Part 5: Confession

Online Retreats

This is Part 5 of our Let the Thirsty Come retreat series, which highlights different aspects of spending extended quality time with God.

Throughout Scripture, God calls us to honestly bring our sins before him in confession – and promises radical hope, cleansing, and healing. In this devotional, Josh introduces the Confession retreat, and walks us through some of these Bible passages, to fix our eyes on Jesus and continually come back to the Gospel.

Retreat Activities

This retreat consists of 4 sections: Transition, Confession, Gospel Meditation, and Rest. Each section may take you around 30 to 45 minutes – the Confession section may take longer depending on the activity you choose. Don’t be concerned if a section take slightly longer or shorter to complete.

Transition

Before we jump into a time of reflection and confession, it is important to ground ourselves in the gospel and in Jesus.

Main Activity (choose any)

Liturgy – I Will Never Cast You Out

Mini Meditation – Choose a passage of Scripture that speaks of the love of Christ and the riches of the gospel. Do a short meditation on this passage using the format of Time with a Text or Walking with a Text. If you do Time With a Text, we recommend setting a 3-minute timer for silence and a 5-minute timer for meditation. If you do Walking With a Text, go for a 10-to 15-minute walk.

Possible Scriptures for Meditation:

  • Ephesians 2:1-10 – God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us…
  • Micah 7:18-20 – You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
  • Romans 8:31-39 – Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
  • Hosea 6:1-3 – Come, let us return to the Lord.
  • Hebrews 9:11-14 – Christ secured an eternal redemption
  • Psalm 103:6-14 – As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him.

Sing of God’s love – choose 1 or 2 songs that remind you of God’s love for you and the riches of the gospel. Sing these out loud.

Confession

All of the following activities have the same purpose – to honestly reflect on the sin that we see in our lives, and bring these things to God in prayer. We do these things on the strengths of the promise that through confession comes cleansing (1 John 1:9 and James 5:16).

Main Activity (choose 1)

Record of Debt – This activity uses Colossians 3 as a tool for examining our lives and confessing sin. It is more visual and concrete than the other activities and also includes reminders of how Jesus completely deals with our record of sin.

Search Me, O God – This is a more in-depth examination of self and a time of confession based on 1 John. You will need at least one hour for this activity.

Quick Check-In – This is the shortest of the confession activities and uses a few questions to help you examine your life and confess recent sins.

Closing Activity

Next Steps After Confession – Take at least a few minutes to read through this activity and consider whether any specific steps of follow-up might be helpful for you after your time of confession.

Gospel Meditation

In the process of self-examination, it is vital that we not only look to ourselves, but even more look to Jesus. Linger in this step – taking unhurried time to remember and dwell upon the love of God and the riches of the gospel.

Transition Activity

Ideas for Rest – take a few minutes to take a break before starting the next main activity.

Main Activity

Scripture Meditation – Use one of the Scripture meditation activities introduced in previous retreats (Sitting with a Text, Walking with a Text, Time with a Text, Journaling with a Text, or Imagining with a Text). If you did the Mini Meditation in the first section of the retreat, consider revisiting that passage in this section. Meditating on the same passage more than once in a day or using different activity styles can be a helpful practice.

Possible Scriptures for Meditation:

  • Ephesians 2:1-10 – God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us…
  • Micah 7:18-20 – You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
  • Romans 8:31-39 – Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
  • Hosea 6:1-3 – Come, let us return to the Lord.
  • Hebrews 9:11-14 – Christ secured an eternal redemption
  • Psalm 103:6-14 – As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him.

Resting in Jesus

With any remaining retreat time, choose activities that help you respond to God and rest in the love of Christ.

Main Activity (choose any)

Prayer Response – If there is something on your heart that you would like to express to God in prayer, consider using one of the following activities: Creative Response, Prayers in Scripture, or Praying the Psalms.

Walk with the Lord – Go outside to a place you enjoy, where you can see the beauty of God’s creation. Walk slowly with your heart set on your good God and Savior. Dwell on the love of God for you and the full reconciliation and freedom in Jesus. Rest your heart in God and turn it to him in love and praise. This can be a time of prayer, speaking to God about these things, or a time of stillness, a restful heart rejoicing in the goodness of your Savior.

Read a Devotional Chapter – Read a chapter of a book that reminds you of the fullness of the gospel.

Possible chapters:

When You Have Extra Time – A few additional possibilities for restful time with God.

Example Retreats

These activities can be done in two short, 1-hour retreats, or as a single 2- to 3-hour retreat. All of the following are just suggestions – change them and customize them with activities you find most helpful.

Short Retreat, Part 1

Short retreat, Part 2

Two- to Three-Hour Retreat

Tips and Reminders

Key Attitude – Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

It is possible in our times with God to become overly introspective and focused on ourselves, or overly focused on the world and our circumstances. While introspection is needed, and discerning our response to the world is important, most of all we need eyes fixed on Jesus. He is the author and perfecter of our faith. He is our Savior and it is into His image that we are being molded. However often we look at ourselves and our circumstances, let us look more often and more deeply to Jesus. He will lead us well.

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