Posts from April 2020
Quarantined: Day 9
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18 It’s easy during this time of social distancing…
Quarantined: Day 8
One of the things that I love about worship is the ability to sing songs of praise that remind us of the characteristics of God and what God is doing in our lives. There have been times in my life where I have felt stuck. During those times, it is difficult to see God at work, and quarantine has been one of those times for me. The song, Spirit Break Out, helps me put words in my mouth and my heart…
Quarantined: Day 7
Greatest is LoveArtist: Sukirtha Joseph PremnathArtist Statement: Doesn’t holiness often feel like an Old Testament concept? Everytime I think of holiness, I remember the Ten Commandments, the Ark of Covenant, and how the Holy God interacted with an unholy nation. Thank God we are on this side of the cross! With the covenant of grace, holiness no longer feels like an important aspect of the new covenant Christian life. At least, that is what we have come to believe. However,…
Midweek Minute for April 29, 2020
Video Transcript Hey, this is Pastor Brent, and this is your Ashworth midweek minute. Can you believe it’s the first of the month again? And this means that this Sunday, as a part of our online worship experience, we will take communion together. So as you are planning to worship together this Sunday, get those communion elements ready. Remember, what you choose to eat and drink isn’t as important as taking communion together as the community of Jesus Christ. Are…
Quarantined: Day 6
One of my favorite summer activities I most look forward to is sitting around a campfire with my family. We aren’t necessarily talking, but are just being together. I watch the flames dance. I think about what we did outside in nature during the day. I feel the peace of the moment and a deep joy and ease washes over me. In those moments, I’m not worried about DOING anything. I am simply being present, with my family and with…
Quarantined: Extra – Prayer
As you go through the Quarantined experience, you may begin to notice some recurring themes from week to week. We have chosen to use the six traditions from Christian history as a guide to help us grow in a more balanced spiritual life. These are the core characteristics of the life of Jesus. On Saturdays, we will define one of the six traditions or streams to help you better understand what you might find during the week. This week, we…
Quarantined: Day 5
As this new day begins, the God of healing is present in those among us who are caregivers for the sick. Together we pray: Healing God, conscious that caregivers reflect your compassion, we honor them and pray for them in a special way today. We ask you to hold them in your tenderness, give them an assurance of your spirit of strength as they minister to your people, and be for them a sign and source of hope. We are…
Quarantined: Day 4
Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. 1 Peter 3:15-16 (NLT) As followers of Jesus, we aren’t necessarily called to preach Jesus from every street corner with a bull horn. But each of us should be prepared to explain our faith to others if they ask. Our faith is not intended to…
Quarantined Day 3
This song is one that we have sung many times in our modern service. Sometimes the songs we sing can become repetitive, and that changes our response to them. Recently, I have been listening to the same worship music I usually do, but God is speaking in new ways through it in light of this season of quarantine. He is encouraging me to think outside of myself and toward my neighbors and those that I don’t even know. In life,…
Midweek minute for April 22, 2020
Video Transcript Hey, this is Pastor Brent and this is your Ashworth midweek minute. First, I wanna say thank you for connecting with us every Sunday online, video zoom calls for senior adult lunch, youth, women’s ministry, and kids and for your continued generosity to the church. We have an amazing church, and it is because of each and every one of you! It is spring into action time, and we are encouraging everybody to get out of the house…
Quarantined: Day 2
Title: EmpoweredArtist: Suki Joseph PremnathArtist Statement: I’ve always been fascinated with the events recorded in Acts chapter 2. The apostles were completely transformed when the Holy Spirit came upon them in power. While painting this, I imagined what it would be like if it happened today. I could have easily replaced the subject with a child, a teenager, a grandpa or a woman. The more I think about the many unreached people in our neighborhoods, offices, and schools, the more…
Quarantined: Day 1
Quarantined – a word most of us never thought would apply to us. Maybe to someone we know. Or maybe not. Forced to stay home, away from family and friends. Apart from our usual activities and normal routines. Forced to slow down, to come face to face with our humanity, and what truly lies within. Too often, it is the busyness of achieving, the never-ending to-do-lists and ceaseless family activities, the noise of our everyday lives that drowns out the…
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