Ash Wednesday

Self-examination,  sorrow over our sin, and a sorrow that leads to repentance, and looking to the cross, looking to Jesus our Savior. 

Matt 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

2 Cor 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly grief produces death.

Worship through Song | Come Ye Sinners

Dan 9:3–5  Daniel 9:3 So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek him by prayer and petitions, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. Daniel 9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:  Ah, Lord—the great and awe-inspiring God who keeps his gracious covenant with those who love him and keep his commands— Daniel 9:5 we have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commands and ordinances…. Dan 9:9–10  Daniel 9:9 Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord our God, though we have rebelled against him Daniel 9:10 and have not obeyed the LORD our God by following his instructions that he set before us through his servants the prophets.

Prayer

Ashes and Repentance in the Bible

Job 42:1–6 Job 42:1 Then Job replied to the LORD: Job 42:2 I know that you can do anything and no plan of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:3 You asked, “Who is this who conceals my counsel with ignorance?” Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wondrous for me to know. Job 42:4 You said, “Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform me.” Job 42:5 I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you. Job 42:6 Therefore, I reject my words and am sorry for them; I am dust and ashes.

Humility, sadness, in need of the Lord

Esth 3:13 Letters were sent by couriers to each of the royal provinces telling the officials to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the Jewish people—young and old, women and children—and plunder their possessions on a single day, the thirteenth day of Adar, the twelfth month….

Esth 4:1–3 Esther 4:1   When Mordecai learned all that had occurred, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, went into the middle of the city, and cried loudly and bitterly. Esther 4:2 He went only as far as the King’s Gate, since the law prohibited anyone wearing sackcloth from entering the King’s Gate. Esther 4:3 There was great mourning among the Jewish people in every province where the king’s command and edict reached. They fasted, wept, and lamented, and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

Gen 3:19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground, since you were taken from it. For you are dust, and you will return to dust.”

Origin of Ash Wednesday

The tradition of Ash Wednesday was agreed upon at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. The council also settled upon the 40-day fast period as the standard length to celebrate Lent. 

Why is it called Lent?

Lent is an old English word meaning 'lengthen'. Lent is observed in spring, when the days begin to get longer.

In 601 Pope Gregory also instituted the tradition of marking parishioners forehead’s with ashes in the shape of a cross.

Our Aims 

Now we do this public sign of repentance, not a Jesus warned to receive the applause from others, but this action is directed toward God, but also done in community with our brothers and sisters. we are teaching and showing one another, what repentance, humility and trusting in Jesus’ looks like. 

That we are all sinners in need of grace and savior. So examine your heart and motives, and repent and humble yourself for God’s glory, not for the applause of others. 

Outline

Our sin, other’s sin, the cross, hope of Glory

1. Reflect on our hearts, intentions, thoughts repent, sorrow of our Sin

Isa 6:5 Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Armies.

Joel 2:12   Even now— this is the LORD’s declaration— turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Joel 2:13 Tear your hearts, not just your clothes, and return to the LORD your God. For he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in faithful love, and he relents from sending disaster.

Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Luke 5:8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’s knees and said, “Go away from me, because I’m a sinful man, Lord!”

Acts 2:37–38 Acts 2:37   When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit

Litany of Penitence or List of Repentance focuses on areas of sin we confess together at the beginning of Lent. It doesn’t mean we are necessarily guilty of all these sins in the moment, but that at certain points in the year (day, week, month) we have failed in a wide variety of ways. \ It is an opportunity to examine ourselves and confess our sins to God. 

Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.

Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives,

Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess our sins of selfishness, greed, and gluttony. 

Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves,

Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess our love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work,

Have Mercy on us, Lord. 

We confess our neglect of prayer and worship, and our failure to share our faith and the Gospel. 

Have Mercy on us, Lord.

We confess our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,

Have Mercy on us, Lord.

We confess all our false judgments, uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us,

Have Mercy on us, Lord.

We confess our wastefulness and misuse of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us;

Have Mercy on us, Lord.

Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us; Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great. You forgive all those who truly repent and with sincere hearts believe Your Holy Gospel. Accomplish in us the work of your salvation, That we may show forth your glory in the world. By the cross and passion of your Son, our Lord, Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

Amen

2. Reflect on other’s sin against us or against others – pray that they would repent, that we would forgive. 

Prayer List Rom 10:1 - Rom 10:1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation.

Matt 18:21–22 Matthew 18:21   Then Peter approached him and asked, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?” Matthew 18:22 “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.

3. Looking to the cross, where our sin is washed away by trusting in him. 

Psalms 51:1 Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. Psalms 51:2 Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. Psalms 51:3 For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. Psalms 51:4 Against you—you alone—I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. So you are right when you pass sentence; you are blameless when you judge. Psalms 51:5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. Psalms 51:6 Surely you desire integrity in the inner self, and you teach me wisdom deep within. Psalms 51:7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Psalms 51:8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Psalms 51:9 Turn your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. Psalms 51:10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalms 51:11 Do not banish me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Psalms 51:12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit. Psalms 51:13 Then I will teach the rebellious your ways, and sinners will return to you. Psalms 51:14 Save me from the guilt of bloodshed, God— God of my salvation— and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Psalms 51:15 Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. Psalms 51:16 You do not want a sacrifice, or I would give it; you are not pleased with a burnt offering. Psalms 51:17 The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God.

Symbol of the Ashes

Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Death is a result of humanity’s rebellion against God. This ash is a symbol of the sorrow you have over your sin. It is in the shape of the cross to symbolize your sin being taken by Jesus on the cross, so you are forgiven, in love God adopted you into His family When you trust in him, as your God Savior, and King. 

Sogn - He Will Hold Me Fast.