Pastor Brent talks with Matthew Becker about how evangelism and sharing Jesus with others doesn’t always have to be about a sales pitch, fear tactics, or even telling them about Jesus, but can be about walking with them a journey toward Jesus.

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Pastor Brent challenges the idea that Jesus came to establish a new religion and shows why trusting in religion won’t get you where you thought you were going.

Discussion Questions

Why do you think some could be drawn to religion (right beliefs, behavior, rituals, etc.) over a relationship with Jesus?Why do you think Jesus was so hard and confrontational with the religious leaders in Matthew 23?As Jesus critiqued religion, do any of his critiques surprise you? If so, so why or why not?Of the problems of religion Jesus pointed out, what do Christians today need to be most aware of (or are tempted by) and why? (Religion burdens, brags, blinds, busies, buries)What can you do to make sure you don’t fall into the trap of religion?

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Sometimes we can become so inwardly focused that we forget that the church exists for those beyond its walls. Pastor Ryan looks at the parable of the Great Banquet and how Jesus wants us to go far and wide and invite people in.

Discussion Questions

What keeps you from being more willing to talk about Jesus with others? Limited contact with non-christians, fear of what they will think, fear of what to say, something else?Why are you a Christian? What value is there for YOU in following Jesus?Who are you praying for to come to meet Jesus? Ask God to give you opportunity to speak into their life?

Message Manuscript Below

Old School Ghosting

Working with teenagers, it’s always interesting to me how slang terms come and go. One terms that is being used a lot right not is called Ghosting. Ghosting is when you cut off communication with someone your’re no longer interested in.

And while the word is new, the concept is as old as time.  We’ve all had people cut off contact from us – sometimes disappearing altogether, but most times just finding ways to make excuses every time we try to meet up with them.  Maybe you’ve had friends that stop being available.  Or maybe held a party or get-together only to have people decline at the last minute – much like I often experience when scheduling a youth event.

Ever since the time of Jesus people have been backing out of their commitments if something better comes along.  In fact, Jesus tells a story about that exact situation to teach the religious leaders something about the Kingdom of Heaven.  Before we dive in, I have to tell you that Luke 14 begins with Jesus attending a party of a leader of the Pharisees, so he’s surrounded by the religious type.  Now lets take a look at Luke 14.

Parable of the Great Banquet

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” 16 Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ 18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ 21 “The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ 22 “ ‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ 23 “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’ ”Luke 14:15-24 (NIV)

So the story starts off with a proud religious leader making an off-handed comment about how good it will be for those (like them) when they get to eat at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.  Jesus uses this as an opportunity to make a point.  He tells this parable about several characters:

Cast of Characters

Master – Jesus

Now the master has already sent invites for the party and people have RSVP’d.  But its at the last minute, when everything is all ready that people begin to make their excuses.  

Original Guests – Jews

These guests who find reasons not to come represent the Jews – the family God chose to bless the whole world with beginning with Abraham.  These are the people God has redeemed over and over after they foolishly wander away from him.  And as the Kingdom of God is approaching with the arrival of Jesus, they are finding all sorts of reasons to not join the party God is inaugurating. But lets be honest, they

Pastors Brent and Ryan look at the category of beliefs that are not necessarily essentials called distinctives and answer questions raised during the Essentials series.

Discussion Questions

If somebody asked you to explain your understanding of if a person can lose their salvation, what would you tell them?At Ashworth we leave room for a lot of tension and grey in our understanding of scripture. Do you appreciate this approach or do you wish we were more black and white on all issues? Why?What is one issue through these entire series you disagree with us about? Take a moment this week to further investigate this issue to solidify your understanding or to potentially change your view on the issue.

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Pastor Brent Clark looks at different videos of the Bible and why we must be careful not to put too much or too little weight on the Bible as the Word of God.

Discussion Questions

If you had to explain to someone why they should read the Bible, what would you say?What practical steps can be taken to move beyond ignoring the Bible or only studying the Bible and allowing it to speak with authority into our lives?This week’s challenge, join those reading through the Gospel of John between now and Easter. This week is John 6-10.

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Pastor Amy looks at the empowering of the Holy Spirit in our lives and how our belief in the Spirit is essential to living as God desires his people to live.

Discussion Questions

How do you think your introduction to the Holy Spirit (as a child or as a new believer) impacts how you view the Holy Spirit today?Where do you see the fruit of the Spirit growing in your life? If you don’t see growth, why do you think that might be?This Weeks Challenge: Each morning this week ask the Holy Spirit to show you how he wants to use you that day.

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Pastor Ryan shares how salvation is a gift from God by grace through faith available to all. He challenges us to stop trying to add to what God requires for Salvation and to humbly submit to Jesus to the be hero of our lives.

Discussion Questions

In what ways are you tempted to ADD the saving work of Jesus? Jesus PLUS Knowledge? Jesus PLUS Good Deeds? Or Jesus PLUS Obedience?When you think about the non-Christians in your life, do most of them seem to not NEED a Savior, not WANT a Savior, or not BELIEVE a Savior exists? What does that say about the culture we live in?Take a moment to thank God for the incredibly generous and loving gift of freely given grace – of his favor to adopt us into his family. Meditate on what it means that God rescued and delivered you from sin, shame, death, judgement, fear, and bondage.

Message Manuscript Below

We’re Looking for a Hero

Over the past year, I feel bad for movie theaters.  Who has gone to a movie in the past year? Anybody?  Now I’m no movie buff, but I make my way to a theater a couple times a year.  And I miss the opportunity to go overpay for popcorn and a drink entirely too big for one person to watch a story I’ve already seen a hundred times. Now let’s be real, there are really only so many stories that movies tell – the coming of age, the falling in love, the underdog overcoming a struggle, and of course, the story of the hero! 

So often, in the story of the hero, it is someone who is not the obvious choice. He or she must succeed against all odds to rescue someone (or an entire planet) from destruction. I’m guessing you are all more than aware of at least a few movies that share this storyline. 

The reason hollywood can make so many movies with this general theme is because there’s something inside us that loves a hero who saves helpless and vulnerable people. It’s the story of salvation! Oddly enough though, we don’t often think of ourselves as the people needing to be saved, but we want to be the hero.  Kids never play the damsel in distress.  They want to be the good guy, the hero. 

And it’s no wonder that we are wired to love the story of the hero, after all, we’re created in God’s image.  But the problem is, in the cosmic story of God, we are not the hero. He is.  We are the poor, pitiful people who are facing ruin without a savior stepping in.

Today we are picking up our series on The Essentials, those beliefs we at Ashworth deem as  primary importance.  And today’s topic builds on those that have come before it.  So far we have learned about GOD who is the creator and sustainer of all things.  Then we learned about ourselves, human beings, God’s pinnacle of creation and how we were created with incredible potential but marred that perfection through sin which now eternally separates us from God.  But Jesus, the Son of God, fully human and fully divine, came to this earth to live a perfect life, die on the cross defeating death and the grave, rise to new life and now sits in glory in Heaven.

Today we will look at the reason WHY God sent his son Jesus to this world.  To Save Us.  Jesus didn’t come just to be a model citizen or teach great lessons.  His purpose was bigger. He is the Hero of a cosmic story, the Savior of our entire world.

The Who of Salvation

Let’s take a look at our belief statement about the salvation Jesus made possible:

Salvation is a gift from God to all people. 

First, we see that Salvation is a Gift. We (anybody who is willing to receive it) are the recipients of that Gift and God is the giver of the gift.  That means we are the ones IN NEED OF THE GIFT.  We are the one who are stuck in our sin with no way to free ourselves from the bondage we have created for ourselves.  And God, as the giver of Salvation, is the ONLY ONE who can offer this Salvation.

Sure, we might want to think of ourselves as the Hero of our own story who can achieve some level of merit to earn our salvation, but that’s not how the s

Pastor Brent examines the importance of the essential belief in Jesus, who Jesus thought and said he was, and what those closest to Jesus believed about him.

Discussion Questions

How different would your life be if Jesus were not real or never existed? What does that indicate about your spiritual life?What do Jesus’ statements about himself and his actions show us about who he thought he was? (John 10:30, John 14:1, Luke 5:20-24, John 5:24-25)If asked by a skeptical friend, “Who is Jesus?” how would you respond?

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Pastor Ryan looks at how our view of humanity is essential and impacts our view of ourselves, others, and God.

Perfect… Sort of

Happy Valentine’s Day!  Today is a day all about love and so I want to begin with each you you taking a moment and think about the most perfect person.  For those of you who are married, you should be thinking about your spouse – obvioously.  If you’re single, think about your first crush. 

Whether married or not, we’ve probably all had that experience of being so “in Love” and by that I mean “infatuated” that we thought that one special person was absolutely perfect.  Imagine the moment in Elf where he spins around saying, “I’m in love. I’m in love. And I don’t care who knows it.” Maybe it was their hair, or their laugh, their smile, the way they made you feel.  But you knew – this person is PERFECT.  

When I met Michelle, I was still dating a girl I should have broken up with months earlier.  But I knew Michelle was everything that girl was NOT. Everything about Michelle was AMAZING.

Are you with me? Do most of you have that person and that feeling in mind.

Now, and this is going to take a dark turn quickly, so buckle up – think about your darkest time with that person – your biggest fight, when they let you down in a way you couldn’t even imagine.

Isn’t it incredible how that one person you were certain was so absolutely flawless could also have such an ugly side?  And guess what – it’s not just them.  It’s you too!  Its all of us.  We all have fabulous gifts, talents, and potential – combined with a dark, hideous side we try to hide from others but occasionally slips out and makes a mess of things.

And it’s this dichotomy that we are going to talk about as we look at our 2nd essential belief at Ashworth – Humanity.

Creator Created Us – In His Image

Last week we looked at the doctrine of God and we saw that he is the creator of all things.  It puts him outside and above everything else.  And today we are going to look at the pinnacle of God’s creation – US.  Remember, when we look at the creation story in Genesis 1, we are the last thing God created before he was finished.  So let’s take a look at our church’s statement “About Human Beings” which describes us as God’s SUPREME EXPRESSION of his creation:

We are made in the image of God, to be like Him in character, to enjoy His fellowship, and to fulfill His purposes on earth. We are the supreme expressions of God’s creation. 

See how it begins with this phrase “In the image of God.”  This is crucial.  It comes straight from Genesis 1:27 – “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them.” 

What this means is that we are LIKE God.  Which is ironic, because that’s how Satan tempted Adam and Eve – asking them to be like God – when they already were.

This is a crucial point to understand all of life because so much in the world wants to divide people.  Everything is trying to create classes of people, divisions between us and them.  But whether you are White, Black, or Brown, Poor or Rich, Democrat or Republican, a criminal or a saint- you are made to be LIKE GOD – In his image.

How are we LIKE God, you might ask.

In Character – We share the same moral values, sense of justice, and ability to love.  We can reason, and plan, and care for others.  This is actually one of the arguments for a belief in God – the fact that everybody has a shared moral code of really knowing right from wrong at a very young age – whether we do right vs wrong is another story.In Relationship – We are not made to be separate from God, but just like God is in relationship with himself in 3 forms – we are to be in relationship with God.  God is a relational being, and since we are made in his image – so are we.  The pandemic has made that very clear to us all!In Purpose – Finally, we share the purpose of God.  We have an intended purpose for why we are on the earth, and it’s not up to us to creatively

Pastor Brent looks at how the belief in a god might not distinguish Christianity from other faiths but the why viewing God as a Triune, Creator, Ruler God is essential to the Christian faith.

Discussion Questions

How does your belief in God impact your sense of holiness? Justice? Love for neighbor?Do you tend to think of God as ONE or as THREE distinct and different Gods? Why do you think it is important to our faith to keep a balance between this tension?Take a moment to praise God for this incredible world he created, in all its intricacies and perfect balance.

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