1. This is the prelude of Easter. Is a dead Jesus still resting in the tomb? No!
  2. Ash Wednesday's purpose is not to motivate our resolve to redouble our efforts to do better.
  3. The usual acclamation when one becomes King is: “Long live the King!” But this King of kings, this son of David, has come to die.
  4. If Jesus shows up and you are a sinner, ‘tis more blessed to receive than to give
  5. Although God is always closer to us than the nose on our face, he has not taken the wraps off and given any sinful and mortal human being a full-measure, face-to-face meeting.
  6. We do not have to endure the pain and suffering of this fallen existence forever, just for a little while.
  7. Ash Wednesday, is meant to remind us we have a death problem. All living things made from the soil shall return to it.
  8. Epiphany celebrates that we have not been left in our hearts’ cold darkness and this spoiled creation.
  9. We are given, so we give thanks, and we give thanks by giving.
  10. The following is an excerpt from “The Christian Life: Cross or Glory” written by Steven A. Hein (1517 Publishing, 2015).