and confession, that as I would face temptation throughout the day, the thought of having to confess that sin would actually help curb the behavior. It helps us identifies our sins as sins. To name them and call them out, to give them to the Lord and trust that, truly, you are no longer a slave to these things.
One way you could do this is with a confessional journal. Sometimes that writing out something like this helps process it and moves into deeper recognition and understanding.
3. Accountability Partner or Group: Again, we are exhorted to confess our sins to one another. An accountability relationship with someone you trust can bring confession out of isolation. This doesn't mean sharing every detail of every struggle, but it does mean having someone who can ask you honest questions and remind you of God's grace.
A few guidelines for healthy accountability:
Choose someone spiritually mature who won't be shocked by sin
Set clear boundaries about what you'll discuss
Focus on heart issues, not just behaviors
Encourage one another with the gospel
Pray for and with each other regularly
4. Corporate Confession: We lead prayers of confession in service at least once a month; take this time seriously and be encouraged that we do this together!
Here’s what we’re going to do—I’m going to open us up prayer and we’ll use the ten commandments as a model. I’ll read one of the commandments, then lead a prayer, then invite a time of silent confession of sins related to that command. You can journal if you’d like, or just silently. And then afterward, we’re going to tangibly act out God forgiving our sins. That’s what this basin is for and this pile of rocks is for.
In Micah 7:19 it says that God“19 He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
It was a Jewish practice to cast rocks into bodies of water a reminder that this is what God has done to our sins. Now, this is a small basin and it’s going to look like you’re sins aren’t going far, but it’s representative of a greater reality of our forgiveness.
Let’s pray—
Gracious Father, thank you for your presence with us tonight. Thank you for your loving presence. That right now, you see each of us as your children, dearly loved by you, our good and holy Father. Thank you for the grace we find in you by your Son, and that as we confess our sins before you tonight, we do so thankful that you receive such confession with grace. Let this be a constructive time for our repentance, not a time to wallow in guilt, but to identify areas in our hearts and lives in which you’re calling us to grow. And Lord we thank you for your Law, we delight in your way and help us all to do so more readily. Lord speak to our hearts now as we confess before you:
Exodus 20:3 “3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”
Lord, we confess that you are the one true God, but we sadly confess our hearts’ desire for idols. We confess misplaced trust in other, lesser things. We confess that we seek the salvation of idols of this world and idols of our hearts. We confess that we seek comfort in the gods of our modern age: the idols of money, security, the idols of politics, the god of comfort, the idol of our self. We seek the pleasure of things, of sex, of power, of success before we seek comfort in You. Lord, show us the idols of our hearts, the gods we seek before you.
SILENCE
Exodus 20:4 “4 “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.”
Lord, we confess that our worship is impure, that, yes, we worship idols that are far from you as we have confessed; but we also find ourselves worshipping you as less than you are, as something we can hold on to do, something we can control, something we can understand. Lord, we want to worship you as you are: all powerful, all-knowing, transcendent, eternal God who has made Himself known to us through your word and through your son. Lord, we confess we are drawn to worship that which can see, touch, and hold on to. Graven images and idols that do us know good and that are not deserving of any praise. Let us worship you as you are, no less.
SILENCE
Exodus 20:7 “7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”
Lord, we confess that we take you for granted and that we use your name flippantly. We confess that we use your name to sanctify our own desires, our own will; that we use your name like a magic formula to get what we want, whether through prayer even with you or lording your name over others. Lord, we confess that we take your name in vain when we claim your name for ourselves as Christians but walk in our own way apart form your commands and your laws. We confess we are hypocrites. Lord, your name and that of your son Jesus are precious, let them be so on our lips always.
SILENCE
Exodus 20:8–10 “8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work...
Lord we confess that we have reduced our Sabbath to an hour a week, rather than the full day you have given us. God, we confess not only to breaking the Sabbath but boasting in our breaking the Sabbath. Lord, our culture revels in work, efficiency, productivity, never-ending commerce, around the clock things and activities, and we boast in all we do! We confess that we operate out of our strength, we confess that we do not trust that you will take care of us to the degree that we can rest. We confess that we love busy-ness, it makes us feel important, needed by others, and successful. Lord, let us find our rest in you no in our idols.
Exodus 20:12 “12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
Lord, we confess our individualism, an attitude that compels us to abandon the families in which you’ve placed us. For all of us, we confess dishonoring our parents, lack of care, lack of respect, we confess broken relationships that we have allowed to languish. We confess this same dishonor to all those that are older or are elders to us. For the parents in this room, we confess the way we have dishonored our children, the way we have lorded our authority over them. Free us from our individualism and let us be people of honor and reconciliation.
Exodus 20:13 “13 “You shall not murder.”
Lord we confess that we have hate in our hearts toward others. Hate toward out neighbors, to the strangers in our community, to others in this world. We confess that we hate those who bear your image. We confess when we let anger consumer us, we confess a lack of gentleness and love in our lives. Lord, let us love in grace and kindness.
SILENCE
Exodus 20:14 “14 “You shall not commit adultery.”
Lord, we confess that we have made sex something that it is not. We confess that times we find our identity more in our sexuality than we in who you have made us to be. We confess our unfaithfulness in mind and in sight to our partners. We confess desires that are not of your will, desires that serve ourselves and our flesh. Lord, let us be faithful, let us be distinct from the world in these matters.
SILENCE
Exodus 20:15 “15 “You shall not steal.”
Lord, we confess consuming greed in our hearts. We cling too tightly to our things, we are seduced by having more, and this deception causes us to actions that dishonor you and harm our neighbors. We confess we have been poor stewards of what you have given us, and we confess that we are not content with what you’ve given us, nor do we always trust that you will continue to provide. We confess a self-reliance at the expense of our neighbors. We confess our false need for more.
SILENCE
Exodus 20:16 “16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
Lord, we confess the way we fail to walk and talk with integrity; we lie, we stretch the truth, we misrepresent others when it is convenient for us. In doing so, we serve the idol of our own reputation and our own glory. Lord, we confess when we fail to protect others with our words, we confess when we tear others down with the things we say. Lord, let us seek the truth in all things, not only when it’s convenient.
SILENCE
Exodus 20:17 “17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.””
Lord, we confess we want more, we want what others have. More honestly, we are not content with what you’ve given us, and we covet the gifts you’ve given others. Things and the comfort and security they brings have become idols in our hearts. We confess that at times, in envy, we fail to celebrate the successes and blessings of others, and instead we settle in our own bitterness or resentment for what we do not have. Lord, help us to trust that You give us all we need.
SILENCE
Thank you Lord, that though we do not live these commands perfectly, your son Jesus did. And that His righteousness has been given to us and by his blood we are made clean. Thank you for the forgiveness we find in Him. Please, renew our hearts to seek you and your way. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Romans 8:1 “1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
