Holy God,
we come before you grateful that you are a God of new beginnings, a God who promises to make all things new. We confess that too often we have become comfortable with the way things are, and not interested in the new heaven and new earth you promise. We admit that even more often we resist your coming Kingdom because we know it means we will have to give up idols in which we place far too much trust, and we are afraid of what that might mean.
We ask that you transform our hearts to see the world around us through your eyes. There are times when we’re not really sure we want that, but we believe in order to know you and participate in your promises we must also become new. Make us people who see wrong and try to right it; who see suffering and try to heal it; who see conflict and try to end it. We confess that this prayer and this way of life frightens us, and that without your grace we will surely fail.
So we ask for your grace –
grace given generously, that we might know you and do your will;
grace that we might abide in your present and eternal Kingdom,
where there is no death,
neither sorrow nor pride,
but the fullness of joy with all your saints.
Through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.
Amen.