Exiles of Hope 1 Peter 1:1-9; 3:13-17

By Jonathan Dodson

CALL TO WORSHIP
Arise, shine, for your light has come!
The glory of the Lord has risen upon us.
Let us praise the Lord together.
He is the fountain of every blessing, the river full of mercies.
Woo us to Thy fountain; submerge us in thy mercies.
For the Lord is kind, good, and always right
He is the glory that does not fade.
Come, let us sing to our light and salvation!

CONFESSION AND ASSURANCE
All:
God of light,
we have been so blind when truth has been so clear.
When we could have looked ahead, we obsessed about the present.
When we could have hoped in Christ, we put looked to lesser things.
When we could have sensed the Spirit leading, we missed the way.
Forgive our dim apprehension of your leading.
Give us hope to trust when we cannot see,
faith in your returning glory because all else fails.
You are the bright Morning Star of our faith, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Reader:
While it is true that we have sinned,
it is a greater truth that we are forgiven and set free
if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
To all who seek the mercy of God I say, your sin is forgiven!

All:
Thanks be to Christ!

BENEDICTION
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to his great mercy,
he has caused us to be born again to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you,
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Go, in the hope of Christ, and let your resurrection life spill out.