Eternal God, You do not change. You have revealed Yourself to us in Your Word. You call us to worship You in spirit and in truth. But we confess that we often worship not Your true self but who we wish You to be. We too often ask You to bless what we do rather than seeking to do what You bless. Forgive us for seeking concessions when we should be seeking guidance. Forgive us when our worship shapes You into what we want instead of shaping us into what You want. Help us to meet You here, that we might bow before Your unspeakable majesty and so live for You now and ever, in Christ.

The words of the gospel for those who repent and believe:

For He Himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace… (Ephesians 2:14-15).