Lent

Ash Wednesday Service is Feb 18, 2026, at 7 pm. David City, NE

Ash Wednesday is celebrated by the start of the 40-day Lenten season, acting as a day of repentance, fasting, and reflection.

You're welcome to watch the service in the YouTube video. 

9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. Philippians 4, verse 9.

 Lenten Message from Bishop Tracy S. Malone, President of the Council of Bishops

As we enter the sacred season of Lent today, we are invited into a time of returning—returning to prayer, to God’s word, to simplicity, trusting God beyond what we can see.

The Lenten Season reminds us that discipleship is rooted in connection and relationships. Lent draws us into community—into shared prayer, shared repentance, and shared hope. We bear one another’s burdens, encourage one another in faith, and remind one another that God’s promises are trustworthy and true. The apostle Paul urges us, “Encourage one another and build up each other” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Lent strengthens our communal witness as we seek to embody Christ’s love together.

Lent also invites us to remember the wideness of God’s mercy. In a world often marked by division, harshness, and fear, we are called to be signs of God’s reconciling grace. We are called to forgive as we have been forgiven, to love as we have been loved, and to extend compassion even when it is difficult. Jesus’ words echo through this season: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Mercy is not weakness—it is the courageous work of those who trust in God’s transforming power.

This sacred season challenges us to confront the idols that compete for our attention and allegiance. Whether it is the idol of certainty, the idol of control, or the idol of self-sufficiency, Lent calls us to lay them down. We remember the words spoken through the prophet: “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). Lent is a time to re-center our lives on the One who alone is worthy of our devotion.

Lent also teaches us to hope with resilience. Hope is not naïve optimism; it is the steady conviction that God is faithful, even when circumstances are not. It is the assurance that God is working for good in ways we cannot yet see. The apostle Paul reminds us, “Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us” (Romans 5:3–5). Lent shapes us into people who can hold hope with courage and generosity. 

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The Holy Spirit is God's present activity in our midst. When we sense God's leading, God's challenge, or God's support or comfort, we say that it's the Holy Spirit at work.

In Hebrew, the words for Spirit, wind, and breath are nearly the same. The same is true in Greek. In trying to describe God's activity among them, the ancients were saying that it was like God's breath, like a sacred wind. It could not be seen or held: "The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes" (John 3:8). But the effect of God's Spirit, like the wind, could be felt and known. Where do we find the evidence of the Spirit at work?

In the Bible

The Spirit is mentioned often throughout the Bible. In Genesis a "wind from God swept over the face of the waters," as if taking part in the Creation (1:2). Later in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible), we often read of "the Spirit of the Lord."

In Matthew's account of Jesus' baptism, Jesus "saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him" (3:16) and he "was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted" (4:1). After his Resurrection Christ told his disciples, "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (Acts 1:8). A few weeks later, on the Day of Pentecost, this came to pass: "And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind....All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:2, 4). As the Book of Acts and Paul's letters attest, from that time on, the early Christians were vividly aware of God's Spirit leading the new church.

In guidance, comfort, and strength

Today we continue to experience God's breath, God's Spirit. As one of our creeds puts it, "We believe in the Holy Spirit, God present with us for guidance, for comfort, and for strength" (The United Methodist Hymnal, No. 884). We sense the Spirit in time alone—perhaps in prayer, in our study of the Scriptures, in reflection on a difficult decision, or in the memory of a loved one. The Spirit's touch is intensely personal.

Perhaps we're even more aware of the Holy Spirit in the community of believers—the congregation, the church school class or fellowship group, the soup kitchen, the planning committee, the prayer meeting, the family. Somehow the Spirit speaks through the thoughtful and loving interaction of God's people. The Holy Spirit, who brought the church into being, is still guiding and upholding it, if we will but listen.

In the gifts we receive

How does the Holy Spirit affect our lives? By changing us! By renewing us and by strengthening us for the work of ministry.

• Fruits: Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits" (Matthew 7:16). What sort of fruit? Paul asserts that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5:22).

• Gifts: Paul also writes that the Spirit bestows spiritual gifts on believers. In 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 he lists nine, which vary from one person to another: the utterance of wisdom, the utterance of knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, the discernment of spirits, various kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.

These fruits and gifts are not of our own achievement. They and others are the outgrowth of the Spirit's work in us, by grace, through our faith in Jesus the Christ. And they are not given for personal gain. Through these fruits and gifts, the Holy Spirit empowers us for ministry in the world.

From United Methodist Member's Handbook, Revised by George Koehler (Discipleship Resources, 2006), pp. 84-85. Used by permission.

Articles of Religion

Article IV — Of the Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God. Learn more

Confession of Faith

Article III — The Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from and is one in being with the Father and the Son. He convinces the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He leads men through faithful response to the gospel into the fellowship of the Church. He comforts, sustains and empowers the faithful and guides them into all truth. Learn morere Christian Beliefs