This guide will help you to prepare your heart at the start of Lent. Use this prayerfully during your day or before receiving the ashes.
ASH WEDNESDAY WE ARE BUT DUST Wednesday, February 17th 2021
On Ash Wednesday, we in the Church begin 40 days of Lent. The journey towards the cross and the empty tomb on Easter. We start this journey remembering our mortality. That we are dust and to dust we will return to. We will die one day. We are given this sign of death through the ashes; simultaneously, we are given the ashes in the sign of life, the cross of Christ. In the face of death, we proclaim that we have hope through Christ. In the face of our mortality, let us repent and return to the God who died on the cross so that we may live.
Reflective Reading Questions for Psalm 51:1-17 (NIV) 1. The first time reading through the psalm, do so carefully and slowly. Do not rush through; let the words of the psalmist wash over you. 2. The second time reading through, see if there are any words or phrases that stand out to you. This is usually the Lord wanting to highlight the text to you. 3. The third time reading through when you get to those words that stood out to you, pause over them. Ask the Lord why they stood out. Reflect with Him. Be silent. Listen for his voice. 4. Finally, repeat the heart of the psalmist here. Confess any unconfessed sins before our God. In the midst of confession, hear the Good News. Christ died for us while we were yet sinners; this proves God’s love for us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.
Psalm 51:1-17 (NIV) Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.
STAY IN TOUCH! In-person & Online Sundays at 9:30 & 11:00am 1799 Woodland Hills Dr. Kingwood, TX 77339 Mailing address: PO Box 6989, Kingwood, TX 77325 (281) 358-2137 info@kingwoodumc.org Visit us online: kingwoodumc.org
NOTES: