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The Lord's Prayer
Presbyterians recite the Lord’s Prayer together out loud, but there is one specific vocabulary choice that almost always trips up visitors from other denominations: Presbyterians use the words "debts" and "debtors" rather than "trespasses" or "sins."
"Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Amen."
Why "Debts"?
This choice comes directly from the Reformed tradition’s history of translating the Bible. Presbyterians traditionally rely heavily on the Gospel of Matthew (specifically Matthew 6:12), where the original Greek word used (opheílēmata) literally means a moral or financial debt—an obligation unfulfilled.By contrast, the "trespasses" version commonly used by Roman Catholics, Methodists, and Episcopalians comes from early English translations of the Book of Common Prayer (influenced by the Gospel of Luke or Matthew's later commentary on sin).
💡 The Golden Rule for Visitors: Don't worry if you accidentally say "trespasses" out loud—every Presbyterian church is used to hearing a few quiet "trespasses" mixed into the pews on a Sunday morning!