worship guide
Ash Wednesday Resources for Pastors: Sermon Prep & Liturgy Ideas
Ash Wednesday sermon and liturgy resources for pastors, full services, & commentary on Psalm 51, Joel 2, & Matt 6. Updated for 2026.
Updated for 2026
Ash Wednesday (Feb. 18, 2026) marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day season emphasizing repentance and spiritual preparation leading up to Easter. This page gathers together The Pastor's Workshop's Ash Wednesday resources in one place, including full orders of service, sermon angles from our blog, guides for popular Ash Wednesday texts, and Ash Wednesday sermon and liturgy resources organized by theme.
Lent is an opportunity to push difficult (but necessary) themes to the forefront: sin, repentance, and mortality, taking them seriously and offering grace. Taking the mark of ashes on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday reminds us of the urgency of repentance and the fact that we still must continue turning from sin and toward God.
Lent also is a chance for people to practice spiritual disciplines such as prayer and fasting. While your congregation may not fast with the austerity of earlier generations, giving up good-but-unnecessary things or taking on good-and-difficult things is a way to teach Lent’s themes to the heart as well as the head.
Ash Wednesday is also a good day to put disciplines in their proper place, a common theme in traditional texts like Isaiah 58, Joel 2, and Matthew 6. Fasting (or other disciplines) is not a good thing in itself. It is only good when it comes with the right attitude and intention.
This page includes both free and premium resources. If you aren’t a subscriber, consider a 14-day free trial to see what TPW can offer your ministry.
Ash Wednesday Services
Ash Wednesday services include some of the most poignant moments of the church year, as we contemplate our desperate need for Jesus and our mortality.
Traditional Service
This service is reverent and perfect for including silences for reflection.
It features traditional collects, and invitation to a holy Lent, and has a confession structured as a litany. It is based on the service in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.
Complete Package subscription content
Modern Service
Lisa Degrenia and Nicolle Sallee created this order of service which intersperses readings with song, with plenty of room for customizing for your congregation's needs.
Free resource on the blog
Sermon and Liturgy Resources by Theme
Sermon resources accessible to all paid subscribers. Liturgy requires Complete Package subscription.