Confession & Absolution based on the readings for Epiphany 5A: Psalm 112:1-9; Isaiah 58:3-9a; 1 Corinthians 2:1-12; Matthew 5:13-20

P      Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, we call on God to forgive our sin.

C      Lord, You have chosen this fast: To break the chains of wickedness, to untie the ropes of the yoke, to set the oppressed free, and to tear off every yoke, to share our bread with the hungry, to bring the poor and homeless into our house, to clothe the naked when we see him, and not to ignore our own flesh and blood, yet we so often have been tasteless salt. Therefore, because Jesus broke the chains of wickedness and set us free on the cross, forgive us and set us free.

P      When you call, the LORD will answer; when you cry out, He will say, “Here I am.” What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived — God has prepared these things for those who love him. Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God that you know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified. Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The righteous one will be remembered forever.

C      Amen. Hallelujah! His righteousness endures forever!

Confession & Absolution based on the readings for Epiphany 2A: Isaiah 49:1-7, 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, John 1:29-42a

P          Our
vindication is with the Lord, and our reward is with our God. Therefore, we
confess our sin to Him.

C          Lord, You formed us from the womb to
be Your servants, but we daily disobey and turn from You in our thoughts and
thoughtlessness, our words and our silence, our actions and inaction. For the
sake of Jesus, forgive and restore us as we eagerly wait for the revelation of
our Lord Jesus Christ.

P          Here is the
Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! He is the Son of God, a light
for the nations, to be the Lord’s salvation to the ends of the earth. He will
also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless in the day of our
Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with
his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of
Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sin in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C          Amen.

Based on the readings for Epiphany 1C (The Baptism of our Lord): Psalm 29, Isaiah 42:1-9, Romans 6:1-11, Matthew 3:13-17

P          The LORD
gives his people strength; the LORD blesses his people with peace. Therefore,
we confess our sin to God that He may give us strength and peace.

C          Lord, You called us for a righteous
purpose and held us by Your hand, but we continue in sin so that grace may
multiply. We give Your glory to others and Your praise to idols. Open our blind
eyes, bring us from the dungeon and from sitting in darkness in the prison
house.

P          Consider
yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus, or are you unaware
that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his
death? He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering
wick. The Lord’s Servant, Jesus Christ, brought justice to the nations, and if
we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly
also be in the likeness of his resurrection. For we know that our old self was
crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so
that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed
from sin. Having fulfilled all righteousness, the Lord says of you, “This is my
beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.” Therefore, as a called and ordained
servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sin in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C          Amen. Ascribe to the LORD, you
heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD
the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness!

Confession & Absolution for Proper 28C, based on these readings: Psalm 98, Malachi 4:1-6, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13, Luke 21:5-28

P          The day is
coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and everyone who commits
wickedness will become stubble, so we confess our sin to God.

C          Lord, You will judge the world
righteously and the peoples fairly. We often fail to remember the instruction
of Moses Your servant, the statutes and ordinances You commanded him at Horeb
for all Israel. We grow weary in doing good. For Jesus’ sake, forgive us.

P          Stand up and
lift up your heads, because your redemption is near. For you who fear the
Lord’s name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and
you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall. He has
remembered his love and faithfulness to the house of Israel and has sent His
Son, Jesus Christ, to be judged on the cross on your behalf. Therefore, as a
called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all
your sin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C          Amen. Sing a new song to the LORD, for
he has performed wonders; his right hand and holy arm have won him victory!

Confession & Absolution based on the readings for Proper 27C: Psalm 148, Exodus 3:1-15, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, 13-17, Luke 20:27-40

P          The place
where you are standing is holy ground. In the presence of God and each other,
we confess our sin.

C          O Lord, the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob, You have revealed Your glory to me, but I have not
stood firm and held to the traditions I was taught. I have disobeyed Your
commandments and enslaved myself to sin. Hear my cry for Jesus’ sake, and free
me from my sin.

P          I AM has sent me to you. He has observed the misery of His people in sin, death, and the power of the devil and has heard you crying out because of your oppressors. He knows about your sufferings, and He has come down in the person of Jesus Christ to rescue you from their power. From the beginning, God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

C          Amen! Praise the name of the LORD, for
His name alone is exalted. His majesty covers heaven and earth!

Confession and Absolution based on the readings for Proper 23C: Psalm 111; Ruth 1:1-19a; 2 Timothy 2:1-13; Luke 17:11-19

P          The works of the Lord’s hands are
truth and justice; all his instructions are trustworthy. Therefore, we confess our
sin and seek His righteousness.

C          The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his instructions
have good insight. But we have denied You by our thoughts and thoughtlessness,
our words and silence, our actions and inaction. We have not been good soldiers
of Christ Jesus. Let not the Lord’s hand turn against us. Jesus, Master, have
mercy on us!

P          The LORD is gracious and
compassionate. He has sent redemption to his people. He has ordained his
covenant forever. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from
the dead and descended from David. If we are faithless, he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny himself. And for the sake of His innocent suffering and
death, you have obtained salvation, which is in Christ Jesus, with eternal
glory. Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His
authority, I forgive you all your sin in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. Get up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.C          Amen.
Hallelujah! I will praise the LORD with all my heart in the assembly of the
upright and in the congregation.

Based on the readings for Proper 20C: Psalm 113, Amos 8:4-7, 1 Timothy 2:1-15, Luke 16:1-15

P          Hear this, you who trample on the needy and do away with the poor of the land: The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: I will never forget all their deeds. Therefore, we pray, lifting up holy hands in confession.

C          Lord, we have been unrighteous in
much. We have not made petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for
everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority. We have not dressed
ourselves with good works. We have attempted to serve both God and money. We
have justified ourselves in the sight of others. According to Your promise for
the sake of Jesus and His innocent suffering and death, lift us from the trash
heap of our sin.

P          God our
Savior wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the man Christ
Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time.
Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I
forgive you all your sin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit.

C          Amen! Hallelujah! Give praise,
servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD!

Based on the following readings:  Psalm 131, Proverbs 25:2-10, Hebrews 13:1-17, Luke 14:1-14

P Jesus suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him, bearing the disgrace he bore by confessing our sin.
C Lord, our own hearts put us to shame. We have not kept on loving one another as brothers and sisters, and we have forgotten to show hospitality to strangers. We have been carried away by the strange teachings of the devil, our culture, and our own sinful bodies, so our hearts have followed immorality and possessions instead of being content with You. For the sake of Jesus, forgive us, our Father and King.
P Put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you,” but for your sake, Jesus was forsaken on the cross and has forgiven all your sin. The king has brought you into His presence and established His throne through the righteousness of Christ, which He has given to you, and you will be repaid for Christ’s righteousness at the resurrection. Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen. So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.”

Confession & Absolution drawn from the following readings:

Genesis 18:20–33
Psalm 138
Colossians 2:6–19
Luke 11:1–13

(with a specific emphasis on the Genesis text, Abraham pleading for Sodom)

P Because the outcry against humanity is great, and our sin is very grave, let us confess our sin to God.
C Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there is only One righteous within the world. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the One righteous who is in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just? Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose one is found there.
P Everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! God found One righteous — His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ — and said, “For the sake of the One, I will not destroy it.” And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross. Therefore, as a called and ordained servant of Christ and by His authority, I forgive you all your sin in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen. I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. Your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.