For a time of confession and prayer:

Lord, Your Word says…

The fruit of the Spirit is love,
but we have loved darkness rather than light, and loved you too little and ourselves too much.

The fruit of the Spirit is joy,
but we have been sour, and bitter, and the joy of the LORD has been absent.

The fruit of the Spirit is peace,
but we have fretted and worried.  We have forgotten the finished work of Christ and doubted your fatherly care.

The fruit of the Spirit is patience,
but we have snapped at others, and questioned your wise timing.

The fruit of the Spirit is kindness,
but we have been harsh, cutting, and biting, So unlike our Lord Jesus Christ, who prayed for his persecutors.

The fruit of the Spirit is goodness,
but we have often chosen the passing pleasures of sin, over your good laws.

The fruit of the Spirit is faithfulness,
but we have been unreliable; we have let others down, and not taken our baptismal vows and marriage vows seriously.

The fruit of the Spirit is gentleness,
but we have been unwilling to yield, and stiff-necked

The fruit of the Spirit is self-control,
but our wills have been weak, and our own sinful desires have got the better of us.

Lord, please show us your mercy.
Lord, have mercy on us
in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.