Holy God, You are our Creator. By Your will, we live and move and have our being. And You are the Head of this church. By the counsel of Your will, we who hope in Your Son live unto the praise of Your glory.
Yet we fear. Oh, how we fear! We fear, as though we draw breath apart from You. We fear, as though our hope is anchored in ourselves. Holy God, forgive us!
Did we redeem ourselves? Have we, by our own ability, overcome sin and death? Are we the heads of this church? Is our Christian performance the cornerstone of this church?
Surely not! Jesus, and Jesus alone, is our only hope in life and death! So Father, forgive us! Forgive us for living in fear! We belong to You! And You have called us to Christ-centrality – to live because He lives; to triumph because He triumphs; to exercise faith because He is faithful.
We ask for courage, in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
