Ash Wednesday 2025
Wednesday, March 5 began the season of Lent. We join the early church in its practice of setting aside time for intentional reflection in preparation for the observance of Resurrection Sunday. Use the spiritual practices of Scripture reading, prayer and fasting to guide your reflection.
When you enter the auditorium for worship on March 9, the first Sunday of Lent, you will notice several visual reminders of the season. Purple hues will dominate. Purple is a liturgical color chosen to focus our thoughts on repentance. A small table, covered in sackcloth, will sit on the stage. A bowl of ashes and a tall white candle will adorn the table. The sackcloth and ashes are symbols of mourning and repentance. Reflection on our sin should lead to Godly sorrow and repentance. The candle is the same candle we lit at Christmas, representing the light of Christ shining into our lives. His light shining into our hearts will illuminate the sin we try to hide.
Each week, we will turn to Scripture to show us different aspects of our relationship with the Almighty God - his holiness and our sinfulness, our deserved punishment and his gracious gift of salvation, our inability to be perfectly faithful and his unfailing faithfulness, the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome and reveal the sin we cannot see. This Wednesday, begin your season of preparation by reflecting on these passages that highlight a repentant heart.
When you enter the auditorium for worship on March 9, the first Sunday of Lent, you will notice several visual reminders of the season. Purple hues will dominate. Purple is a liturgical color chosen to focus our thoughts on repentance. A small table, covered in sackcloth, will sit on the stage. A bowl of ashes and a tall white candle will adorn the table. The sackcloth and ashes are symbols of mourning and repentance. Reflection on our sin should lead to Godly sorrow and repentance. The candle is the same candle we lit at Christmas, representing the light of Christ shining into our lives. His light shining into our hearts will illuminate the sin we try to hide.
Each week, we will turn to Scripture to show us different aspects of our relationship with the Almighty God - his holiness and our sinfulness, our deserved punishment and his gracious gift of salvation, our inability to be perfectly faithful and his unfailing faithfulness, the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome and reveal the sin we cannot see. This Wednesday, begin your season of preparation by reflecting on these passages that highlight a repentant heart.
- Joel 2:1-17
- Psalm 51
- 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10
- Luke 4:1-13