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UID:20260411T144901UTC-6317rAuI77@https://messiahofthemountains.org/
DTSTAMP:20260411T144901Z
DESCRIPTION:\n \nAsh Wednesday is a Christian Holy day of prayer\, fasting 
 and repentance.  It is preceded by Shrove \nTuesday and falls on the first
  day of Lent the six weeks before Easter\nAsh Wednesday is observed by man
 y Christians\, including Lutherans\n \nIntroduction On Ash Wednesday we be
 gin our forty-day journey toward Easter with a day of fasting and repentan
 ce. Marking our foreheads with dust\, we acknowledge that we die and retur
 n to the earth. At the same time\, the dust traces the life-giving cross i
 ndelibly marked on our foreheads at baptism. While we journey through Lent
  to return to God\, we have already been reconciled to God through Christ.
  We humbly pray for God to make our hearts clean while we rejoice that “no
 w is the day of salvation.” Returning to our baptismal call\, we more inte
 ntionally bear the fruits of mercy and justice in the world.\nPrayer of th
 e day: Almighty and ever-living God\, you hate nothing you have made\, and
  you forgive the sins of all who are penitent. Create in us new and honest
  hearts\, so that\, truly repenting of our sins\, we may receive from you\
 , the God of all mercy\, full pardon and forgiveness through your Son\, Je
 sus Christ\, our Savior and Lord\, who lives and reigns with you and the H
 oly Spirit\, one God\, now and forever.\nFirst Reading: Joel 2:1-2\, 12-17
   Because of the coming Day of the Lord\, the prophet Joel calls the peopl
 e to a community lament. The repentant community reminds God of his gracio
 us character and asks God to spare the people\, lest the nations doubt God
 ’s power to save.\nPsalm 51:1-17 Have mercy on me\, O God\, according to y
 our steadfast love. (Ps. 51:1)\nSecond Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:20b—6:10 T
 he ministry of the gospel endures many challenges and hardships. Through t
 his ministry\, God’s reconciling activity in the death of Christ reaches i
 nto the depths of our lives to bring us into a right relationship with God
 . In this way\, God accepts us into the reality of divine salvation.\nGosp
 el: Matthew 6:1-6\, 16-21\nIn the Sermon on the Mount\, Jesus commends alm
 sgiving\, prayer\, and fasting\, but emphasizes that spiritual devotion mu
 st not be done for show. [Jesus said to the disciples:]\n 1 “Beware of pra
 cticing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them\, for
  then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  \n2 “So whenever you
  give alms\, do not sound a trumpet before you\, as the hypocrites do in t
 he synagogues and in the streets\, so that they may be praised by others. 
 Truly I tell you\, they have received their reward.\n3  But when you give 
 alms\, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing\,\n4  
 so that your alms may be done in secret\, and your Father who sees in secr
 et will reward you.  \n5 “And whenever you pray\, do not be like the hypoc
 rites\, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the stree
 t corners\, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you\, they ha
 ve received their reward.\n6  But whenever you pray\, go into your room an
 d shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret\, and your Father
  who sees in secret will reward you.  \n16  “And whenever you fast\, do no
 t look somber\, like the hypocrites\, for they mark their faces to show ot
 hers that they are fasting. Truly I tell you\, they have received their re
 ward. \n17  But when you fast\, put oil on your head and wash your face\,
 \n18  so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father wh
 o is in secret\, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  \n19
   “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth\, where moth and rust
  consume and where thieves break in and steal\,\n20  but store up for your
 selves treasures in heaven\, where neither moth nor rust consumes and wher
 e thieves do not break in and steal.\n21  For where your treasure is\, the
 re your heart will be also.” https://messiahofthemountains.org/events/even
 t/151-ash-wednesday-reverand-naomi-sease-carriker
DTSTART:20260218T170000Z
DTEND:20260218T180000Z
LOCATION:Messiah Of The Mountains Lutheran Church (3690 US-19E\, Burnsville
 \, NC 28714\, USA)
SUMMARY:Ash Wednesday - Reverand Naomi Sease Carriker
URL:https://messiahofthemountains.org/events/event/151-ash-wednesday-revera
 nd-naomi-sease-carriker
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