Grace Lutheran Church – WELS
415 N. 6th Place Lowell, AR 72745
Ash Wednesday – March 05, 2025
“Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and every- thing that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock Him, insult Him, spit on Him, flog Him and kill Him. On the third day He will rise again.'” Luke 18:31-33
Giving It Up….
….For Lent, and For Our Lord
Today we enter the 40 day season of Lent. According to the historic calendar of the Christian Church, Lent is a time of spiritual preparation for observing and celebrating the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. (The six Sundays in Lent are customarily not counted as being part of this season). The general emphases for Lent are a reflection on our sins and our need for a Savior, as well as of repentance over our sins – which includes not only Godly sorrow, but a Gospel-motivated re-commitment to our Lord to live more faithfully for Him here until we live with Him in heaven.
One of the most “common” things associated with Lent is the commitments that some Christians make to give something up for Lent. Often what people promise to “give up” is something secular ( sweets, social media, eating certain foods, caffeine)…..or the better choice of a particular sinful behavior (swearing, drinking too much, losing ones temper, or gossiping). Unfortunately, often-times, whatever a person pledges to “give up” for Lent, ends up being a temporary sacrifice….and as soon as Lent is over, the affectation, or the bad behavior is happily embraced again.
Of course, what is more important than “giving something up” for Lent, is giving something up for our LORD. Utilizing the customary concept of “giving something up for Lent,” and with God the Holy Spirit enabling us – during this season of Lent, 2025, we will make use of our six, special midweek worship services to contemplate six different sinful ideas and behavior that we can “give up” not only for the period of Lent 2025, but for life….and for our LORD.
And so, on this Ash Wednesday 2025, as we begin our series of things to “give up” for Lent and for our Lord, we’re going to contemplate Jesus’ admonition to love, and so, to
Give Up Hating Our Enemies
The Significance of Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the Christian’s 40-day journey with the Lord to the cross and tomb to await the proclamation of Easter. The 40 days are reminiscent of several Biblical events: Jesus’ 40-day fast at the beginning of His ministry; Moses’ stay on Mt. Sinai at the giving of the law; Elijah’s fast on his way to the mountain of God.
Ash Wednesday begins the Christian’s Lenten journey with a reminder of our mortality and a call to repentance. The ancient practice of imposing ashes on the foreheads of the faithful gives Ash Wednesday its name. The church father Tertullian (c160-215AD) writes of the practice as a public expression of repentance and of our human frailty that stands in need of Christ. The ashes remind us forcefully of our need for redeeming grace as they recall words from the liturgy for Christian burial: “…earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust…,” words that will someday be spoken over us all. The imposition of ashes has never been an exclusively Roman Catholic practice (as some erroneously believe). As a matter of adiaphora (things neither commanded nor forbidden in Scripture), Christians in general are free to embrace this practice, if they so choose.
Ash Wednesday, as a particular observance of the liturgical Christian church (it was originally called dies cinerum, or “day of ashes”), probably dates to at least the 8th century, being mentioned in the earliest copies of the Gregorian Sacramentary, which originated in that period. Another early description of Ash Wednesday is found in the writings of the Anglo-Saxon abbot Aelfric (955-1020). In his Lives of the Saints, he writes, “We read in the books both in the Old Law and in the New that the men who repented of their sins bestrewed themselves with ashes and clothed their bodies with sackcloth. Now let us do this little at the beginning of our Lent that we strew ashes upon our heads to signify that we ought to repent of our sins during the Lenten fast.” Aelfric then proceeds to tell the tale of a man who refused to go to church for the ashes and was accidentally killed several days later in a boar hunt! This quotation confirms what we know from other sources, that throughout the Middle Ages ashes were sprinkled on the head, rather than placed on the forehead as is usually done today.
The pouring of ashes on one’s body (and dressing in sackcloth, a very rough material) as an outer manifestation of inner repentance or mourning is a very ancient practice. It is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. What is probably the earliest occurrence is found at the very end of the book of Job. Job, having been rebuked by God, confesses, “Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:6). Other examples are found in 2 Samuel 13:19, Esther 4:1,3, Isaiah 61:3, Jeremiah 6:26, Ezekiel 27:30, and Daniel 9:3. In the New Testament, Jesus alludes to the practice in Matthew 11:21: “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”
In a very traditional Ash Wednesday observance, worshipers are invited to the altar to receive the imposition of ashes, prior to receiving the holy Supper. The Pastor applies ashes in the shape of the cross on the forehead of each, while speaking the words, “For dust you are and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). This is of course what God spoke to Adam and Eve after they had eaten the forbidden fruit and fallen into sin. These words reveal the primary effect of our first parents’ sin on them and their descendants (us, included), namely death. Thus, the Ash Wednesday imposition of ashes is yet another means of reminding worshipers of their sinfulness and mortality, and – obviously – their need to wholeheartedly repent of their sins. The sign of the cross serves as a symbol of the Good News that through Christ crucified we have full and free forgiveness for all our guilt, sin, and its punishment.
The ashes used in the imposition, by custom, come from the palms of the previous year’s Palm Sunday procession. The dried palms – having been kept for this purpose – are burned, and their ashes are sifted and mixed with a small amount of olive oil – not water. This allows them to better adhere to the forehead. Drawing the ashes from a shallow bowl, the minister marks a cross of ashes on each person’s forehead using his thumb or forefinger, after which the individual returns to his/her seat.
Ash Wednesday, as well as the season of Lent, is never mentioned in Scripture and so is not a worship occasion which God has commanded us to practice. In our Christian freedom we may either observe it or not observe it. Black paraments can be utilized to emphasize the solemnity of Ash Wednesday, although the traditional penitential color of purple may also be used.
Silent Prayer & Pre-service Music
We Approach The Lord With Praise And Prayer
The Service Introduction and Invitation to Worship
at the Pastor’s invitation, the Congregation will rise for
The Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Opening Psalm: Psalm 51
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 that Your are proved right when You speak + and justified when You judge.
Surely I was a sinner from birth, + sinful from the time my mother conceived me. + Surely You desire truth in the inner parts; + You teach me wisdom in the inmost 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.
After which the Congregation may be seated for
The Opening Hymn Hymn 98 “Jesus, I Will Ponder Now”
1 Jesus, I will ponder now
On your holy passion;
With your Spirit me endow
For such meditation.
Grant that I in love and faith
May the image cherish
Of your suff’ring, pain, and death
That I may not perish.
2 Make me see your great distress,
Anguish, and affliction,
Bonds and stripes and wretchedness
And your crucifixion;
Make me see how scourge and rod,
Spear and nails did wound you,
How for them you died, O God,
Who with thorns had crowned you.
3 Yet, O Lord, not thus alone
Make me see your passion,
But its cause to me make known
And its termination.
Ah! I also and my sin
Wrought your deep affliction;
This indeed the cause has been
Of your crucifixion.
4 If my sins give me alarm
And my conscience grieve me,
Let your cross my fear disarm;
Peace of conscience give me.
Help me see forgiveness won
By your holy passion.
If for me he slays his Son,
God must have compassion!
5 Grant that I your passion view
With repentant grieving.
Let me not bring shame to you
By unholy living.
How could I refuse to shun
Ev’ry sinful pleasure
Since for me God’s only Son
Suffered without measure?
6 Graciously my faith renew;
Help me bear my crosses,
Learning humbleness from you,
Peace mid pain and losses.
May I give you love for love!
Hear me, O my Savior,
That I may in heav’n above
Sing your praise forever.
After which the Congregation will rise for
The Opening Exhortation
Pastor: Brothers and sisters: God created us to know joy in communion with Him, to love all humanity, and to live in harmony with all creation. But sin separates us from God, our neighbors, and creation. Consequently we cannot not enjoy the life our Creator intended for us. Also, by our sin we grieve our Father, Who does not desire us to come under His judgment, but to turn to Him and live. Therefore, our gracious God in His mercy has sent our Lord Jesus Christ to take our place under the law – living the righteous lives we do not live; to suffer for us and to die the death we deserve. God made Jesus, Who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
During these forty days of Lent we fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. The period of Lent reminds us that, in order to know Christ and the power of His resurrection, we must also know the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death. As disciples of the Lord Jesus we are called to struggle against everything that leads us away from our love for God and for our neighbor. I invite you, therefore, to re-commit yourselves to this struggle and to join me in confessing your sins to our Father in heaven, asking Him for His forgiveness of all our sins as well as for the strength of faith to properly serve Him and enjoy His blessings. Now, let us be silent. Let us be still. Let us pause here for a moment of spiritual reflection and self-examination.
Silence for reflection and self-examination
We Confess our Sins Before the Lord
P: Most holy and merciful Father:
C: We confess to You and to one another that we have sinned by our own fault, by our own grievous fault in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.
P: We have not loved You with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others as we have been forgiven.
C: Have mercy on us, Lord.
P: We have been deaf to Your call to serve as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved the Holy Spirit.
C: Have mercy on us, Lord.
P: We confess to You, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness. The pride, hypocrisy, and impatience in our lives:
C: We confess these sins to You, O Lord.
P: Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, our manipulation of other people:
C: Forgive us, O Lord.
P: Our anger when our selfish aims are denied, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves:
C: We confess to You, O Lord, our disobedience.
P: Our love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work:
C: Forgive us, Lord, for our many transgressions.
P: Our negligence in worship and prayer, and our failure to show the faith that is in us:
C: Lord, we admit that we have sinned against You.
P: Forgive us, Lord, for the wrongs we have done. For our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty:
C: Have mercy upon us, gracious O Lord.
P: For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward others, and for our prejudice and contempt for those who differ from us:
C: Forgive us, O Lord, for we have sinned against You.
P: For what we think or say or do that is at variance with Your will:
C: We confess our repeated failures to be righteous in Your sight, O Lord.
P: Restore us, good Lord, and let Your anger depart from us.
C: Hear us, Lord, for Your mercy is great. Amen.
P: Accomplish in us, O God, the work of Your salvation,
C: that we may show forth Your glory in the world.
P: As we meditate upon the cross and passion of Your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ,
C: O Lord, bring us, also, with all Your saints to the celebration of His resurrection and the certainty of our salvation. Amen.
Pastor Upon this, your voluntary confession, and in accordance with the responsibilities entrusted to me as a called and ordained servant of the Living Word, I assure you that God, our heavenly Father, has
had mercy upon you and has forgiven you all your sins. By the perfect life and innocent death of our Lord Jesus Christ, He has removed your guilt and condemnation forever. You are His own dear child – an heir of everlasting life through faith in Christ. May God now give you the strength of faith to live according to His will. Go in His grace and peace. Amen.
The Imposition of Ashes
Pastor: Dear friends in Christ, I invite you to receive these ashes as a sign of the spirit of penitence with which we shall keep this season of Lent. God our Father, you create us from the dust of the earth:
grant that these ashes may be for us a sign of our penitence and a symbol of our mortality; for it is by your grace alone that we receive eternal life in Jesus Christ our Savior.
Congregation: Amen.
Every individual who is so inclined (and this is optional) may now come forward to receive the imposition of ashes. The ashes symbolize an individual’s repentance and contrition, serving as a reminder that God is gracious and merciful to those who call on Him with repentant hearts. The imposition also serves as a sign of our mortality, reminding us of the physical death that our bodies already carry and which awaits us all one day at the end of our earthly lives.
At the imposition the pastor will say to each person:
Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will
return. Now turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ.
We Meditate On God’s Word
The account of Jesus’ Passion as it is recorded for us through a
harmony of the Gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke, and St. John.
This reading is from the Evangelical Heritage Version of the Bible.
Tonight’s Reading: Jesus’ Readiness to Suffer and Die
The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was approaching. Jesus said to His
disciples, “You know that after two days it will be the Passover, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.” Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas. They plotted together how to arrest Jesus in some deceitful way and kill Him. But they said, “Not during the Festival, or else there might be a riot among the people.”
Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve. He went away and spoke with the chief priests and officers of the temple guard about how he could betray Jesus to them. They were glad and agreed to give him money. He promised to do it and was looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus to them away from the crowd.
On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, His disciples asked Him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and there a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house that the Teacher says, ‘Where is My guest room, where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” They went and found things just as He had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
When the hour had come, Jesus reclined at the table with the twelve apostles. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, for I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” A dispute arose among the disciples about which of them was considered to be greatest. But He told them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who have authority over them are called Benefactors. But it is not to be that way with you. Instead, let the greatest among you become like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves. For who is greater, one who reclines at the table or one who serves? Isn’t it the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as One Who serves. You are those who have remained with Me in My trials. I am going to grant a kingdom to you, just as My Father granted to Me, so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved those who were His own in the world, He loved them to the end. By the time the supper took place, the Devil had already put the idea into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus.
Jesus knew that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God. He got up from the supper and laid aside His outer garment. He took a towel and tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “You do not understand what I am doing now, but later you will understand.” Peter told Him, “You will never, ever, wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” “Lord, not just my feet,” Simon Peter replied, “but also my hands and my head!” Jesus told him, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet, but his body is completely clean. And you are clean, but not all of you.” Indeed, He knew who was going to betray Him. That is why He said, “Not all of you are clean.”
After Jesus had washed their feet and put on His outer garment, He reclined at the table again. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” He asked them. “You call Me Teacher and Lord. You are right, because I am. Now if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. Yes, I have given you an example so that you also would do just as I have done for you. Amen, Amen, I tell you: A servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
He took a cup, gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves, for I tell you, from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
Sermon Hymn: Hymn 493 “Forgive Our Sins As We Forgive”
1. ‘Forgive our sins as we forgive,’
you taught us, Lord, to pray,
but you alone can grant us grace
to live the words we say.
2. How can your pardon reach and bless
the unforgiving heart,
that broods on wrongs and will not let
old bitterness depart?
3. In blazing light your cross reveals
the truth we dimly knew:
what trivial debts are owed to us,
how great our debt to you!
4. Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls,
and bid resentment cease;
then, bound to all in bonds of love,
our lives will spread your peace.
The Evening’s Meditation based on Matthew 5:38-48
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evildoer. If someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you to take away your shirt, give him your coat too. 41 Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 Indeed if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even tax collectors do that, don’t they? 47 If you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the unbelievers do that? 48 So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Giving Up Our Enemies
We Offer Our Gifts And Prayers To The Lord
Our Offerings of Love to our Lord
Offerings will be received this evening through offering plates passed among those who have gathered here for worship.
However, for those viewing this service online, we offer you the following suggestions for providing God with Your thank-offerings through our ministry:
1) You can mail a check (no cash) to the church address
(415 N. 6th Place, Lowell, AR 72745)
2) You can donate on our website: www.gracelutherannwa.com
the Congregation will please rise as the offerings are brought to the altar
The Prayer for Ash Wednesday – Pastor
The Lord’s Prayer Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy
will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
We Celebrate the Lord’s Supper
The Words of Institution – Spoken by the Pastor
Our Self-Examination Before Receiving The Lord’s Supper
Pastor – Let us now examine ourselves in preparation for receiving this Sacrament of our Lord, as the inspired Apostle Paul so instructs us in I Corinthians 11, where he writes, “…whoever eats and the
bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgement upon himself.”
Pastor – Accordingly, are you sincerely sorry for your sins and determined, with God’s help, to change your sinful ways?
Congregation Yes, I am sorry for my sins and desire to serve Jesus and not a sinful lifestyle.
Pastor – Do you believe that here in the Lord’s Supper you will receive, along with the bread and wine, the true body and blood of your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?
Congregation Yes, I believe that I will be receiving the true body and blood of my Lord and Savior, which was given into death for my sins.
Pastor – Are you coming to the Lord’s table as one in the faith with this Christian congregation, as the Scriptures teach?
Congregation Yes I have studied the teachings of this congregation concerning God’s Word; I agree with
them; And am one in faith with them, as the Scriptures command me to be before I come to the Lord’s table with anyone.
Pastor – Finally, do you recognize your need for forgiveness and do you believe that you will receive through the Lord’s Supper the full and free forgiveness of all your sins?
Congregation Yes, I have examined my life, see the need for God’s forgiveness and believe that I will receive complete forgiveness for all my sins, as my Savior has promised.
Pastor – Having examined yourselves and confessed your sins, come now with confidence and joy to your Lord’s table and receive here, through His body and blood, the guarantee that your ins are all forgiven, and that eternal life and salvation are surely yours.
(Please read the following if you have not spoken with
our Pastor about taking communion. Thank you.)
TO OUR GUESTS AND FRIENDS
We ask that only “Confirmed, Communicant” members of this congregation, or of one of our Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod congregations come forward to receive the Lord’s Supper at this time. To us the Lord’s Supper is both an expression of our common faith in Christ (which we share with all our fellow Christian worshipers this evening) and also a public expression of our complete doctrinal agreement as a congregation and church body (as I Corinthians 1:10 and 10:17, as well as Romans 16:17 and I John 4:1 require of us).
Accordingly if you are not a communicant member of Grace Lutheran Church or our Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, we are not, in any way, judging your Christian faith by respectfully asking you not to join us in the Lord’s Supper this evening. Rather, we pray that our Scripture-based practice of “Close Communion” will encourage all those Christians who are not presently in full fellowship with us to seriously examine the teachings and practices of their church in order to determine if those teachings and practices are really in full agreement with God’s Word. It is our earnest desire that you might become familiar with the doctrines of our congregation, so that you might one day join with us at the Lord’s altar in this public expression of full unity of doctrine and practice. Until then, please know that we are most grateful for your participation as a fellow Christian in this worship service, and that we appreciate your patience and understanding of our Communion practice. Finally, if you do have any questions or concerns about our “Close Communion” practice, please speak with our Pastor following this evening’s worship service, or at your convenience.
The Distribution of the Elements
After which the congregation will rise as
We Conclude Tonight’s Worship Service
The Closing Prayer
Almighty God, to Whom all hearts are open, + all desires known, + and from Whom no secrets are hid, + cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the power of Your Holy Spirit, + that we may love You more completely, + praise You more joyously, + and serve You more faithfully. + These requests we make + in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, + Who lives and rules with You and the Holy Spirit, + one God, both now and forever. + Amen.
The Benediction
P: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.
The Closing Hymn: Hymn 593 “Now the Light Has Gone Away”
1 Now the light has gone away;
Father, listen while I pray,
Asking you to watch and keep
And to send me quiet sleep.
2 Jesus, Savior, wash away
All that I’ve done wrong today.
Make me ever more like you,
Good and gentle, kind and true.
3 Let my near and dear ones be
Safe with you eternally.
Oh, bring me and all I love
To your happy home above.
4 Now my evening praise I give;
You once died that I might live.
All your precious gifts are free —
Oh, how good you are to me!
5 Ah, my best and kindest Friend,
You will love me to the end.
Let me love you more and more,
Always better than before.
silent prayer,
announcements
post-service music
Announcements
Church Calendars for the month of March are available on the entryway table.
TIME CHANGE IS THIS WEEKEND
……please remember to turn your clocks FORWARD one hour this coming Saturday evening, March 08 (“Spring Ahead…”. Then join us on time the next morning for worship.