Order of Worship from Romans: Orders of Confession

Paul's letter to the Romans has a lot of good material for framing a worship service more directly from Scripture. Here are two orders of confession from passages in Romans directly dealing with our sin and God's graciousness:

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Order of Confession #1 (from Romans 2 & 3)

P: Brothers and sisters, God's name is blasphemed among the unbelievers because of us. (Romans 2:24)

C: We who preach against stealing -- do we steal? We who say people should not commit adultery -- do we commit adultery? We who teach others -- do we not teach ourselves? We dishonor God by breaking the law. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 2:21-23 with 3:23)

P: But now the righteousness of God is made known; and in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, as it is written, "The righteous will live by faith." (Romans 3:21-22 with 1:17)

C: Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him. (Romans 4:7-8)

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Order of Confession #2 (from Romans 7 & 8)
P: We know that nothing good lives in us.

C: I have the desire to do what is good, I cannot carry it out. The good that I want to do is left undone. Instead, I have done the evil that I had not wanted to do. We have been unwilling servants, owned by our sins; we have been prisoners of the evil that is right there with us. (from Romans 7:14, 18-19, 21, 23)

P: But there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. You are set free from the law of sin and death. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame, for "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 8:1-2, 10:11,13)

C: If God is for us, who can be against us? Who will bring a charge against those whom God has chosen. It is God who acquits; who is he that condemns? Jesus Christ, who died -- more than that, who was raised to life -- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

P: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

C: Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31, 33-35, 38-39)