“What do you want to say sorry for?”

I asked the children this question during a session on “Saying Sorry to God” at the Children in Worship programme run by Methodist School of Music last year.

One child quickly responded: “I am sorry for my sin!”

Before I could say anything, another child chimed in: “But Jesus already took away our sins!”

Smiling, I affirmed the first child’s honesty and gently explained to the second: “Yes, Jesus has taken away our sins, but we still sometimes do things that make Jesus sad. That’s why we need to pray, say sorry, and ask Him to help us stop sinning.”

That simple exchange got me thinking about a question an adult participant in our Certificate for Christian Worship programme once asked: “If Jesus has paid our debt, do we really need to have a prayer of confession?”

While there is truth in that question, it raises a deeper question: What role does confession play in our worship and daily lives?

Failing to live faithfully 

To explore this, I looked to two theologians I admire – Walter Brueggemann and NT Wright.

Bruggemann explains that sin is not just about making mistakes – it is about failing to live faithfully in relationship with God. He also reminds us that sin is bigger than our personal choices; it is something we share as a community when we ignore justice or neglect those in need.

Wright, on the other hand, ties sin to the bigger story of Creation, Fall and Redemption. For him, confession is about admitting wrongs, but more than that, it is part of how we reconnect with God’s purposes and live as people of His Kingdom.

Both point to a common truth: Worship, including confession is not just about admitting guilt. It is about letting God reshape our hearts, renew our lives, and send us out to live with love, justice and grace.

In many worship practices, the prayer of confession is often attached to Holy Communion. This means that if the sacrament of Holy Communion is celebrated only once a month, we may go three or more weeks without engaging in this essential act of worship. 

While the connection between confession and the Lord’s Table is profound – acknowledging our sins as we receive Christ’s body and blood – limiting confusion to these occasions raises an important question: Are we missing opportunities to experience the transformative power of confession more regularly?

A more regular confession?

Imagine if the prayer of confession became a weekly rhythm embedded in our worship services. Each Sunday, we could stand before God as a congregation, acknowledging our personal and communal sins. This intentional rhythm would allow us not only to experience the boundless forgiveness of God but also to be renewed, restored and empowered for the week ahead.

Confession is not merely an act of guilt or obligation – it is an invitation into God’s abundant grace, a step towards aligning our hearts and lives with God’s justice and mercy. It reminds us of our dependence on God and our shared humanity in the body of Christ.

As individual, we come before God in the presence of the Church and the company of angels, seeking pardon and renewal. Together, as a community, we receive God’s grace and mercy. This gift is ours to celebrate and it is also a call to action.

We seek pardon with a willingness to be transformed by God’s mercy. Then, we are commissioned to go out and embody God’s love in a world in desperate need of it.

This reflection first appeared in Methodist Message (February 2025). It has been reproduced with permission.

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