02.22.12 “Ash Wednesday”

Scripture Reading: Psalm 51:1-12

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.

4 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.

5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com

Reflection Questions

Today is Ash Wednesday. We mark this sacred moment with our Ash Wednesday service at 7:00 p.m. in our Sanctuary. In this service, we will place ashes on our foreheads in the sign of the cross to symbolize our repentance of our sins and our belief that we all stand in need of a Savior. For those unable to attend this evening, pastors will be available from 6:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in our Chapel for those who would like to receive ashes.

• On this holy day we pause and we pray. Genesis 3:19 says, “For dust you are and
  to dust you will return.” Today we remember our frailty. We confess our sins, and we entrust our lives to God’s grace. Close out your time today by reading Psalm 51 again, remembering that Jesus has come to save us from our sin and to share the gift of everlasting life.

Weekly Prayer

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace; taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will; so that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.