Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, a season that prepares us to remember Christ’s death and celebrate Christ’s resurrection. The Ash Wednesday service reminds us of our own mortality and focuses our attention on the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday occurs 46 days before Easter. Some traditions impose a mixture of ashes and oil in the sign of the cross on the congregation’s forehead, symbolizing sin, salvation, and service. The symbol of the cross points to the redemption of Christ; the oil anoints and reminds us of Christ’s call to leave the life of sin.
Are you looking for resources for your Ash Wednesday worship and the Sundays of Lent? Whether you are looking for an entire series, a prayer, litany, or other creative idea, Reformed Worship has something for you! Check out just a few of the timeless resources from our archive, available online at ReformedWorship.org.
The season of Lent traditionally begins with a service of repentance. Attendees are invited to receive on their foreheads the mark of the cross, made from ashes. We often think of these ashes as a mark of our penitence, but they also mark us as people who live in the way of the cross. What would it mean if we wore ashes on our foreheads every day? When we don’t wear ashes, do the people around us know that we are Christ followers?
When Reformed Worship staff sat down to discuss the worship series for this issue and how it might connect with the year’s theme of mission, we thought of how the church historically has the greatest missional impact when it combines the gospel message with lives of service that emulate Christ. The concept of service fits well with the traditional Lenten themes of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. We were happy to discover that this theme also correlated well with the Revised Common Lectionary texts for Year C. As we continued thinking about this theme, we found Richard J. Foster’s classic work Celebration of Discipline particularly helpful.Because several people would be creating this series, we drafted a broad outline to keep each worship service for the Sundays in Lent focused on worship’s dialogue between God and those gathered (see "Full Order of Worship" below). Not all of the worship elements appear every week, but the outline may be a helpful reference if you adapt this series for your context. To help anchor the theme and create some continuity, the ending of each Sunday service is the same. During Lent there also are weekday services, including those for Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. Each of these services has its own rhythm and does not closely follow the outline for Sunday services. We have provided background notes on the theme for each service that could also serve as sermon notes and help you see the thread tying the worship elements together. Following the Ash Wednesday and Sunday services are suggestions for how individuals and households might respond.The graphic found at the top of the page is available for worshiping communities to use with the right attribution. You can find links giving you the copyright information as well as a downloadable graphic under "Resources" at the bottom of this page. Here are links to each of the service. Ash Wednesday: Coworkers in ChristLent 1: The Call to ServiceLent 2: Commitment to ServiceLent 3: The Heart of ServiceLent 4: Service as Radical HospitalityLent 5: The Ministry of Self-GivingLent 6: (Palm/Passion Sunday): The Servant King Maundy Thursday: The Sign of ServiceGood Friday: The Suffering ServantEaster: The Servant’s MessageFull Order of Worship for the Sundays of LentEach service contains some of the following elements while retaining the flow of God’s actions and our response. GOD GATHERS US Call to WorshipGreetingWE RESPONDOpening ResponsesCall to ConfessionPrayers of Confession or LamentAssurance of PardonThe PeaceThanksgivingDedication to Holy Living / The LawGOD SPEAKS TO USChildren’s MessagePrayers for Illumination Scripture ReadingSermonWE RESPONDResponse to the Sermon Profession of Our Church’s FaithPrayers of the PeopleOfferingBaptismProfession of Faith and Remembrance of BaptismGOD MEETS US AT THE TABLEThe Lord’s SupperDeclaration of God’s Invitation and PromisesGreat Prayer of ThanksgivingPreparing the Bread and CupCommunionWE RESPONDResponse of Praise and PrayerGOD SENDS US OUT TO SERVESendingBlessing / BenedictionFollowing the pattern we’ve established the question we should be posing to those gathered for worship is: Having encountered our God in worship, how are we going to respond in our daily living? The sending doesn’t end our worship but begins our life of worship. First Service
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