Remember That You Are Dust. Worship: February 18, 2026

As we begin another Lenten journey to the cross and to the empty tomb, we will pass the familiar route of Wednesday services, special devotions, and sacrificial acts. It all begins here with ashes, an old and biblical sign of repentance. From the Old Testament to the present, ashes have been an outward sign of inward contrition. While not sacramental, they are not mere ritual either; they bear witness to the internal sorrow over sin with which we come while asking for and expecting forgiveness from God. The mood of this service is somber as we reflect upon the shape of our lives of faith and recall the discipline or piety that accompanies that faith. We are dust and to dust we shall return but even in dust there is hope. The ashes are marked in the sign of that hope: a cross where Christ bore the weight of our sin so that we might be forgiven and restored to Himself.