Ash Wednesday

This live stream includes our worship service with music that is used under CCLI Live stream license 22169281 and CCLI license 2023223. This sermon is presented by Pastor Steven Larrabee

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This Ash Wednesday reflection confronts us with a powerful question about the difference between confidence and arrogance, humility and self-deprecation. Through Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18, we discover a profound truth: God honors those who approach Him in genuine humility rather than those who parade their righteousness. The Pharisee stood confidently, listing his religious accomplishments and comparing himself favorably to others, while the tax collector could barely lift his eyes, simply crying out for mercy. Jesus tells us the tax collector went home justified. This challenges our natural tendency to measure ourselves against others or to rely on our own goodness. The message reminds us that none of us are worthy of God's love based on our merits alone. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory, as Romans tells us. Yet this is where grace becomes beautiful. The imposition of ashes serves as a stark reminder of our mortality and our need for repentance. We are dust, and to dust we shall return, but through Christ's sacrifice, we are offered eternal life. This season of Lent invites us into honest self-examination, recognizing that it was our sin that put Jesus on the cross, while simultaneously celebrating that His blood washes us clean and makes holiness possible.