We Turn Back: An Ash Wednesday Service

Ash Wednesday begins the Season of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter Sunday

Words of Welcome

Listen to these words of Jesus:
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Welcome. Today is the first day of the Season of Lent. Lent is Latin for “Spring” – a time for renewal. During Lent we begin our journey toward Easter by looking within ourselves to see how we as individuals and a society fall short of God's vision for us. To the Hebrew people, “sin” meant “missing the mark” or falling short of who we are meant to be. It means separating ourselves from the love of God and others. Today we confess the many ways that we, too, “miss the mark.” We seek God's forgiveness and new life.
In church, we confess our sins directly to God and seek forgiveness in our services of worship. We admit our mistakes and learn to live more lovingly together.
In ancient times, people wore a sack cloth and ashes as a symbol of grief and regret. There are many references in the Bible to ashes as a symbol of death, sorrow, and remorse.

When Mordecai learned about all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on burlap and ashes, and went out into the city, crying with a loud and bitter wail. Esther 4:1

To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory. Isaiah 61:3

Then Job replied to the LORD: “I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you. You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’ It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me. You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’ I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” Job 42:1-6

So I turned to the LORD God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes. Daniel 9:3

Jesus says in Luke 10:13, “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse.”

A tradition started centuries ago, that at the beginning of Lent, ashes would be used as an object lesson to symbolize death and renewal out of death. It was called Ash Wednesday.

In our time together today, we will use the symbol of ashes [hold up a bowl of the ash mixture and place it down again].

These ashes remind us of the earth from which we came and to which we shall return. It reminds us of new life, just as ashes serve to fertilize the earth and help new plants to grow. Throughout the history of the church, versions of Lent can be found not only in the Catholic church but also in many Protestant traditions as well. One tradition includes giving up something for Lent, in order to take on more of Jesus in our lives. Simply put, Lent is a time of reflection and recommitment, as we ready ourselves for Easter and all that it means in our lives.

Call to Worship
Now let us worship together in prayer, in meditation, in confession, in the search for forgiveness and new life.
Join with me in this prayer:
Almighty and Everliving God, who, through your Son, Jesus Christ, provided a way of redemption for all who repent and turn from sin: Create in us a clean heart and renew a steadfast and willing spirit, that we, acknowledging our sinfulness, may live an upright and holy life by the power of your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, one God, world without end. Amen.

Please join with me in our responsive Call to Worship:

LEADER:
We stand in need of God’s grace and mercy. Let us turn to the Lord.

PEOPLE:
May God look upon us with compassion and grant us forgiveness.

LEADER:
We stand in need of God’s healing power. Let us turn to the Lord.

PEOPLE:
May God’s Spirit and redemptive power make us whole and restore us in body, mind, and spirit.

LEADER:
We stand in need of God’s word of hope. Let us turn to the Lord.

PEOPLE:
May God’s voice be heard anew proclaiming hope to all who in trust come to our God.

LEADER:
We stand in faith before the all-righteous and all-loving God. Let us offer worship and praise.

PEOPLE:
May the worship we bring be to the glory and honor of God.

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Words and Music by Helen H. Lemmel (1922)

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in his wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of his glory and grace.

Thro’ death into life everlasting,
He passed, and we follow him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion--
For more than conqu’rors we are!

His Word shall not fail you--he promised;
Believe him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

The First Reading (Joel 2:2-12)
In our first reading the prophet Joel points to the fact that we need to repent of our ways and turn to God. Whatever has happened in the past, God is merciful and willing to forgive.

Now — a reading from the prophet Joel... This is the Word of God:
A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again aWer them through the years of all generations.
Fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns.
The land is like the garden of Eden before them, but behind them a desolate wilderness, and nothing escapes them.
Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses they run.
As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army drawn up for battle.

Before them peoples are in anguish; all faces grow pale.

Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths.
They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons and are not halted.
They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls,
they climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief.
The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
The Lord utters his voice before his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful.
For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it? “
Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.

Prayer
Join with me as we pray this prayer together:

CONGREGATION:
Loving God, how great and wonderful You are. You want us to journey with You, to be Your hands and feet and hearts and minds, to bring Your healing love to a hurting world. Be with us now as we look deeply within ourselves, as we seek Your presence and Your guidance, as we begin our Lenten journey this day. Amen.

The Second Reading (2 Corinthians 5:20-6:10)
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says,
“In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

The Gospel Reading (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21)
Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ: Since the beginning of the church, Christians have always observed the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection with great devotion. It became one of the great traditions of the church to prepare for these events through serious examination of our spiritual lives through prayer, repentance, and fasting. New believers were prepared for baptism during Lent. Those who were separated from the church through serious sin were reconciled and restored to fellowship. The body of Christ was challenged to seek pardon and absolution for those areas where sin had found a place, to find reconciliation with God and with each other and to renew their faith.

I invite you, therefore, in Christ, to observe this season of renewal, by self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting, and sacrificial giving; to further your discipline of reading and meditating on the Word of God, and to make a right beginning to walk in newness of life. Therefore, I invite you to kneel (bow) before the Lord, our Creator and Redeemer.

Confession of Sin
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Using 1 John 1:9 as the text, invite the congregation to pray and ask God to reveal areas of sin and weakness in our lives.

We Confess
Words and Music by Glenn Packiam and Ian Morgan Cron
© 2013 Integrity Worship Music

Almighty God
We confess our sin
What we have done
What we have left undone
We have not loved You with our whole heart
We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves

Most gracious God We have lost our way
Like wand’ring sheep We have gone astray

We're truly sorry and we turn back
Now for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ

As far as the East is from the West
So far have I removed your sinfulness
I carried your guilt and shame upon myself
You are forgiven, forgiven

Prayer of Thanksgiving
Once again, let’s join together in praying this prayer as we prepare to receive the ashes:

CONGREGATION:
Almighty God, we thank you for your promise to forgive us our sin. You created us out of the dust of the earth. Grant that these ashes may be to us a reminder of our mortality, humility, and repentance, that we may remember that it is only by your gracious gif that we are given everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord (adapted from the Book of Common Prayer)

Ashes and Anointing [This is optional; see * for alternative]
[While the imposition of ashes dates back to the eleventh century, more recent liturgies make this optional, referencing Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:16-18 concerning penitence.

The leader may want to explain before the people come forward that the ashes are a symbol of sorrow and repentance for sin. They are a sign of intention to die to the old ways and live a new life for Christ. Te Leader may say something like . . .]

There are many ways to show we are truly sorry and seek to live in God’s way. Our words, our actions, and our way of being will tell the tale. To show our repentance and our commitment to new life, we now invite you to receive the symbol of ashes. This symbol will be in the shape of a cross, and you can choose to have it placed on your forehead or on the back of your hand. If you choose to have it placed on your hand, just simply hold out your hand when you come forward. The ashes, a symbol of how sorry we are, have been mixed with oil, a symbol of God’s healing.

[Should the imposition of ashes be done, the following words can be used when people come forward:]

Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return. Repent and believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[Instruments begin playing “At the Foot of the Cross” while congregation comes forward to receive ashes. Once everyone has received the ashes, sing “At the Foot of the Cross” as a time for reflection and self-examination.]

At the foot of the cross
Where grace and suff’ring meet
You have shown me your love
Through the judgment you received
And you’ve won my heart
And you’ve won my heart

(Now I can) trade these ashes for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay ev’ry burden down
(At the foot of the cross)

At the foot of the cross
Where I am made complete
You have given me life
Through the death you bore for me
And you’ve won my heart
And you’ve won my heart

Prayer
Let’s pray this prayer together:

CONGREGATION:
Loving and merciful God, we have made our honest confessions before you and before one another. We thank You for Your forgiveness and for your healing. We pray for Your continued forgiveness and healing in a hurting world. May nothing separate us from You as we follow Jesus during this Lenten journey. Amen.

Communion
Jesus said, “Come to me all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29).

The Lord has prepared his table for his church. All who love him and trust in him alone for their salvation are now invited to come to the table of the Lord.
[People come forward to receive the elements.]

Take, eat, remember and believe that the body of the Lord Jesus Christ was given for the complete remission of all our sins.

Take, drink, remember and believe that the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ was shed for the complete forgiveness of all our sins.

Just As I Am
Words by Charlotte Elliot (1834); Tune: WOODWORTH

Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot,
to thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Benediction
Let us go from this place, knowing that we are not alone on our journey. God is with us! Let us go, seeking new life in Christ, and with the peace of Christ in our hearts. Amen.

* If you choose not to include the imposition of ashes, you can substitute distributing cards to the congregation. Prepare cards (place ashes in a small jewelry bag and attach the bag to a card) that explains the purpose behind using ashes as part of our spiritual development. These cards become a reminder throughout the Season of Lent to invite God to examine our lives, cleanse us, and prepare us for the celebration of Easter.