This past Ash Wednesday, I had the honor of leading worship with the Christ Church Choir in Nashville TN. These men and women truly worship God in spirit and in truth. Ash Wednesday is part of the traditional Church calendar and is observed by millions of Christians around the world as a day of repentance and reflection. It is the first day of Lent, a season of fasting before Easter. The ashes that Christians wear on their heads is a sign of repentance and is traditionally made by burning the previous year’s Palm Sunday branches.
In Daniel 9 we read this:
So I directed my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and extends lovingkindness toward those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned and committed wrong, and have behaved wickedly and have rebelled, turning away from Your commandments and ordinances. 6 Further, we have not listened to and heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
I am thankful that we serve a God who is faithful and just to forgive sins. Ash Wednesday provides a time for us to reflect on what is passing away and what is eternal. To learn more about Ash Wednesday, you can watch the entire service on YouTube, which includes a special sermon from Pastor Dan Scott and a presentation of artwork by my wife Hannah.