Via Karis
Praying the Psalms - Psalm 51
Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
You desire truth in the inward being;
therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Litany of Commitment
Via Karis Litany of Commitment
As a covenant community, brought by faith and by God’s grace
to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior,
and quickened by the power of the Holy Spirit,
We promise anew to make the parable
path of Jesus our way of life.
Assured that our sins have been washed away in baptism,
and knowing that we are new creations, reconciled to God in Christ,
We will remember we are beloved children of God.
Knowing the Word of God is living and active, and that all Scripture
is inspired by God and useful for training in righteousness,
so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient,
equipped for every good work,
We will pray a Psalm daily.
With glad and generous hearts, remembering Christ’s presence
with us in the breaking of the bread and sharing of the cup,
and Christ’s prayer that we may be one with him,
and one with each other,
We will break bread with one another weekly.
Considering how we may spur one another on toward love
and good deeds, not giving up meeting together,
but encouraging one another as we see the Day approaching,
We will worship weekly with the Body of Christ.
Remembering the seventh day, when God saw everything God
had made and called it very good, and upholding, as creatures
made in God’s image, our divine commission to care for all creation,
We will attend daily to the beauty of the world.
We, the members of First Baptist Church of Asheville,
with true hearts and in full assurance of faith,
holding fast the confession of our hope without wavering,
do commit ourselves from this day forward to learning
and practicing Via Karis as a way of grace
for our fellowship. Amen.
Via Karis
Via Karis (“Way of Grace”) is a guide for our church that combines essential teachings of the Christian faith with a “Rule of Life” composed of five spiritual practices. This way of grace offers our congregation practical ways to deepen our friendship with God and one another through worship, education, mission, and fellowship.