Ashworth Church - West Des Moines

We don’t have to hide our sin; we have a Savior who has dealt with it.

Listen as Pastor Amy continues our exploration of the Nicene Creed with: “We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.”

The church isn’t a building — it’s us. Pastor Brent unpacks what it means for the church to be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, and why our unity matters more than what divides us.

The Spirit is our constant reminder that there is more to the Christian life than what can be seen. Listen as Pastor Brent continues our exploration of the Nicene Creed by diving into life in the Spirit. What if life in the Spirit is meant to move beyond some obscure belief to an empowered life with greater impact, experiencing the presence and love of God at all times?

“On the third day he rose again.” It’s easy to say without a second thought. The people who lived the story didn’t have that luxury. Their teacher had been killed, and their hope seemed to have died with him.

In this message, Pastor Amy looks at the last section of the Nicene Creed about Jesus and what these confessions say about our lives today. Starting with Mary Magdalene at the tomb, she explores what it means that Jesus’ resurrection is the beginning of resurrection for all who follow him. We look at the ascension as a declaration that Jesus is king, at the promise that he will come again to judge the living and the dead, and at why it matters that the judge is the same Jesus who knows our weakness and gave his life for us. The message ends with a picture of the kingdom that has no end.

More than half of the Nicene Creed is about Jesus. That’s no accident. The nature of Jesus was the question that brought the bishops to Nicaea in the year 325, and it’s a question people are still asking today.

In this message, Pastor Brent walks through what the creed says about the Son and why the church held so firmly to it. We look at the fight with Arius, who taught that Jesus was a created being, and at how John’s Gospel answers him. We ask what “begotten, not made” means, and how Jesus’ own words and actions show he shared the very being of the Father. Then we follow the creed from heaven to earth: “for us and for our salvation he came down.” What kind of God takes up residence among his people? What kind of God lays down his life for them?

Who do you say Jesus is? This week, guest speaker Mike Harder invites us to consider the question Jesus asked his disciples—and still asks us today. Drawing from John 17 and Colossians 1:15–20, Mike explores Jesus as the visible image of the invisible God, the one who holds all creation together and brings reconciliation through the cross. As we continue exploring the Nicene Creed, this message reminds us how shared practices keep our faith alive and center our lives on Christ. It’s an invitation to move beyond knowing about Jesus into a deeper relationship with him.

It’s easy to remake God in our own image. Pastor Brent walks through the opening line of the Nicene Creed to ask who God actually says he is — Center, Control, Creative, and Care.

In a culture full of competing claims about what “real” Christianity looks like, we’re going back to the ancient words the whole church has confessed for 1,700 years. This week: unpacking the first three words of the Nicene Creed — We. Believe. In. — and why the shape of that phrase might matter as much as anything that follows it.

For six weeks, Jesus has invited us to come — to rest, to belong, to be fed, to receive his Spirit, to step out in faith. In this final message of the Invited series, that word changes. Jesus’ last words to his disciples aren’t “come,” but “go and make disciples.” We explore what it really means to make a disciple (hint: it’s not a class or a program), and how every invitation we’ve received is meant to become an invitation we now extend to others.

Sometimes we’re exactly where we’re supposed to be, and it’s still hard. Pastor Brent looks at Peter’s request to walk on water and asks what invitations we’re willing to ask for in our own storms.