So we are offering this Christmas practice that helps kids—and parents!—anticipate the birth of Jesus, and not just presents.

This practice is a tangible, Bible-based, 25-day guide to creating an exciting environment in the home around God coming to earth.

View the Block Sets Here

The church has pre-ordered blocks and devotional books and is subsidizing the pricing to make it more affordable for everyone!

• You can order the Standard Blocks for $10.
• The Traditions Set, a deluxe set with larger and full color blocks, including the wood block holder is $25.
• If you would like only the devotional book, we will offer those for free.

If you would like an Advent Block Set or Devotional Book, just fill out the form below.

Drought. We hear this word tossed about in the news regularly this summer. Lake Mead is at its lowest levels ever, threatening the water supply and power supply to the western part of the United States. Lake Michigan is getting so low in the summertime that the Chicago River could start to run backwards and drain into the lake rather than the lake drain out the river. The price of hay in Idaho is double because there was no rain to grow much hay in the spring. And in some counties of our own state, the corn is all curled and Des Moines Water Works has implemented a water shortage plan.

But even in this dry year which lacks the usual rain, forests across our nation are successfully working to protect themselves from the devastating heat and evaporation caused by the sun. You see a forest system works together; large, mature trees with deeper roots which are more able to pull every last drop of moisture from the ground shade the younger, more tender, and vulnerable trees. Not only do the largest trees protect the immature trees from the scorching sun, but their roots, all intertwined underneath the soil, actually share water and sugars with trees unable to nourish themselves in these difficult drought years. As a system, a forest all works together for mutual survival.

Our Spiritual Drought

Now turning our attention to ourselves, and our spiritual state – I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that many of us are experiencing a spiritual drought as we come out of a year of pandemic and are still waiting for life to return to any kind of rhythm. Before Covid, we went to work Monday through Friday, played or did projects on Saturday, and went to church on Sunday. We had routines set for prayer and Bible reading, and meeting with our Sunday school classes or Discipleship groups. But now without these rhythms and regular times with God to feed our souls, we find ourselves dry. To make things worse, the scorching heat of culture around us has intensified and reading the news or scrolling through social media seems to zap the very life out of us like never before. And the result is that many of us are spiritually dry. We are trying to survive a time like no other as 2020 and 2021 have been some tough drought years for many of us.

So what are we to do? I believe we need to learn from these forest systems and recognize that we survive dry times better together than we do alone. A single tree in a field receives no shade from other trees and no deep roots to share nutrients. It is alone. And for a tree to survive all on it’s own is challenging and even takes a bit of luck. That’s why lone trees in the middle of a field are a rare sight compared to a grouping of trees growing and surviving together.

Thinking you can survive this spiritual drought all by yourself is foolish. It leaves you exposed. You risk drying out completely or being blown over by the heavy winds of life. Perhaps you think to yourself, “But I have deep roots. I have a strong faith in Jesus and I don’t need community to survive.” However, what if YOUR survival is not what is at stake? What if the survival of all the immature trees depending on the shade you offer and the nourishment you provide, even in these dry times, is at risk by you not being there?

You see, those who are newer to their faith need older, wiser, more mature people in their lives to continue to feed and shade them from a world and culture that is looking to take everything out of them. And the spiritually mature need to understand all they have to offer and find ways to provide that protection and nourishment to those who need it. When we find ways to connect, to bring the mature and the immature together, then like a forest system, as the church, we can all survive this dry moment in time.

How to Weather the Drought Together

I believe most of you reading this article understand the importance of all of us working together and the benefits of mature and the immature Christians coming together. Where we struggle is finding ways to actually do this. So here are a few suggestions of how we can truly connect, share, and nourish one another in these challenging times:

• Come to Church – Friendship is a gift from God. But if none of your friends are Christians, then the spiritual nourishment your soul longs for will never be satisfied by those friends. That’s where connection with the church family becomes so important. But it’s hard to build friendships with others in your church family when you never see anybody face to face or have opportunity to create even basic relationships.
• Share a Meal – Meals provide physical nourishment as well as provide the opportunity for you to spiritually nourish those at your table. Invite somebody to join you for a meal after church and ask what God is doing their life.
• Check in On Others – While it is easier to check in with one another when we all see each other in the church foyer, that is not the world we live in any longer. Many are not yet returning to the church building, but that doesn’t mean they should feel forgotten. And perhaps you haven’t yet returned to the building, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still connect. Write a note or text, call somebody, setup a coffee date or a zoom call with someone you haven’t seen for awhile. Don’t let anybody be a lone tree.
• Join a Discipleship Group – More than ever before, I believe discipleship groups are the way forward for our spiritual maturity. Intentionally setting aside time every week to discuss your own spiritual state and the matters of the heart offers you the drink of fresh water from God that you need. Many say they don’t have the time for a discipleship group, but when your spiritual life depends on finding the next drop of fresh water, I say you can’t afford NOT to make the time. If you are interested in joining a group today, let us know.

Today I announce that this will be the final edition of the Ashworth Feed. But do not fear, you won’t lose this great content you have come to love – we are simply going to consolidate emails and merge the Feed into the bottom of Wednesday’s weekly newsletter. That way, everyone will have access to these articles and not just a select few.

Additionally, we are launching a new Facebook group for our Ashworth Church family to have conversations around each week’s message and other content we will post to foster ongoing spiritual growth between Sundays. With the blending of the digital world with the physical, we see these changes as a step forward in helping you on your journey of faith each and every day.

While some might wonder why we are creating a Facebook Group in addition to the church Facebook Page we already have – the short answer is that Facebook changed what people see in their feed and are much more likely to see what a Group posts than what we post to our Facebook Page. And if you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry about these details and simply click the link below!

All that to say, please take a moment right now to go out and join our Facebook group. And look for this same content below in tomorrow’s newsletter so you know where it is being moved in future weeks.

How Can it Be OK?

America is fascinated with Nightbirde, a contestant on AGT, not simply because her story of repeatedly battling cancer is compelling, but because she seems to possess something elusive we all want. Or rather, someone: the God who knows our pain, meets us in our pain, and redeems our pain. [Read the Article]

A World Without Email

In this final email of The Ashworth Feed, I thought it appropriate to share this article about the destructive aspects of email. Technology has the ability to enhance our lives, but we cannot forget that all the advancement also comes at a cost. [Read the Article]

Seduced by Sex

In this message, Pastor Ryan looks at the seduction of sex in our culture and the holiness that we are called to by God as taught by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4. [Watch the Message]

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Why do you think Jesus says we are to take drastic action to address those things we are lusting after?
2. What would you tell someone who shared with you that they were struggling with lust?
3. Are you willing to be open, authentic and transparent with someone about something you might be struggling with? If not, why?
4. Bonus Question: Can you identify the eye traps in this picture?

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Too often we allow situations around us to control our emotions, and then let that anger drive our thoughts and our actions. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls out this behavior and shows us how it is the condition of our heart and how we see people as less than God intended that allows us to name call and act badly. To explore Jesus’ teaching on anger, watch Pastor Amy’s message here.

Controlling Anger Before it Controls You

In the same way God has given us medicine as a gift that brings healing, we can also employ therapeutic strategies to help us deal with the anger that might be destroying our lives. Here’s a link to the American Psychological Association’s guide on everyday strategies you can use if anger is controlling your life. [Read the Article]

Book RECOMMENDATION: What if Jesus was Serious

What If Jesus Was Serious? is a compilation of all-new reflections (and hand-drawn doodles) from Skye Jethani, a man made famous for his doodles and thoughts he tweeted about God. He takes a look at some of Jesus’ most demanding teachings in the Sermon on the Mount and pushes us to ask whether we’re really hearing what Christ is saying.  [View the Book]

Summer School: Anger

In this message, Pastor Brent looks at right and wrong types of anger and describes how as followers of Jesus we must guard against the damaging effects of selfish anger. Yet godly anger that is slow to develop is what drives us to bring justice to the world around. [Read the Message]

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Take a few minutes to reflect on the relationships in your life. Is there any anger you are holding that you need to release to Jesus? Has there been hurt or offense that you have caused recently and need to pursue reconciliation? Remember, Jesus invites us to settle matters quickly, so don’t put it off.
2. In Matthew 5:22, Jesus calls name-calling destructive. Pay attention to what you call people or how you label people in your frustration. Are there certain names or insults you use in your anger? Ask Jesus to reveal those to you this week and to help you see and name the image of God in people around you instead.
3. What are ways that you can cultivate joy and gratitude for specific relationships around you? Consider writing a note of encouragement, inviting a friend to lunch, buying coffee for a coworker, taking an extra 10 minutes to play a game with your child, etc.

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Recent slang has turned the word salty into a negative, but a couple millenia ago, being salty referred to the preserving, enriching qualities of salt. That’s why Jesus taught his disciples that rather than hiding off in a corner to hide from the evils of culture that they were supposed to be out and about in society seasoning, preserving, and enriching the world all around them, just like salt. That same instruction holds true for us today. If you missed Sunday’s message on this topic, check it out and be encouraged.

Hybrid Church

The pandemic may be ending but the church’s fight is just beginning. As people return to church, it is apparent that not everyone is going to return in person. This creates a time for the church to consider new ways to disciple their people and reach new ones, if we are willing to engage more fully online. [Read the Article]

Unfiltered: Authenticity in the Kingdom of God

One of the deep fears of the church today is what appears to be a continuous spiral into disunity. The picture-perfect façade which has become “normal” that Sunday morning attendees wear as a mask (figurative and literal these days) gets ripped off as the reality of life crashes into them the moment they exhale in their car after service… [Read the Article]

Jesus is the Light of the World

On Sunday we looked at how Jesus says we are the light of the world, but he is the Original Light. In this message from 2 years ago, Pastor Ryan unpacks what Jesus was saying when he announced that he was truly the Light of the World. [Watch the Message]

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. When the world pushes on your Christian beliefs, how do you initially respond? Do you want to run and hide, fight back, or find a way to lovingly influence them towards God?
2. What does this passage from Matthew 5:13-16 say about your tendency in how you respond? Does your initial inclination line up with Jesus’ words?
3. Think about the most recent situation where you were salt or light to somebody. How did it make you feel? How can you offer that to others again this week?

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Oftentimes the Beatitudes, the beginning of the famous Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7, are viewed as how Christians ought to live. But this then implies that Christians are supposed to be poor and mournful. Perhaps there is a different way to view this important passage of scripture. What if, instead of being the way those in the Kingdom should live, it is saying that EVEN THESE types of people are invited in? This is the Gospel – that regardless of who you are, even the losers, are invited to sit with the King at his table. If this concept interests you, I encourage you to watch this past Sunday’s message.

Book Suggestion: Good and Beautiful Life

Pastor Brent taught a class on this book years ago and we have recommended it to many since. In this book James Bryan Smith unpacks what it takes to find true contentment in life by walking through the Sermon on the Mount, which will be our message topic for the remainder of the summer. [Buy the Book]

The Neglected Ministry of Asking Questions

We often talk about connecting with others and our community, but for some people conversation doesn’t come easily. If you want to truly get to know people better and build stronger relationships with friends or foster new relationships with strangers, focus on questions. [Read the Article]

You Are Blessed

Blessed is a word we throw around in church but so few people understand it fully. As it is the key to the Beatitudes we just covered, we thought we would point you to a message where Pastor Brent dove in to what the Bible really means when it says you are blessed [Read / Watch the Message]

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Have you ever felt like an outsider within the church? If so, what does it mean to you that the Kingdom of Heaven is filled with outsiders like you.
2. Do you resonate more with the idea of the Beatitudes being a call to Christian Conduct or an Invitation to the Kingdom? What leads you to that conclusion?
3. Take a moment this week to read the rest of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and ponder what the main theme of the sermon is.

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We don’t use the word temple often, but the truth is, we can unwittingly treat our church buildings like mini-temples if we don’t understand what a temple is. This past Sunday, Pastor Brent explained how the temple is the space where heaven meets earth. The space where that happened most perfectly was in the person of Jesus. And as a result of his life, death, and resurrection – we now have the Spirit of God inside us. So we are now mini-temples, places where heaven meets earth every single day.

The question then becomes, if this is true, do we need church? If I don’t need to go to the building to encounter God, then why go? Especially in a time when being together with others is so complicated with the pandemic and politics. Below are several articles and videos to help you think through these ideas.

What’s the Point of Church

In this message from 2016, Pastor Brent breaks down why it is important for people to gather as a church. Like he said on Sunday, church is not a building, it is the people. And although we have God inside us, he never intended for us to follow him alone! [Read the Message]

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. What place do you find you connect with God easiest? Why? What about this place helps you connect with God?
2. How has the Old Testament practice of worship only in the temple and God’s presence being limited to a specific place impacted your faith? Is this something you struggle with? Why or why not?
3. How can you be a temple, the place where heaven meets earth and God intersects with humanity, this week?

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Many people like to draw a line between the people (laity) and the priest or pastor (clergy). They imagine the church leader must be super sanctified and have a special relationship with God. And in the Old Testament of the Bible, that was true. If a commoner went into the Holy of Holies, he would die. But in the New Testament, we are told that we are now a holy priesthood – that is not just for church leaders, but for all who follow Jesus. So all the tasks you through were for your pastor to do – those are actually for you to do as well! Welcome to the team!!

If you missed Sunday’s message, I encourage you to check it out so you understand your role as a priest in this world.

Who Was Melchizedek?

This past Sunday, Pastor Ryan mentioned Melchizedek, a minor character in Genesis 14, who turns into a key player when learning about how Jesus is our ultimate high priest – one in the order of Melchizedek. If you’ve never heard about this man with a name that’s a mouthful, read this brief summary of his story and how he might have actually been Jesus showing up to Abraham! [Read the Article]

5 Christian Cliches that Need to Die

Now that you all recognize each of you is a priest, it’s time to learn what NOT to say to people in an effort to make them feel better. Here’s a list of unhelpful cliches we need to stop telling one another. [Read the Article]

Our Message One Year Ago

Exactly one year ago we began a new message series called “The New Normal” where we discussed how things were changing and beginning to stabilize after a full 2 MONTHS into the pandemic. For fun, watch Brent, Ryan, and Amy unpack all that was changing one year ago…. and remember how much more has changed since then.[Watch the Message]

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Why is it good news that Jesus is the only mediator between you and God?
2. In what ways have you unconsciously been viewing Ashworth Church leaders like an Old Covenant Priest?
3. How might you act differently knowing you are a priest, with direct access to God who can mediate between God and those who are not yet following Jesus?

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Everything must come to an end at some point. Seniors have to (get to) leave high school knowing they never have to go back. When people retire, they often look forward to that final day that marks never again having to get up for work at 6 AM. And as Christians, we remember the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, thereby ending the sacrificial system so we don’t have to splatter blood around the walls of our churches in accordance with the Old Testament law. This past Sunday, Pastor Brent spoke about how the perfect sacrifice of Jesus once and for all put an end to our need to shed more blood for our sins. We simply have to receive it and stop trying to make additional penance for our sins.

Divine Accomodation Explained

In this article, Pastor Bruxy Cavey explains why he believes from both the old testament and new testament scriptures why God never wanted sacrifice, but that he used it because our ideals were calling for us to pay for our own sin in some tangible way. [Read the Article]

Our Christian Faith and the Border

For some people the Christian approach to those wanting to cross our border or who are crossing the border or who have crossed the border is simple: it’s against the law, so send them back. For others it’s an issue of love and compassion so welcome them… [Read the Article]

Our Willingness to Sacrifice

Pastor Brent teaches on Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac and questions how much we are willing to sacrifice for Jesus, not to earn salvation but because of our devotion to him. It’s a different take on the topic we just discussed this past Sunday. [Read the Manuscript]

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Name a task you have to do repeatedly and what you enjoy or dislike about having to do it over and over.
2. Why is it so important for us to understand that the final payment of sin was fully paid by Jesus?  
3. In what ways do you try to sacrifice or atone for your own sin?

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Most people like new things. New car, new couches in the living room, new kitchen remodel. But at other times, we remain nostalgic, hanging on to the way things used to be. Sometimes as followers of Jesus, we end up hanging on to the way things really used to be – like pre-Jesus times! Even though we live in a New Covenant defined by the grace and love of Jesus, we live as law followers, stuck with an Old Covenant mentality, trying to appease God through our good behavior and ability to follow the rules. Last Sunday’s message showed how the covenant has changed and it’s time for our thinking around how we connect with God to keep up.

10 Things Evangelism ISN’T

Evangelism stirs up fear in many of us and conjures up images of evangelism done poorly which make us resistant to want to be evangelists with our own friends and neighbors. Perhaps we might reclaim our mandate to tell people about Jesus if we had a better idea of what Evangelism was never meant to be. [Read the Article]

Grace Under Fire

Pastor Brent looks at Ephesians 2:8-10 and how grace radically changes what we can do to earn our way to and make ourselves right with God.

[Watch the Message]

You Are

Here’s the new song we’ve done in Modern worship the past 2 weeks. I thought some of you might want to listen to it this week. The bridge is especially powerful as it walks through the story of the Bible.

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. In what ways do you find yourself holding on to an old covenant mindset? Too focused on rules? Feeling superior because of your own goodness? Thinking there must be sin behind your trials?
2. Why is it good news that God no longer boxes us in with a fence or regulations but instead draws us to the center through the work of Jesus?
3. In preparation for the rest of the messages in this series, read Hebrews 9-11 and ask God to show you why this is Good News for you!

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We spend too much of our lives at our jobs for it to be a meaningless passage of time with no redeemable purpose. Conversely, while your job has significance, it is not your identity or your calling. Like we discussed on Sunday in the message Beyond Work, we need to find a middle ground. If you’re struggling with the job you work, recognize that God has wired you for a special purpose and look for the ways in which that unique calling overlaps with the job you happen to hold. And thank God every time you have the opportunity to bring your special gifts to your job.

Christians and Climate Change

Political debate around climate change and carbon in the air has been going on for decades now. For the most part, the church has stayed out of the fray. But young people are deeply concerned about the future of the earth. Meanwhile others believe the Bible foretells of the destruction of the earth. So as Christians, where should we stand? [Read the Article]

Don’t Be Lazy

The opposite of working hard is laziness. The book of Proverbs actually has a lot to say about people who are lazy because God didn’t intend for us to sit and do nothing. As we discussed this week, he gave us a calling to live out. In this message from 2016, we discuss why being lazy is not God’s plan for you. [Read the Message]

WORKING FOR THE LORD

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. What skills and passions has God put inside of you that uniquely enable you to fulfill your calling?
2. What is that calling? If you had to write down what God called you to do, what would you say?
3. In what ways do your calling and your job overlap?

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We live in a world where most people are looking out for #1 – themselves! We want to fight to protect our rights, our money, our way of life. But Jesus tells us to deny ourselves and follow him. And sometimes our agenda and his overlap. But other times they are at odds with one another. The question then becomes, who will you follow? Your own heart and desires? Or Jesus? Choosing who to follow is much easier once you realize Jesus is #1 and you are a distant #2.

Brainstorming: 13 Biblical Ways to Deny Yourself

Understanding the abstract concept of denying ourselves for the sake of Jesus is one thing. Actually identifying where in our lives we can take that step is more challenging. Here’s a list of ways God might be calling you to deny yourself today. [See the List]

Diversity Advocates at Colleges: ‘… You’re Seen as a Heretic’

Most Christians agree that diversity is a good thing, rooted in the creation narrative of Genesis 1. We agree that racism is wrong and has no place in our culture. But actually bringing change to our lives and way of doing things is much more challenging as many Evangelical colleges are finding out. [Read Article]

Deny Yourself Thru Fasting

In this message from 2018, Pastor Brent looks at one of the most direct ways you can deny yourself – through intentional fasting. Sometimes we need a very obvious outward action to help us grasp an inward attitude. [Read/Watch the Message]

Wise Words

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. What version of Jesus is are you most tempted to create? All love, “buddy” Jesus? Firm, school-teacher Jesus? Something else?
2. What barriers keep you from following the instruction to “deny yourself”?
3. What does it means specifically for you to take up your cross this week?

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I hope you now have that famous song from Beauty and the Beast in mind. That scene from the movie fully encapsulates how most people envision hospitality. But as we discussed in our message Sunday, hospitality is more than sharing a meal, it is sharing a life. God has swung the doors of his home wide open and Jesus has invited us inside to join him for a feast, and to stay in the Father’s House. And as we await that moment, we now demonstrate the same heart of hospitality to those all around us. So what is one hospitable step you will take this week in making room for somebody in your home, at your table, in your calendar, or in your heart?

To Be (Social) or Not To Be: 5 Things to Talk About

Sometimes we have the energy and excitement to connect with friends and strangers, but other times we just need solitude to recharge. This article helps you and your spouse navigate ways to stay on the same page. [Read Article]

Tearing Down Fences Through Hospitality

In this message from 2018, Pastor Brent looks at what holds us back from being more hospitable and encourages us to tear down the dividing wall between us and the strangers all around us through the simple act of hospitality. [Read/Watch the Message]

The Father’s House

If you liked the new song we introduced in the Modern service Sunday, check it out here.

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Sunday we summarized that hospitality is “making room for others”. What is the biggest obstacle in making room for others in your life? What can you do to remove that obstacle?
2. Take a moment to think about a time somebody showed extraordinary hospitality to you. How did it make you feel? How did you feel about that person?
3. Practicing hospitality in a COVID world is tricky. What is one action you might feel safe to take in the coming month to show hospitality to someone who would never expect it?

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Do you remember the simple children’s game Follow the Leader where one person was the leader and everyone just imitated whatever that person was doing? It was like Simon says for beginners. In the same way, Jesus made evangelism for beginners just like Follow the Leader. We follow Jesus. We encourage others to follow us. Everyone should be imitating the faith-filled life of somebody further ahead on the faith journey and hopefully has somebody behind them who is newer on the journey. And like any good journey, we talk while we walk, we share and we grow. It’s not as complicated as we have tried to make it.

The 5 Thresholds of Faith

Serving Christ when Everyone Needs You

It was a normal day at home, and my kids weren’t being particularly difficult—they were just being kids. But as I unloaded the dishwasher I pressed my palm to my eyes to stop the tears. I had started to feel resentful about all of the responsibilities I carried, although I couldn’t pinpoint why. Continue Reading…

God is Missional

The reason we talk about the importance of sharing our faith with others is because we follow a missional God. He wants to bring blessings to this entire world, and he can only do that through us. Take a look at this message from 2016. Read the Message.

Who is Following you?

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1 NIV)

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. How comfortable are you in having spiritual conversations with others?
2. Do you think most people in America today are open or closed to having spiritual conversations? Why do you think that?
3. Take a moment to pray for God to give you spiritual eyes to see moments where you could begin a spiritual conversation with somebody and pray for the boldness to take that step.

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In the midst of the ongoing pandemic, much ink has been spent warning about a 4th wave if we become complacent and let our guard down on all the COVID protocols. But I’m not here to write about masks, actually I’m talking about the days after Easter. You see, our Christian tradition is to put all our focus on Lent, Holy Week, Good Friday, and the crescendo of it all – Easter Sunday. But then come’s Monday, and now Tuesday. And like an athlete after the biggest game of the year, it’s easy to become complacent and stop all the good habits we formed preparing our hearts for Easter.

But what if this year you changed that narrative? What if, instead of seeing Easter as an ending, you saw it as a beginning to live life as a new creation? What if you stopped allowing the never-ending news cycle to control your feelings and instead grounded your life in a never wavering trust in Jesus? And what if this week you put new habits in place to allow this flourishing spiritual life you established before Easter to become your New Normal? Jesus wants this relationship to keep growing. Stay the course.

Monday after Easter

Easter is a beginning, not an ending.
It’s THE beginning, the fresh start all of our hearts long for. It isn’t about fluffy bunnies and pastel colors — it’s about the radical death, relentless love, and revolutionary power of our God. Read More…

Faith That Persists Above Feelings

Part of having a relationship with Jesus means spending time regularly to connect. Rick Warren writes a thought provoking daily devotional you can have sent to your inbox. Yesterday’s devotional challenges you to not allow your feelings to drive your faith. Take a look and perhaps you will want to subscribe.

Death to Life

A message about Jesus’ “Woes” to the pharisees is an unusual Easter message, but when you preach Easter EVERY year, sometimes you want to change it up. If you’re longing for a traditional Easter message, check out one of my favorites from 2015. Read the Message.

Relationship is Better

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Why do you think some could be drawn to religion (right beliefs, behavior, rituals, etc.) over a relationship with Jesus?
2. Why do you think Jesus was so hard and confrontational with the religious leaders in Matthew 23?
3. As Jesus critiqued religion, do any of his critiques surprise you? If so, so why or why not?
4. 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)
5. What can you do to make sure you don’t fall into the trap of religion?

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It’s important for Christians to focus on their inward life with Jesus. But we can never stop there. This past Sunday, we looked at how we have to go BEYOND an individual faith of just me and Jesus and invite others to experience the banquet God is preparing for us all.

And there’s no better time to be talking with people than now. With Easter this Sunday, most people are more receptive to talk about Jesus this week than any other time of the year.

Faith Sharing 101

Billy Graham was one of the greats when it came to evangelism. So here’s a link to an article on the Billy Graham website about some simple things to give you greater confidence when sharing your faith.  It doesn’t take a seminary degree to tell somebody about Jesus. A life well-lived, some humility, and a clear explanation of the Gospel are a great start!

From the Empty Tomb to Today’s Abuse: Believe Women

“Believe women” has become the contested slogan of the Me Too movement. It is also the slogan of the Easter message. Read why it’s as important for us to believe women about today’s abuse as it is that we believe their testimony to the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection.

What is Your Something to Talk About?

In this message from 2014, Pastor Brent shares about how the Apostle Paul, probably the greatest missionary ever, was one something special to look at or an incredible orator. He was an ordinary man with courage and a trust in God as she shared. Read the Message.

Be a Better Listener

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. 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?
2. Why are you a Christian? What value is there for YOU in following Jesus?
3. Who are you praying for to come to meet Jesus? Ask God to give you opportunity to speak into their life?

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If you missed this past Sunday’s message, I encourage you to check it out as we took the time to move beyond the essentials of our beliefs and into the non-essentials that are distinctives of who we are as a church. What we keep saying each week is that on each of our distinctives, there are wonderful Christians who respect and study the Bible but come away with opposite views on these issues. It simply shows how in some areas scripture is not as clear as we might like – and that should cause us to take a humble and loving stance as we discuss these issues with those who disagree with us. But on topics of critical importance, like who God is and how salvation works, all of us can agree. And that is something quite rare in this day and age.

Eternal Security?

Since this was the most common question we received in the past few weeks, I thought you might appreciate a few more angles on this question:

GotQuestions.org comes closest to what we described in our message Sunday.

The Assemblies of God describe the alternative position. But after reading their position I am left more convinced that a genuine follower of Jesus would never walk away.

Reflections on the Killings in Atlanta

Wrestling with national tragedies has become far too common for us, and yet we can never become so dull to the pain that we fail to allow them to make an impact on us. Read how one Asian-American pastor is processing his grief. 

Women in Ministry

One of the primary distinctives at Ashworth is our stance on women in leadership within the church. If you want to see in greater detail how we understand the Bible’s support for this position, check out Pastor Brent’s message on this topic.

Priesthood of Believers – Includes YOU!

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. If somebody asked you to explain your understanding of if a person can lose their salvation, what would you tell them?
2. 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?
3. 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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The transgender community in India is much different than the western community. While western ideas of sexuality and gender have become popular in recent years, this community is comprised exclusively of men opting to become women. Historically, this community has been marginalized and their usual mode of survival is begging and/or prostitution. They usually do not have Healthcare access. Most do not have the support from their family members and remain cut off from normal life.

There is a hindu temple in south India that welcomes these people once a year to get married to one of the gods and it’s a huge event and attracts thousands of trans women as these women,  unless in prostitution, spend their lives without a partner.

The ministry meeting in the new chapel (Vanathin Vasal) is where trans people worship Jesus Christ with ordinary people. An ordained pastors leads the worship every Sunday. They were previously meeting in the living room of one of the trans women. With this new chapel, more people can meet. Life skills like sewing and cosmetology are taught so they can have an alternate means to livelihood. 

Prayer for this Ministry

• Pray for the Pastor as ministering to them poses challenges. Pray that He will be led by the Holy Spirit and teach the truth in love.
• Pray for discipleship and that these women would learn what it means that they are children of God.
• Pray for the outreach that they do among this community. 

That’s why we are excited to be offering this important curriculum, “The Gospel in Color,” to our kids, youth, and adults this spring. After Easter, our kids and youth will both begin a 5 week study through this book at their usual meeting times of Sunday mornings at 9 AM for kids and Wednesday nights at 6:30 PM for teens.

Additionally, we are offering a 3 week class for adults on Wednesday nights (April 14, 21, 28) at the church from 6:30 -8:00 PM. If you are a parent of a child at the church and want to know what they are learning, or maybe you don’t have any kids at the church but want to learn more about how God and race intersect, then sign up to join the class below.

If you want to order a copy of the book to look through, you can find it here.

Sign Up for the Class

Teens love to watch movies about paranormal activity and frighten their friends with scary ghost stories. It’s surprising then, that Christians have labeled the presence of God in our very lives with this same title – the Holy Ghost! Perhaps that’s why we’re not as comfortable with the workings of the Spirit as I think Jesus wanted for us. But this week’s message challenges us to step into our relationship with Holy Spirit and to trust God to lead us in our own paranormal activities for his purposes and for our good!

Forgotten God

A wonderful book on the topic of the Holy Spirit and his ongoing role in the life of the Christian is Forgotten God by Francis Chan. In the book, Chan contends that we’ve ignored the Spirit for far too long, and we are reaping the disastrous results.  He offers an invitation to stop and remember the One we’ve forgotten.
View the Book at Amazon

Is a Vaccine Connected to Stem Cells Unethical

Some have wondered, seeing headlines tying the vaccines to stem cells, whether taking a COVID-19 vaccine would cause them to be involved, somehow, in abortion or in any way the taking of a human life. This is a serious question which requires thoughtful examination.
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Gifts of the Holy Spirit

One aspect of the Holy Spirit which many Christians debate but which didn’t make it into this week’s message is how the gifts of the Spirit fit into a Christian’s life today. If you’ve found yourself wondering what you believe (or the church believes) about the spiritual gifts described in the Bible, you should take a look.
Read the Message

Holy Spirit Power

The Spirit of God is more than just the third and final part of the trinity. He is the power of God living in you to be his representation to this world! Live in that POWER!

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. 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?
2. 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?
3. 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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The common expression Christians use to describe their decision to follow Jesus by telling others they are “Saved” has deep roots in the Bible but fails to connect with those outside our own faith. All through scripture we see Jesus as the hero, the Savior, the Messiah who comes to rescue his people from their sin, death, and more specifically, from the flames of Hell. Unfortunately, this story seems to be uncompelling to the watching world who sees Hell as a fairy tale where you might find a Wicked Witch or the Big, Bad Wolf. Our opportunity as Christians is to demonstrate to others how faith in Jesus truly rescues us from life’s pitfalls, fears, damaging emotions of shame and guilt, and countless other negative experiences that steal our joy. We are saved, or delivered, into an abundant life with the hero of the cosmic story of humanity – Jesus!

Law VS Grace

Tied to our understanding of how we receive salvation and if the idea of perseverance of the saints is the age old question of the law vs grace. One side says, “Salvation is by grace and grace alone.” The other side counters, “That idea leads to lawlessness. God’s righteous standard in the Law must be upheld.”…
Read the Article

Swinging the Pendulum Too Far

Speaking of Law vs Grace, the issue of equality is in the news again and proposed legislation may have a significant impact on the American church going forward. This is a challenging read as we wrestle with how to be loving and grace-filled while holding onto our beliefs.
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Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. In what ways are you tempted to ADD the saving work of Jesus? Jesus PLUS Knowledge? Jesus PLUS Good Deeds? Or Jesus PLUS Obedience?
2. 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?
3. 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.

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Through COVID, peanut butter has become a popular item and so the price has increased to $1.50 a jar or $18 a case (12 jars). While the price has increased, so has the need. That’s why this year we want to purchase an entire pallet of peanut butter for hungry families impacted by the pandemic.

During the the month of March, we will have a giant pallet of peanut butter sitting in our foyer ready to be purchased by you. We’re excited to see generosity flow as we watch each jar of peanut butter move from the “For Sale” pallet to the “Sold” pallet!

How to Donate

• Bring cash or check and mark it when putting it in the offering on a Sunday
• Donate whatever amount you desire through our regular giving page and selecting “Peanut Butter” from the drop-down menu.
• Or just fill out the form below!

Whether you are a Christian or not, the universal impact he made on this earth requires every single person who hears his name to make a decision. Who is he? And if he is who he says he is, what are you going to do about it yourself? This is the crux of the Christian faith. Without Jesus, we have no Christ, no Christianity, and no good news. All too often we think of our faith as being a list of facts to learn, but really, our entire faith boils down to a person. A person who can be known and who wants to be known by you. The question is, who is Jesus to you?

Liar, Lunatic, or Lord

Per the great Christian apologist C. S. Lewis, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else He would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.
Read the Article

God is Love

While we’re learning from CS Lewis, here’s another nugget from him about love: “Choosing another’s good in the absence of feeling romantic about it is a far more beautiful and noble thing. It is substantial. It lasts. It is sustainable.” See how your view of love impacts your ability to truly know God.
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What’s the Point of Jesus’ Life?

In this message from Pastor Brent, he answers this critical question. And it isn’t just Christians for whom this question is important. Everyone needs to wrestle with what we gain from the life Jesus lived
Read the Message

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. How different would your life be if Jesus were not real or never existed? What does that indicate about your spiritual life?
2. 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)
3. If asked by a skeptical friend, “Who is Jesus?” how would you respond?

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I assume God hates the cold too, afterall, we are made in his image! This past Sunday’s message, which covered hell while most churches used Valentine’s day as an opportunity to preach on Love, showed us the full scope of what it means to be human. We learned about the incredible potential we have as God’s pinnacle of creation who are made to be like him, but unfortunately made a mess of ourselves as we regularly miss God’s perfect mark and sin against him. I hope you take a moment to think about this chasm between how good you can be and how far you have fallen. And praise God that he closed that gap by dying for your sins!

How Laughter can Help Your Marriage

God made us and he gave us the gift of laughter. Often times, and especially in the hard times, what we need more than anything is a good laugh. Wondering how laughter can help you and your spouse during tough times?
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THe Fall

So much of what we believe as Christians hinges on what the Bible tells us in the first 3 chapters of Genesis. In this series we traced the Big Story of God and in this message Pastor Brent looks at the significance of the fall, the moment when humanity became stained with sin.
Read the Message

We are His Supreme Expression

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. In what areas do you doubt your own worth? Where do you need to remind yourself of how God made you and the potential inside of you?
2. Who do you most struggle to see the image of God inside of? What can you do to see them as a valuable person who is filled with potential?
3. If both men and women are made in the image of God, what does that say about God’s gender? Why is this important?

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While Pastor Brent gave it his best effort to cover the essential doctrine of God in 30 minutes this past Sunday, I think we can all admit, that was an impossible task. God, being infinite, is simply beyond our grasp. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. And it doesn’t mean that God didn’t do all he could to show us who he is by coming to this world as Jesus. And yet, there will always be a chasm as our finite minds try to grasp the infinite. If you want to stretch yourself this week, we have a few videos which explore some of the complexities of understanding God better.

5 Biblical Ways to Take Action Against Racism and Injustice

In this tumultuous season in our country, all of us are bombarded with messages through the news and social media that seem to draw lines in the sand. Phrases such as “systemic racism,” “white privilege,” “implicit bias” and “intersectionality” have increased the learning curve of many. Calls for immediate action bombard many people who have yet to arrive at conclusions.
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Americans Belief in God Declining

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. How does your belief in God impact your sense of holiness? Justice? Love for neighbor?
2. 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?
3. Take a moment to praise God for this incredible world he created, in all its intricacies and perfect balance.

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This past Sunday we launched a new message series called The Essentials where we discussed the gray areas in the Bible and how that leads thoughtful Christians to sometimes hold different beliefs. At Ashworth, we want to be a place to allow freedom on the non-essentials of our faith while still drawing lines and finding unity on those few beliefs we deem as essential to our faith. If you click only one link below, I highly encourage you to watch the video immediately below – as one pastor explains how his church tries to love like a liberal church while being conservative in theology.

Gen Z is Looking for Religion, But Not Their Parents

With young people less engaged in faith, we need to be looking for new ways to reach them where they are. Pew Research Center reports that those under 30 are the least likely to tune in to virtual worship. Similarly, new data shows teens attended in-person religious services at rates similar to their parents — but they were much less likely to pray.
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Unity, Liberty, and Love

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Thinking about your spiritual upbringing, were you raised with many or few essential beliefs? How has your understanding of what is essential changed over the years?
2. How open are you to differing views in your beliefs? Are you even willing to have a conversation with an open mind with someone that differs from you? 
3. Take a peek at our church’s beliefs and let us know if you have any questions you would like to see addressed in this message series.

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God is love. And so people who love God should love like he does. And in today’s climate we offer several articles about what it might look like to love others well. You could heal a divide between somebody with different beliefs than you through listening and empathy. Or you can pray short prayers asking God to help you stay focused on what really matters – loving him and others. Or find a way to be hospitable in a COVID world in an effort to tear down the barriers which divide. But whatever you do, let the love of God overflow to others around you this week!

Talking with the Other Side

Can the United States resurrect the lofty goal enshrined at our founding: that of e pluribus unum (“out of many, one”)—rather than the current trend of one splintering into many? For those willing to pursue the goal of civil conversation with adversaries, I suggest the following steps.
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20 One-Sentence Prayers that Will Change Your Day

Sometimes I convince myself that I’m too busy to pray. The reality is, though, we can pray a simple prayer that may be only one sentence long yet God will answer it, because He answers our prayers not by how eloquently we pray but by how much faith we pray with.
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Let the Love of God Overflow

If you missed Pastor Amy’s message on Sunday, it was a great reminder to draw close to God. But simply loving God more without letting that overflow into a love for others is not what he intended.

Message Discussion Questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Why do you think your ability to love others is so connected to your love of God?
2. How is your relationship with God impacted when you fail to love others well?
3. What’s one tangible way you can love others this week?

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Wednesday will be an important day in American politics. Many are upset with the outcome of the election. Many are looking to the new administration to be a savior. And still others are worried about what chaos might erupt on this important day. Regardless of where you land, we need to be people who pray for our country, pray for our leaders, and pray for people to come to know the peace that is found in Jesus. So I encourage you to take a moment right now, and say a prayer.

And speaking of prayer, two weeks ago, the day the Capitol was breached by rioters, Pastor Brent wrote out a prayer for the church. Here’s what he prayed that fateful day.

Only Biblical Peacemaking Resolves Racial and Political Injustice

The election highlighted the sociopolitical divide between white evangelicals and the black church. These two groups share the Great Commission but couldn’t be further apart socially. The American church may never agree on partisan affiliation, but what must we agree on in regard to racial justice?
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The new PTSD: Present Traumatic Soul Disorder

I’m experiencing feelings that I’ve never felt before, and I’m not sure what they are. I feel unsettled most of the time, but I can’t quite place my finger on it in a way that is easy to describe. I’m only comforted by the fact that most of the friends and associates I speak with are experiencing the same or similar feelings.
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Opening the Windows of the Echo Chamber

It’s hard to learn anything new when all you hear is your own voice coming back at you. Yet we tend to retreat to our corners when speaking with others who disagree with us on spiritual and political issues. But there can be truth and life found when we listen to those with whom we disagree.
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Honest Prayer When God Feels Distant

Survey QUESTION

We are curious about how helpful you find The Feed. Would you consider taking a moment to reply to the email you received or comment in the section below with a rating from 1-10 of how helpful you find this weekly collection of articles. Additionally, we’d love if you left a comment about your favorite part or what you think we could do better. Thanks!

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In the message this past Sunday we discussed how we all silently carry around unresolved emotions and how it can make a mess of our lives. I truly hope, if you haven’t already, that you will think about the baggage you carry around with you and walk through the 5 steps to unpack it at move forward. And if you would like to read further on this topic, I encourage you to read the book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality.

THE ROMAN ROAD FROM INSURRECTION

This week we watched an insurrection of domestic terrorists, incited and fomented by the President of the United States. We saw the attack on our Capitol, the desecrating of the seat of our democracy, the harming of innocent human lives, and the murdering of a Capitol Police officer. Part of me hesitates to address this at all.
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7 QUESTIONS TO HELP PROCESS FEAR

Fear keeps many people from achieving all God would have them achieve. Rather than assume the risk required to pursue their dreams; fear will keep people from moving forward. This article was written for pastors attempting change but equally applies to our current political situation.
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Authentic Prayer

What attitude do you bring with you to pray? Do you come as one who thinks because of your goodness that God owes you something?  Does your prayer look more like the Pharisee’s than the tax collector’s? Remember, Pharisees come in many packages. We must be on guard against pride shaping our prayers…
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HONEST TO GOD

MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. What is the main reason you struggle to be honest with God? Shame, pride, fear, thinking God can’t handle it? Why do you think that is?
2. As you have taken time to reflect on the message, what baggage have you realized you have been silently carrying? How are you giving it to God?

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It’s a new year and hopefully if you are reading this, then you’re the type of person who wants to be growing and changing and looking more like Jesus each and every day. And while there is no magic in the turning of the calendar page, it does offer a great time for us to slow down and evaluate where we have been and where we want to go. If you haven’t done that already, then the article about an intentional start to the new year is one you’ll want to read. If you have already taken that hard look into the mirror, I hope God has spoken to you about where he wants you to go and grow. And while it may be scary to take the risk and challenging to make the changes necessary, God promises to be our rock and foundation through all that we face. So go forth and set the new rhythms you need in your life to become the person God created you to be.

AN INTENTIONAL START

We have talked a lot about the importance of intentional planning and evaluation in recent Sunday messages. Here’s an article about how one pastor sits with his wife to start each year and evaluate their spiritual health, relationships, and pace of life.
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SECRET TO SELF-DISCIPLINE

After we evaluate our lives and make decisions about what we want to change, it takes a level of self-discipline to stick with those changes. It’s far easier to revert back to old habits than to stick with the new. So what’s the secret to sticking with those changes?
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10 FRESH WAYS TO READ YOUR BIBLE

A mere 9 percent of Americans read their Bible each day in 2019—the lowest number in a decade of research and decreasing more in the first few months of the pandemic. Perhaps a fresh approach to reading your Bible could help you this year.
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GOD IS A SURE FOUNDATION

MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. What are the spiritual disciplines you need to cultivate to keep connected to God?
2. What are the practices of self-care you need to attend to your body and nurture your soul?
3. What are the gifts, passions, and burdens within you that God wants you to express for the blessing of others this year?

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As pastor Brent described this past Sunday, we tend to make Christmas all about the presents. We remember the best gifts we have received (for me, Nintendo in 1985), we look forward to surprising others with the gifts we carefully picked out for them, and a few of you might currently be worrying about the presents you ordered on Amazon but have not yet arrived! But all of our focus on the presents under our tree are nothing compared to all the gifts God has already given to us. All too often we take these good gifts for granted. We expect them so we fail to cherish them. So I encourage you to take a moment this Christmas season to reflect on all the good things God has given to you in this crazy 2020.

THE GIFT OF LISTENING

We often think that telling people about Jesus is all about our boldness to speak to people (sometimes “at” people). But as we look for opportunities to have spiritual conversations with family members this Christmas, let’s remember to begin by listening.
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PREPARING FOR AN UNUSUAL HOLIDAY

If you find yourself facing down a holiday season that looks nothing like your normal, festive routine, there are some things you and your spouse can do to make it happy and enjoyable for everyone.
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GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

This Sunday, Pastor Brent discussed all the gifts God has given to us, and one of the gifts mentioned were the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In this message from 2015, Pastor Ryan teaches about what this spiritual gifts include – and yes, speaking in tongues is a part of them!
Watch the Message

MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. When you give a gift, think about how you like to see the recipient respond to the gift. Is that how you respond to all the gifts God has lavished on you?
2. We often minimize the gifts God has given to us. We trivialize all the gifts other than salvation, or we act as though by being a good person, we earned his favor. In what ways might you inadvertently minimize the gifts of God?
3. Take a moment to thank God for all the gifts he has given to you:
   • Gift of Salvation
   • Gift of Holy Spirit
   • Gift of Grace
   • Gift of Righteousness
   • Gift of Eternal Life
   • Spiritual Gifts

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When we think about our families, we usually think about those with whom we have a blood connection. Blood is the bond that ties. But this past Sunday we taught how Jesus changed everything by being the new bond that binds us all together as brothers and sisters in the family of God. And with a new, broader, more diverse family, we have new blessings as well as new challenges. But the challenges are no different that those we face with our immediate family. Now our crazy family just got a lot bigger!

CRAZY FAMILIES

The upcoming holiday season, along with the crazy circumstances of this whole year, might have you feeling the weight and strain of family issues more acutely. It can be uncomfortable and stressful, and it can stir up things within yourself that don’t feel great either. This is normal, and it’s okay.
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Q&A: GOD AS FATHER?

What does it mean for God to be our Father? Clearly this is an analogy, and analogies work by comparing something that is hard to grasp with something that is very familiar to us and that we can easily understand. God does this by comparing the relationship he seeks with us to the relationship of a father to his own son or daughter.
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MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Our experience with our own family impacts how we view the family of God, and specifically our relationship to God the Father. Where do you see your experience with family impacting your relationship with others in the church or with God?
2. Have you ever felt incredible love from somebody within the church? How did it make you feel towards that person and towards God?
3. What one extra connection will you make this week with somebody from your family to spread Christmas cheer?

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This past Sunday was all about LIGHT! First Pastor Brent traced the theme of light all through scripture, first with God speaking light into existence, and then with Jesus coming into the world as the very light of God. It should change the way you think about all the Christmas light decorations you see.

Speaking of light decorations. Sunday night we held our Celebration of Lights – to some just a fun light show, but to us at Ashworth, it’s an opportunity to bring a glimmer of joy and peace to a chaotic world in an especially difficult year. And now you have the opportunity, every day, to be light to those around you who are struggling to find their way in a dark year.

AN ADVENT INVITATION

How can Christmas come in the midst of such a confusing time, while our grieving hearts are broken by sickness, death, separation, isolation, injustice, division, and more? I imagine I am not alone in trying to navigate the still-persistent surrealness of this year.
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NETS VS FISHING POLES

When Jesus called some of his disciples, he told them, “Come, follow me, and I will make you fishers of people” (Matthew 4:19). Unfortunately, as Americans, we tend to think of fishing in terms of a fishing pole used to catch a single fish rather than a net used to catch everything. This has major implications for evangelism.
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A CHRISTMAS LIGHT

MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Has there ever been a time you were in complete physical darkness? How did that experience make you feel? 
2. In what way has Jesus brought light to your world?
3. If this light is good, why do people have such a problem with it?
4. What areas of your life might you intentionally or unintentionally be trying to keep hidden in the dark? What fears do you have about bringing them into the light?

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In this groundbreaking devotional book, Peter Scazzero introduces the ancient spiritual discipline of the Daily Office. The basic premise of the Daily Office is simple: We need to intentionally stop to be with God more than once a day so that practicing the presence of God becomes real in our lives.

Our journey will begin on Monday, January 4 and last through Friday, February 26. Coinciding with reading this book together, we are launching a new message series in January around the topics from this book.

If you’re interested in joining us on this journey, let us know in the form below:

OK, so this might not be the best feed, but we are definitely in the most wonderful time of the year, and we have the opportunity to choose to make this Christmas, the Best. Christmas. Ever. But that won’t happen by chance. We have to intentionally use this season of advent to prepare our hearts. We have to focus on what it means that God chose to break into our dark world. We have to ponder how Jesus is still breaking into our lives in this challenging year. And we have to prepare for Jesus to return yet again, making all things right and inviting us all into his Father’s house! So make sure your preparation for Christmas this year includes more than decorating, shopping, and baking. Prepare your heart by focusing on the center of it all: Jesus!

If you would like a daily devotional to focus your heart, try following along with this online devotional.

PREPARING THROUGH ADVENT

Contrary to popular culture, the period leading up to Christmas Day is not the Christmas season; it is Advent. Advent is a time of active preparation, not of passive waiting. Advent reminds us that Christian hope is shaped by what has happened and what’s going to happen again.
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MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. What does it look like for you to eat from Jesus as the tree of life?
2. We all fall into the temptation to seek eternal life from other, false sources. Where are you tempted to go seeking abundant life?
3. Thinking about this message, take a moment to reflect on what your Christmas tree means to you now.

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This Thursday is Thanksgiving and many of us will sit around a dinner table with fewer family members than usual joining us, thinking about what we are thankful for. And while no doubt, 2020 has been a challenging year, God has still been at work this year in your life and mine.

• I’m grateful for the spring I worked from home and took lunch with my wife each day on the deck as the flowers and trees bloomed.
• I’m grateful for the timing of numerous personal trials this year, all of which could be seen as major challenges, but were also impeccably timed to simplify my life.
• I’m grateful to belong to such a healthy church filled with so many people who are actively and intentionally maintaining relationships in the midst of a pandemic.
• I’m grateful that God’s grace doesn’t diminish when our spiritual fervor does. This has been a hard year for us all, but through it all, God has never left our sides.

Now it’s your turn. As you read the articles below and ponder all that has taken place in 2020, take an inventory of all the ways God has been good to you.

COVID-19 SILVER LININGS

This article may not be from a Christian source, but I bet it will help you brainstorm some of the ways God has been good to you this year. And while it may not present a Christian perspective, I see God’s handiwork all through this list.
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WORDS TO ENCOURAGE YOUR HUSBAND

Speaking of encouraging others, here’s a practical article for the wives out there. As a husband reading this article, I can attest that this hits home. Take a look, think about which words of encouragement best fit your husband, and then in a quiet moment, speak those life giving words to him.
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STAYING THANKFUL: PASTOR AMY’s Perspective

You’ve already heard plenty from Pastor Ryan about having an attitude of gratitude at Thanksgiving. But what does Pastor Amy have to say about the topic. Take a look at what she had to say in a blog from 2014. Hint: it’s not a focus on Black Friday shopping!
Read the Article

MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. In what ways do you demonstrate that you are a positive person? What habits do you have that make you a more negative person?
2. Aside from the week of Thanksgiving, how do you incorporate an attitude of gratitude into your life? If you don’t take time to thank God regularly, what could you add to your life to make sure keep gratitude front and center more often?
3. Many people wish they were a more encouraging person than they currently are. What prevents you from being a more encouraging person? How can you remove those barriers?

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Making a mess of life is something we all will inevitably deal with in life – some of us more often than others. Sometimes we damage our relationship with friends or family, sometimes we simply make foolish choices, and other times we make a mess of our relationship with God. No matter the situation, these mistakes we make require us to actively choose to clean up the mess and fix what we have broken. The articles below point us to taking the time to confess our sin to God, heal any emotional damage in our marriage, and stop hiding our secret sins, hoping they will go away on their own. As we heard in this past Sunday’s message, confession needs to be an important part of our everyday lives.

5 WONDERFUL & UNEXPECTED BENEFITS OF CONFESSION

Growing up, I couldn’t bear to hear the word “confession” without getting a knot in my stomach. Nothing sounded more miserable than willingly sharing my wrongdoings with other people—let alone with God. This is probably why I wouldn’t do it unless, of course, I was caught in my sin.
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HOW ARE YOU DOING, REALLY?

Speaking of fall clean-up this past Sunday, we can’t forget how emotional health is vital to not only personal wellbeing, but to healthy relationships–especially marriages. That’s why it’s important for you and your spouse to communicate openly and often about how you’re really doing, emotionally.
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SIN IS SNEAKY

When we look at the very first sin in the Bible, we see a pattern of how sin tries to sneak into our lives and we are given the best antidote to dealing with that insidious sin – confession. Take a moment to look at one of the first blog articles we ever posted to our church website.
Read the Article

Continued Reflection from Sunday

MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Do you view confession as restorative or punitive? Why?
2. Think about a time you have honestly confessed your thoughts and your sins openly to God. What were the benefits you experienced for your openness with God?
3. Consider how you could build a regular time of confession into the rhythm of your life with God. Try it out for a week and notice how your relationship with God grows.

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We hope you don’t mind an abbreviated edition of The Feed this week as both Pastor Brent and Ryan are taking back-to-back weeks of vacation. And while thinking about it, perhaps we could all use a vacation from more articles about the election, or Covid, or all the ways 2020 has been a challenging year.

The Slow Work of God

The longer I’ve lived, the more I’ve become con­vinced of two impor­tant things. First, it’s tru­ly pos­si­ble for a human being to under­go gen­uine spir­i­tu­al trans­for­ma­tion, evi­denced in tan­gi­ble, pos­i­tive changes in char­ac­ter, behav­iour, and inner peace. Sec­ond, such trans­for­ma­tion almost always hap­pens at a pace slow­er than we would expect or desire.
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OUR CORE VALUE: MOVEMENT

Over 5 years ago we released a message series outlining our core values at Ashworth. Movement is one of those values – one we may not have been doing a lot of in 2020, but one which we need to focus on in the coming months as we seek to grow and be fruitful.
View the Message

Continued Reflection from Sunday

MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. How connected have you been to the vine in 2020? What’s keeping you from remaining?
2. Where have you been fruitful in 2020?
3. Continue the practice of Lectio Divina with Matthew 6:33. Read through the passage four times. Read and listen. Read and reflect. Read and respond. Read and rest.

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In our always-on culture, it’s easy to feel like you always need to be producing. When I’m at work, I’m always looking for the next item to cross off my to-do list. And then I get home and the tasks may change but my mindset doesn’t. Clean the house, do the laundry, touch up paint on the wall, trim the bushes, take the kids to the park, return the clothes that didn’t fit, pay the utility bill, schedule dinner with friends… I could go on and on and on. From the moment I wake up to the moment I lay my head down, I feel like I need to be doing something productive. I need to be moving the ball of my life forward.

Perhaps you can relate. Most people I talk to have that feeling of too much to do and not enough time. Even in this pandemic, after the first few weeks of feeling out of sorts with nothing to do, we found new ways to fill our time. Sure our kids’ activities were cancelled in the evenings, but that didn’t stop us from tackling house projects we had been putting off or taking up new hobbies like sewing or gardening that sucked up huge amounts of time.

Never Fully Recharged

Ironically, while we like to think we are strong and efficient and able to be 110% productive each day, if you are anything like me, you probably spend more time than you like to admit sitting in a chair or lying in bed soaking up mindless media from a glowing screen. Our idea of being fully productive actually drains our batteries more than we might imagine and it leaves us instead reaching for the remote – sometimes before we even cross one item off our to-do list.

Perhaps we are doing things all wrong. Rather than thinking we are all super human and capable of ceaseless work, what if we acknowledged our humanity, our finiteness, and our need for real rest. Not just dream-about-the-one-week-of-vacation-rest that you probably cancelled during Covid, but real, recharging, life-giving rest.

The Value of Seasons

Here is where we can take a lesson from the woods. As a kid we all learned about the four seasons and how trees bud their leaves in spring and then lose their leaves in the fall. But there is actually so much more that goes on as the seasons turn.

You see, sometimes the tree is moving energy in the form or sap and sugars from the roots up to the leaves to grow taller and reach for more sunshine. Their roots and branches actually grow the most in the late spring when water is abundant. In the summer it is actually “breathing” through the leaves as it photosynthesizes the sun’s rays to make more sugars. Then as summer turns to fall, the trees prepare for the inevitable cooldown and dormancy of another winter. The trees stop using the sugar to produce more growth and instead store those sugars in little buds for the following spring, knowing that winter is approaching. They accept it is impossible to be constantly growing, constantly producing. So they settle into a rhythm. You see, a tree’s growth is not at all constant. It ebbs and it flows, hence why we can count the rings of a tree to tell how old it is. The growth in late spring produces light colored wood while the summer growth with less water creates darker wood.

We see this same example of ebbs and flows in how we should do work set for us by God himself. From the earliest pages of our Bible, we see God create humanity to be productive, but also to take time to rest. In Genesis 1:28 God gives us the command to, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” And then in Genesis 2:2-3 we see how even God rested from his labor: By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.  Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. 

Not only did God show us a pattern of weekly rest, but then as he gave the law to the Israelites, he specified special holy days and annual festivals for the people to come together and celebrate (Leviticus 23:1-44). He set aside time to stop producing, stop trying to be always-on, but to rest, to recover, and to prepare for yet another year of planting and harvesting.

Enjoy the Often Changing Seasons of Your Life

If this pandemic has taught us anything, hopefully it is the value of healthy rhythms and rest in your life. It is OK to go home after a day of work and not try to tackle a single project or rush any kids to activities. But rather than vegging out in front of a screen, find something beneficial to really recharge your batteries. Enjoy a night on the deck or a walk down a trail. Have dinner with a friend or unwind with good conversation around the table with your family. Yes, in some seasons you will be busy with activity, but other seasons you need to step away and slow down.

Following the schedule God has set for us, each week, you need to take a sabbath and truly breath. Connect with God, thank him for the work you have done, and recharge. Annually, you should find time to be “dormant” from your job. It’s healthy for you to remember the company or organization you work for will survive without you. And it’s freeing to let go of the pressure to always be producing.

God created seasons which the created world around us naturally follows. The question is, will we learn this wisdom from the woods and follow it’s lead?

I know we are all facing election fatigue. Yet at the end of this race, I’m sure many of us are also anxiously awaiting the results of today’s contests. One thing’s for sure: political ads are finally over!

While the political season can draw us all in to unhealthy ways of thinking, Christians are called to view their political affiliations and their response to the government around them differently. Many of the articles and videos below challenge us to keep Jesus as the center of our lives, regardless of the outcome of today’s elections.

4 WAYS CHRISTIANS SHOULD RESPOND TO THE ELECTION

Today is Election Day in the United States. Every election has winners and losers. Rarely do either respond well. Converge president Scott Ridout’s concern for how the church responds to this election runs deep. He shares four ways Scripture tells Christians to respond, no matter who wins or loses. Read the Article

SEASONS OF LIFE

In an always-on world, even during a pandemic, we struggle to find true rest and turn off our mindset telling us we have to be productive. But when you look at the trees, they don’t produce new growth year round. Instead they read the season and adjust accordingly. Read More

THE DAY AFTER AN ELECTION: NOVEMBER 9, 2016

Take a look at Pastor Brent’s blog from the day after the last presidential election: “Congratulations, America. You’ve survived another election. But are you like me, did you feel like there was something different about this election? Something more divisive. Something nastier….” 
Read the Blog

Because It’s Just Fun to Hear

MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. How might the world’s opinion of Christians be different if Christians were better known for genuine celebration?
2. If you haven’t already, take a moment to really reflect on what God has done in your life in 2020 and give him thanks for it all.
3. What can you do in your daily / weekly habits to be more aware of God’s goodness in your life and celebrate what he has done?

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Obedience to Jesus is a willingness to yield every part of your life to what he desires for you. This includes the obvious behaviors we are told to avoid in the Bible, but it’s so much more. Obedience includes how you manage your relationships, your willingness to share the Gospel with others, how you use your time and money to serve, and even how you vote. As such, below is an assortment of articles encouraging us obey Jesus in various facets of life. Our hope is that you will ponder Sunday’s message about obedience, read some of these articles, take a look at the discussion questions from the message at the bottom of this feed, and truly consider where Jesus wants you to better align your will with his own.

YOUR RELATIONSHIP WINTERIZATION CHECKLIST

Winterizing is basically adapting or preparing something for use in the winter. The idea is that you know a new season is coming, and you’re taking proactive measures to avoid ending up in a less-than-ideal situation. Something to consider if whether your relationship needs winterizing? Here are four questions to sit down and cover with your partner. Read More

7 COMMON CONNECTORS FOR PEOPLE

As we head into the winter months, it’s as important as ever to find ways to connect with one another. Take a look at 7 common connections you might have with others which you can leverage to build deeper relationships. But the only way to find what you have in common is to reach out to others and setup coffee or pick up the phone. Read More

OBEDIENCE ALWAYS BRINGS BLESSING

We often consider obedience as a SACRIFICE of our wants and desires to what Jesus wants instead. But what if you reframed obedience to Jesus as a blessing for your life? Here are three reasons why obedience is critical to the successful Christian life. Read More

HOW WOULD JESUS VOTE

In 2013, Pastor Ryan wrote a blog asking the question, “How Would Jesus Vote?” Since then, the issues haven’t changed, but only become more contentious.
Read Ryan’s Blog

And if you prefer Pastor Brent’s thoughts on the political divide, he also has a blog from 2013 asking if our party affiliation is getting in the way of following Jesus. Read Brent’s Blog

MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Are you more compliant or strong-willed? How easy is it for you to obey when someone asks (or requires) something of you? Why do you think this is?
2. How have you tried to substitute other things, like religious activity or legalism for obedience to God?
3. Is God calling you to obedience in some area of your life? If so, what area and what is one tangible action you can do this week to move toward obedience in that area?

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Sunday’s message reminded us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers of our dark world. This couldn’t be more evident than when we think about the political climate in America. The first article by well-respected theologian Darrell Bock shines a light on how Christians should engage the culture given this very different world we now live in. This includes praying against the spiritual forces working behind the scenes to divide.

Or, if you want a break from thinking about all the cultural changes you deal with daily, take a look at the article Rooted Together which takes wisdom found in the woods and applies it to our spiritual lives. No matter what you read, we hope the content below encourages your faith journey. And even better if you find someone to discuss it with!

RESET THE RULES OF CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT

My friends often ask me “Why are people so angry?” and they are talking about almost everybody, including even fellow believers. What are thoughtful believers to do? How should we then engage when our tried-and-true strategies don’t reflect the new world we live in? Read More

ROOTED TOGETHER

Check out a new blog series Pastor Ryan is writing called, Wisdom from the Woods where he explains spiritual truths from lessons he sees in nature. Today’s post teaches the advantages of trees being rooted together rather than apart from other trees and how that applies to our connection with the church. Read More

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

One of the best books on the topic of Spiritual War is The Invisible War by Chip Ingram. If this topic is one you want to learn more about, we highly recommend you read this book to learn about the war that rages around you and how you can fight back in the power you have in Jesus. Read More

IS GOD A WHITE, MALE, REPUBLICAN?

As the upcoming election approaches, it’s important to remember where our allegiance as Christians lies. Too often we have tied our faith to a political party, and in this message Pastor Brent unpacks what the Bible truly shows us about God’s political agenda.
Watch the Message

MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. What is the problem with going through life without recognizing the fact there is a spiritual battle all around?
2. Where can you join God’s cosmic battle against spiritual darkness this week? What will you commit to pray regularly for?

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One interesting fact about me is that I love the woods (or as we call it in Iowa, timber). I love learning about trees, taking pictures throughout all the seasons, and sitting still in a tree stand to observe wildlife. Perhaps that’s why green is my favorite color.

Often as I sit quietly in the woods praising God for his beauty, or as I read books by others with a love of trees, I see spiritual lessons which apply to our own lives as followers of Jesus. For a long time I’ve wanted to record these lessons, and this blog series, Wisdom from the Woods, is going to be my attempt to share with you some of the amazing lessons God has taught me through my understanding of the woods.

Tree Roots

We’ve all heard the importance roots have to a tree. In school, we were taught how big the tree roots are under the ground, how the roots hold the tree in place in wind storms, and how they pull water and nourishment up to the tree trunk, branches, and leaves from the ground to allow it to grow,

But in good American fashion, we probably all think of tree roots in terms of an individual tree. Each tree has its own roots. And those roots help that one tree. Big trees have big roots and small trees have small roots. Living trees have living roots and when you cut down a tree you kill the tree, and in time, it’s roots. Or so we think…

Stronger Together

Something we typically fail to reflect on is that in the woods, where trees are crowded together, all their roots extend into one another’s space, overlapping and becoming interconnected. No tree really has its own root system, but becomes a part of a much larger shared root system under the ground.

As trees become rooted together, the trees gain some incredible advantages over the single maple tree you have planted all alone in your front yard.

1. Increased Stability – High winds put tremendous pressure on a trees roots to stay grounded and not be ripped out of the earth. Often when storms rip through a community, it’s the solo trees which are knocked over, unable to withstand the wind pushing against the leaves and the branches. But when a tree’s roots are intertwined with others, the stabilizing effect is multiplied. Not only do the cluster of the crowns of the trees reduce the force of the wind on any given tree, but the roots increase their staying power.
2. Shared Nourishment – In Germany a 5 foot wide tree stump was discovered which had been cut down between 400-500 years ago, yet it was still producing chlorophyll – proof that the stump, which had no way to photosynthesize sunlight, was still alive. How is this even possible? Because the shared root system of multiple trees around has allowed the nourishment created in the healthy living trees to feed this old stump which was unable to feed itself.
3. Warning Communication – This is the most fascinating of the tree facts I’ve recently learned, but I bet you didn’t know that trees actually send super-slow electrical impulses through their root system to communicate distress to one another. This shared communication network helps young trees know to prepare for the draught the older trees perceive to be coming. If one tree senses danger, it responds in a way that allows all the other connected trees know to prepare.

Note: If these facts fascinate you as much as they do me, you can read more here.

The Value of Being Rooted Together in a Church

Now as we look at the benefits trees receive from having their roots intertwined with one another in the woods rather than living a solitary life in your front yard, I think the spiritual parallels are striking. As followers of Jesus we need to be rooted together for:

1. Strength – Life is hard and if you aren’t currently facing a storm in life, you know one will be coming… soon. Surviving those challenging times, those crises of faith alone is not only dangerous, but foolish. Too often Christians abandon their faith (are uprooted from the ground) because they aren’t strong enough on their own to withstand the challenges of life. So they give up on God. But it doesn’t have to be that way. When you are rooted with other Christians, your lack of faith and your doubts can be buttressed by the faith of others encouraging you and standing in the gap in prayer for you. The faith of others can give you strength when you have run out!
2. Support – Following Jesus requires that we be taking in nourishment so we can grow in our faith. Jesus calls himself the bread of life and tells his followers to come and eat. But there are times in life when we experience a spiritual drought. Sometimes it is called the dark night of the soul. It’s those moments in life where Jesus feels distant or we wonder where God is. Bible reading becomes dry and our prayers feel like they are falling on deaf ears. We lose our spiritual vitality and don’t know what to do. And in these moments, we must rely on those around us to support, encourage, and nourish our tired souls.
3. Wisdom – Our church is full of people who have experienced a lot of life, who have gone through the ups and downs and know how to survive through it all. They have wisdom and warnings to share with those who are younger which can save them lot of pain. But apart from intergenerational connections, lessons learned from the past will never be leveraged to protect others in the future.

Yes, you can try to be a solo Christian living alone, keeping other Christians at arm’s length, but do so at your own risk. When the storms of life or the spiritual draught come, and they will, you will be on your own to persevere. When life cuts you down to size, nobody will be there to nourish you in your brokenness. And you will have to learn all your lessons the hard way without anyone warning you from past experiences.

So yes, you can try growing in your faith all alone, but why? The advantages of taking time to grow deep roots within a community of faith who will love, protect, nourish, and warn you are too great to live without!

We hope these first few weeks of the Ashworth Feed have delivered content to encourage and challenge you in your walk with Jesus. But beyond giving you different angles to consider as you grow in your faith, we hope some of these articles might allow you to step into a spiritual conversation with a co-worker, friend, or family member.

Despite what you may think, most people aren’t hostile to Christian beliefs, they just never think about the things we do. And in fact, most people are open to having a spiritual conversation if you ask questions and engage them in their thoughts rather than just telling them what you believe. So this week, we challenge you to listen to the Spirit of God and have the courage to SAY YES if he prods you to step into a spiritual conversation with somebody else. Get out of the boat and watch God show up!

POLITICAL RIPTIDES RIP US APART

Christ’s followers tread dangerous waters when trying to navigate America’s socio political currents. Yet, religious undercurrent mandates we stay calm and not panic as cultural oceans roil. This week’s news article encourages you to evaluate how you tie your political ideology to your religious beliefs. Read More

3 QUESTIONS TO BE A BETTER LEADER

This article may be written for pastors, but these 3 questions apply to leaders in business, social organizations, and even parents who are responsible for leading their families. Consider how you might be able to improve your leadership over those God has entrusted to your leadership. Read More

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Saying Yes to God can be terrifying, but failing to do so might leave you to miss out on the adventure of your life. See how Moses saying Yes to God at the burning bush transformed both his life and human history.
Watch the Message

New Song on Sundays

MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. How risk averse are you? What do you think contributes to this?
2. Of the list of obstacles that hold us back from exercising our faith, what one or two are the greatest obstacles for you?
3. Is there something you feel God is calling you to do now? If so, what is it? What could cause you to hesitate or say no?

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It’s been 2 days since our message about hearing God speak to us. How have you done creating space for God to speak to you, creating time to sit and be still and actually be able to hear what he has to say? If you haven’t yet made time to sit and be still and listen for God’s whisper, that’s okay. Take the time you were going to spend perusing the articles below, and instead sit quietly for a moment and see if God has anything to share with you.

If you have already made time to sit with God, awesome! We hope you enjoy the articles below. And if you read them with a listening ear, perhaps God will use them to speak to you again. We especially like the article about the Social Dilemma which is available on Netflix. If you haven’t watched the film yet, it would make for a great conversation starter with your children or grandchildren.

IN THE NEWS

The Social Dilemma on Netflix explores how social media sites are specifically designed to serve up a perfectly curated and addictive online world where companies profit from tracking our every digital interaction. The experts focus on the many symptoms associated with social media, but they don’t pinpoint the underlying cause of the disease, the deep-seated nature of sin. Read More

5 MARRIAGE PROBLEMS AND HOW TO TACKLE THEM

Every married couple must overcome problems over the course of their relationship. Obstacles are part of life. Everyone faces them, but couples have the privilege of facing them together. Here we break down five everyday marriage problems most couples will encounter at sometime in their relationship. Read More

LISTENING PRAYER

Prayer and action are as insep­a­ra­ble as lov­ing God and lov­ing one’s neigh­bor are insep­a­ra­ble. And so life is nev­er bor­ing: There’s no bet­ter place than to be on the jour­ney with God. Read More

21 DAY EQUITY CHALLENGE

Consider signing up to join this powerful opportunity for shared learning, action, and growth. Through a daily email that leads you through a self-guided journey, central Iowans are invited to develop a deeper understanding of how inequity and racism affect our lives and our community. Find Out More about the Challenge

FROM THE ARCHIVES

It probably shouldn’t surprise you that we have talked about God speaking to us on a Sunday morning before. In 2016 we did a message series on prayer where we discussed how communication with God through prayer involves both speaking and listening.
Read the Message Transcript

MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Take a moment to reflect on what it means that the God of the universe wants to speak to you.
2. What has been your biggest barrier to hearing God speak to you?
3. What action can you take to be prepared to hear God the next time he speaks to you?

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This past Sunday we talked about how we need to look for God’s active work in our lives and this coming Sunday we will be discussing how to hear when God speaks to us. These simple acts of seeing and hearing God are what it means to have a relationship with the God who created us for relationship with him. And it is an incredible opportunity which the Infinite One offers us to commune with him , one we hope you take full advantage of.

And not only does he offer it to each of us, but we can show others how the God we love wants to have a relationship with them as well. He is at work in their lives, even if they don’t see it, and he is trying to speak to them – because he loves them so much!

So we hope you find time and space this week to have a spiritual conversation with somebody about what you are hearing on Sundays or about any of the articles in this edition of The Ashworth Feed.

IN THE NEWS

The passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and all the political drama of the moment hides a beautiful lesson we can all learn from her – the friendship of political opponents who valued one another as people, although seeing the world through very different perspectives. The world should know us by our love… so may we love even those who are very different than ourselves. Read More

Spiritual Growth

We’re in the wilderness. All our ideas of what work, school, and church should be have been thrown to the winds. We can relate to the Israelites, wandering in the desert, ripped from their regular routines and comfort, longing for what used to be. And I’m beginning to wonder if we’re more like them than we realize. Read More

How To: Spiritual Conversations

There’s no way around it. Sharing the good news of Jesus with people who will likely reject you is terrifying. Yet lately, some of my peers and I have noticed an interest among our friends in deeper conversations.
Read More

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Did you know our website is fully searchable? We have over 5 years of sermons and blogs easily searchable so if you are curious about what we have said about parenting or money or 2 Chronicles, you can easily find it.
See How to Search our Website

MESSAGE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Why do you think it is so hard for people to see the work of God in life?
2. Where have you see God at work in your life since this pandemic began?
3. What action can you take this week to join where you see God moving in your life or around you?

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Text Search

From any page on the website, you can search all of the text in messages, blogs, or pages on our site. Just click the magnifying glass in the menu header. You may be surprised at how much information you find.

Message Search

If you follow our Media link in the menu to our Messages page, you can search all of our messages by topic, series, book of the Bible, or speaker. In the lower right corner of the header image is a group of all the pull down options to help you search through our extensive database of archived messages. Some messages have full transcripts of the message while others may have only an audio file (older messages) or video file (more recent messages).

This is our inaugural issue of the Ashworth Feed, a weekly email full of content meant to encourage and help you move forward in your faith. Statistics show that many Christians have put their faith on pause, reading the Bible less, praying less, and attending church much less. As our new sermon series declares, it’s time for us to UNPAUSE our lives, including our lives with God. And we understand, during this pandemic, with all the restrictions and limits, it has been more challenging to be growing spiritually. So we hope this will provide you each week with stories, articles, videos, and other features to help you experience all that God has for you.

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IN THE NEWS

Here are 7 church trends every church leader should be watching in light of the disruption this pandemic has been on our culture and churches.
Read More

FROM THE ARCHIVES

The theme of God bringing life into dead things runs all through the pages of scripture. Here’s another challenging message from Jesus’ own words about the transformation he offers us from death to life.
Listen to Pastor Brent’s Message

message discussion questions

We hope the message from each Sunday sticks with you beyond the Sunday morning worship service. Take a moment to consider the questions below, and even better, talk to somebody (who attends the church or doesn’t) about them.

1. Ezekiel explains how the bones were very dry.  What part of your life feels “very dry” and almost hopeless?  What makes it feel so dry?
2. Why do you think God didn’t raise the bones to life himself?  Why is this significant to the story and to your own life?

Take for instance, the banner image of this post. How many of you noticed that the image changed each week, gradually moving from a dark, dreary image to the bright one at the top of this page?

This is just one small example of how minor changes, small steps, go unnoticed, but over time add up to making a huge difference. When comparing the trees from one week to another, the shift was minor, but when you compare the far left image with the far right image you see how dramatic the change has been.

In the same way, as you committed to participate daily in the Quarantined Challenge, I’m doubtful you noticed any change from day to day in how you were growing in your faith or becoming more like Jesus. But over the course of the month, have you noticed any change in yourself? Have you developed the important habit of making time for Jesus? Have you been stretched to think in new and different ways about God’s work in this world? And if you continue to do this, day after day, month after month, I guarantee you will see noticeable growth in your Christian maturity.

So that is our challenge to you now. As we have finished our 30 day journey, you are now at a new starting line – the month of June. Where will you go from here? How will you continue to take small steps that add up to make a big difference?

We live in a day when there are countless sources of reading plans and content. If you don’t have a reading plan or any devotional content you know you like, perhaps you can try one of these options:

• The Bible App – this app for your Android device or iPhone/iPad is full of Bible reading and devotional plans that you can choose from.
• Rick Warren’s Daily Devotional – this daily devotional written by Rick Warren of Saddleback Church is very popular and inspiring. Plus you can have it delivered straight to your email inbox.
• She Reads Truth – this is a popular daily devotional written for women which is popular with several women in our church. This can also be emailed to you daily.
• Poor Bishop Hooper – this is a Christian band who write content straight out of scripture. If you really connected with the Worship Wednesday songs, you might enjoy signing up to receive an email each week with a new song they wrote from the Psalms.
• Ashworth at Home – join a family or two from the church and worship together and then discuss the message using the discussion questions provided each week during our New Normal series.

So today I encourage you to find a comfortable and quiet place to sit. And close your eyes and sit in silence, focussing on the heart and attributes of God. Think about who he is, what he has done, and why he deserves your worship. While your mind may wander, challenge yourself to quietly gaze upon God for 5 minutes.

TODAY’S JOURNALING REFLECTIONS

• How did this soul-gazing prayer make you feel? Why?
• What was most challenging about sitting in silence before God?
• Reflect on anything that might have surprised you about your time with God. Did your mind wander to any unusual thoughts or did you hear God speak to you?

• Coping & Addiction (View Message)
• Marriage & Family (View Message)
• Mental  Health (View Message)
• Healthy Spiritual Rhythms (View Message)

Through all 4 messages of this powerful series we interview experts in each of these areas to gain incredibly practical information about how we can find wholeness and health in every area of our lives.

And if you have a struggle you’re dealing with and want to talk with somebody about it, let us know here and we’ll follow up to discuss with you how we can help.

Perhaps you’ve been on the receiving end of a child shouting this at you.  Often this statement is the result of the child feeling slighted or left out of something.  And at the heart of this exclamation is their desire for you, the authority, to make sure things are equal, right, and fair for everyone.  At sporting events (remember those), grown men are looking for essentially the same thing as they yell, “C’mon, Ref!”  It’s our innate desire to make sure that people or teams are treated equally – especially US and OUR teams.

It’s important to recognize this internal drive for fairness stems from the image of God which has been imprinted onto each and every one of us from the moment we were created.  You see, we worship a God of justice, a God of holiness, and a God who is perfect in all his ways.  And he has put a desire to experience justice into each of our hearts. 

The problem is that sin has marred our internal compasses.  We have lost track of what is fair and what is right.  We tend not to be very objective when evaluating if people are treating us fairly. I can think of numerous times I felt like I wasn’t being treated fairly, but when trying to prove my point actually proved that factually, I had nothing to complain about.  But I digress.

All this brings me to my main point – as God’s children on this earth, given God’s nature inside us, we are called to bring God’s justice and fairness to all of God’s creation.  And while we may be really good at looking out for ourselves and our own families — and making sure WE are treated fairly — God wants more from us.  He wants us to be people who seek justice for EVERYONE!  We are called to extend God’s fairness to all the dark corners of this earth.  

Unfortunately, injustice often remains hidden in the shadows.  Yes, we may occasionally come face to face with a social injustice we should help correct, but much more often the injustices are systematic and imperceivable to the masses.  Without seeking to educate ourselves on these injustices, we go along with the flow, sometimes even contributing to inequality in other’s lives.  

So today I challenge you to spend some extra time thinking about an injustice in this world that you are passionate about or one you would like to learn more about and do the following:

• Take time to pray for those who are facing that specific injustice and for God’s justice to prevail
• Educate yourself more on this injustice – perhaps by searching for organizations that fight against it or watching a documentary on Netflix about it
• Join the fight and move beyond awareness of an issue to actively engaging in bringing God’s justice and fairness to all people on this earth.

A great resource to help you think through possible injustices in this world is a message given by a famous preacher most of you have heard of, our very own Amy Becker, who spoke about this topic from Micah 6:8. You can watch it here.

TODAY’S JOURNAL REFLECTIONS

• Where in this world do you see injustice that makes you feel deep sorrow or anger?
• Did you know that God experiences the same grief and anger for that very same issue.  Take a moment to reflect on the fact that God hates the same injustices you hate. How does that make you feel about God?
• What is one action item you will take today to educate yourself further about the injustice you want to join God in correcting?

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 

We often think of ourselves as God’s children, beloved by our heavenly father. But we are also told in this verse that we are a “royal priesthood, a holy nation…” Not only are we part of God’s family, but we are all priests in God’s kingdom. As priests, we are Holy, set apart for God’s use in this world. Too often we think that our actions, our living without sin are what make us holy. But it’s God who marks us as holy, and then how we live should flow out of that designation of consecrated for Him.

TODAY’S JOURNALING REFLECTIONS

• Reflect on the idea that your holiness is not earned by your behavior but is bestowed on you by Almighty God.
• When you consider that God sees you as a royal priest, how does that influence how you view your own responsibilities as a Christian?
• How does your holiness reflect the wonderful light to the dark world?

Today we pause to pray for those who are poor and powerless and are struggling in significant ways dealing with the health and financial fallout from this global pandemic.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you that you are a God who provides and protects, a God who knows the number of hairs on each child’s head. In this moment, we ask you to care for those who are at increased risk to suffer from the consequences of COVID-19:

• We pray for the millions of people who are now unemployed and are struggling to figure out how to pay their bills and feed their family.
• We pray for the elderly who live in retirement homes and need the level of nursing care provided by the homes, but are are higher risk to becoming COVID positive because they live in community housing.
• We pray for the immigrant families who live paycheck to paycheck, often working jobs in close quarters with others, if not layed off entirely.
• We pray for the children whose primary place of safety and security was found by going to school each day, being fed a warm lunch, and being loved on by a teacher.
• We pray for those in nations around the globe who lack access to medical professionals if they come down with this virus.

God, we ask that you would provide for those who feel unable to deal with the disruption this pandemic has brought to our world. We ask that you would give them health, give them hope, and ultimately, that through loving followers of Jesus, that they would experience your love and compassion which extends to ALL people.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

TODAY’S JOURNAL REFLECTIONS

• We worship a God who does not show favoritism and has endless resources. Take a moment to thank God that his grace extends to all people.
• Who in your life has been hit especially hard by this pandemic? Pray for that person right now.
• How could you sacrifice this week so that somebody else might experience God’s abundance?

In the same way, we have a Heavenly father who wants us to simply sit with him in his company.  He wants us to let our souls find rest in him, find peace in him, and find a deep sense of joy by sitting with him.  He doesn’t require that we ask him for anything, though we may.  And he doesn’t call for us to sit with him in any prescribed way.  He simply wants us to BE with him. 

We see an example of what it means to just sit at the feet of Jesus when we look at the story of Mary and Martha.  Martha was busy with preparing everything for those who came over to her home, something to which many of us can.  But Mary, her sister, was focused solely on Jesus.  Luke 10:39 tells us “Mary sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught.”  Yes, Mary could have joined Martha in DOING something for the Lord, but she instead took the opportunity to just sit, BE with him, and listen.

Today, given the disruption to our schedules and the socially distanced world we live in, Jesus is inviting us to take a moment and quietly sit with him.  He wants us to turn our attention from all that we could be doing, or from all the anxieties weighing down our hearts and to instead focus on him.  Focus on who he is: his character, his glory, his infinite nature.  Or focus on what he has done: in creating the universe, living a life worth following, dying for our sins, and rising from the dead to show us new life awaits. 

And as you sit with Jesus, take a deep breath and allow the worries of your life to fade into the background. Then listen to what he is speaking to your heart.  Allow his words and his wisdom to guide you and to transform your heart.  Feel the warmth of his love and the stillness of his peace. And watch as he takes this moment of quietly staring into his face and he develops inside each of you a desire to be like him and be with him even more. 

Today’s Journaling Reflections:

• In general, are you more hardwired to “Do Things” or to “Be With”?
• How does the idea of sitting quietly with God for an extended time make you feel?
• What barriers exist that hold you back from spending time alone with God?
• Have you ever had an experience of sitting quietly with God when you felt his presence was right there with you? If so, take a moment to remember how that felt. If not, ask another Christian if they have ever had that experience.

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.

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 be held onto for ourselves, but if it is good news for us, then we should believe it is good news for everyone we care about.

In this time of anxiety, worry, and fears of what lies ahead, ask God to give you opportunity in your regular conversations with family and friends to be able to share how your relationship with Jesus offers you peace and hope.

Today’s Journaling Reflections:

• How has your own relationship with Jesus helped you through difficult times in the past? Through this time of isolation?
• Who are one or two people you can pray for today that you might have the opportunity to share with them your hope in Jesus?
• We are more likely to share our faith with others when we feel that closeness with Jesus ourselves. Take a moment now to “worship Christ as Lord of your life.”

Here’s where one incredible (and patient) youth worker took the opportunity to step in and help a youth reach that milestone. Last year, every Wednesday before youth began (and for about 15 minutes into our meal together) one of our youth leaders allowed a youth to drive his own car on the journey toward learning to drive. For the first month, I don’t think they left the parking lot and the rest of us had to be careful where we walked! But over time, week in and week out, this teen gained experience and confidence.

Fast forward to this summer, and this youth now has a driver’s license and even a car of their own. But the story doesn’t end here. Upon seeing the car, the youth leader invited the teen over to his house and spent a Sunday afternoon detailing the car, inside and out!

I love this story because it shows the value of intergenerational relationships in our church. It’s a beautiful picture of how Jesus is glorified when people come together like a family to support one another.

Where’s an opportunity for you to invest in a person’s life, to help where there’s a need, and to show the love of Jesus to someone in the family of God?

In the message, I focused on those times when we can relate to the widow in need – all those times we feel like we don’t know how we will get through a difficult situation – and how we must trust God will provide.

But there’s a second perspective I think we should consider from this short story:

What if you aren’t the widow in the story, but what if God has put you in a position to be the neighbor?

You see, without the neighbors who graciously agreed to give her their empty jars, this miracle could never have happened. It’s so easy to focus on the miracle of the unending oil, but before that moment, there were neighbors saying yes to help this widow in need.

Maybe you have people in your life who have needs God wants to meet. And perhaps God is looking to you to be the generous and loving way he meets their needs. So this week, keep your eyes open for people who are asking for empty jars you might be able to offer.

Neighborhood Prayer Walk
Take 30 minutes and go for a purposeful walk around your neighborhood. Not sure what to do? We made a simple prayer walk guide for ideas and instructions.

View Prayer Walk Guide

Park Clean Up
Take a walk to your local park (Ashworth Church has adopted Jaycee Park) with a garbage bag and spend some time cleaning up trash–we look forward to the days of playing outside with neighbors and friends again! If you do decide to help clean up a park, make sure you do two things:

Record Your Time Cleaning a Park

Medical Professional Mask-Making
Have a sewing machine and basic sewing skills? Clinics and hospitals all around our city are in need of masks. Here’s a link to the Unity Point approved pattern.

View Approved Pattern

Cards and Calls
Are you missing Ashworth Church friends and find yourself wondering about people? Here’s a link to the church directory. Pick a few names and send a card or make a phone call to check on them.

Our church directory is stored in Breeze, our church management system. By logging in there, you can see other peoples contact info, view your donations, and even change your own profile picture! If you have never set up an account, click the Create Account link under the green button.

View Church Directory

Giving Locally
Feeling a nudge to give to the most vulnerable in this time? DMARC food pantry is a ministry we have faithfully supported and with lay-offs, furloughs, and Covid-19 related challenges, there are more people experiencing food insecurity in our city than ever before. Consider donating.

Make a Donation and be sure to select DMARC

Let Us Know How You Participated

If you helped clean up a park, make sure to print this form, fill it out, and email the church (info@ashworth.church) and we’ll help you turn in the form to us. If you did a prayer walk or made medical masks, please fill out the form below.

Brent and Ryan in the Morning S1 Ep27 – Bread of Life, the Know-it-All, and a Father at Work

Brent and Ryan in the Morning S1 Ep26 – Dead Faith, Midnight Confessions, and the Johns

Brent and Ryan in the Morning S1 Ep25 – Greater than everything, beyond the basics, and submission.

Brent and Ryan in the Morning S1 Ep21 – Missing Shepherds, Memorizing Scripture, and Repeating Sermons.

Brent and Ryan in the Morning S1 Ep20 – Old Testament Shout Outs, Flames of Hell, Where’s the Levity?

Brent and Ryan in the Morning S1 Ep19 – The original streaker, the right question, and snake handling.

Brent and Ryan in the Morning S1 Ep18 – A bit of Deja Vu, Ryan gets a B, and what’s the messianic secret?

Brent and Ryan in the Morning S1 Ep17 – Filming Beach Week on location, Paul throws some shade, elders lead, and Mark’s off to the races.

Over the past year, perhaps you have noticed several small but impactful changes these teams made around Ashworth. We now offer prayer up front after each message. We have a more clearly defined invitation to follow Jesus at the end of most messages.  We launched more discipleship groups and mentoring groups, with over 30 people now involved in some discipling relationship in addition to the consistently strong attendance in our Sunday school classes.  Soon you will see changes to how we receive the offering and how we discuss the opportunity each of us has to respond to God’s goodness to us through generosity.   

All of these steps may seem minor, but I’ll remind you, Rome wasn’t built in a day.  Over the past year, we have become better at connecting our outreach events with opportunities to tell others about Jesus.  We have connected more people in discipling relationships and are training all of our discipleship leaders to help every person take their next step, whatever that next step may be.  And we have even found more creative and effective ways to share with you the stories of how people here at Ashworth are living out the mission for which we all strive. 

I can’t wait to see how this church will continue to grow and shift, not for change’s sake, but so we may more effectively minister to the families who call Ashworth home as well as those who don’t yet.  While I don’t know everything God has in store for this church, I do know all these small steps taken over the past 12 months will be the beginning of something much greater.  Just like how a snowball starts as something very small in one person’s hand, it doesn’t take long before it requires a group of kids to move the huge snowball. In the same way, we know the efforts of all those who have participated in these teams are just the beginning of helping this church introduce more people to Jesus and develop them into mature and generous followers of Jesus.

So to everyone who participated in the StratOp process for 30 hours last February, Thank You!  To everyone who participated in one of our WIN teams to help us improve our processes as a church, Thank You!  And to everyone who cares about this church and our goal to see more and more people’s lives’ changed, Contact Us and let us know you want to get involved.  We’ll never see the impact we desire to see without everyone taking their next step towards Jesus, growing in their faith and their generosity, serving through their gifts, and getting behind the mission of this church to help us push forward.  

Special Thanks go out to:

Our Strategic Team: Noel Turk, Jerry Chapman, Shirley Andre, Dave Richards, Josiah Carter, Janine Maynes, Tiffani Brown, Donnie Moran, Suki Joseph, Ryan Lenerz, and Brent Clark

Our Evangelism Team: Suki Joseph (Lead), Jerry Chapman, Hannah Clark, Amanda Murphy, Scott Oswald, and Amy Becker 

Our Discipleship Team: Ryan Lenerz (Lead), Ann Chapman, Donnie Moran, Noel Turk, Trisha Wheelock, Stephen Jacob, Tiffani Brown, and Matthew Becker

Our Generosity Team: Josiah Carter (Lead), Aaron Turk, Luke McDonald, Ryan Brown, Jen Ballard,  Lynn Oswald, Tim Schoepf, and Jude Ashwanth

Family Fridays

Every Friday join the West Des Moines community at Jaycee Park for a free lunch hosted by Ashworth Road Baptist Church. Kids will love playing games, joining in on a craft, and seeing their friends. Parents and caretakers will love that they don’t have to worry about lunch—it’s a win-win all around. Plus they’ll be so tired from all of the afternoon’s activities that you might even be able to find a few moments of peace afterward.

Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge

From wildlife watching to a walk through the exhibition hall the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge has something for every member of the family no matter the weather. Try taking a hike around the refuge and counting the different types of wildlife you encounter. For the budding photographer (or the child who will take any excuse to get ahold of your phone) challenge them to take photos of different things they see in nature. Make a short list and if they cross them all off by the end of your time at the refuge treat them to a small prize like shaved ice at Ashworth Snow.

Ashworth Road Church’s Community Events

If you like swimming, cookouts, or movies Ashworth Road Baptist Church has an event for you. Once a month join Ashworth and the West Des Moines community for a completely free and public event. From movies on the church’s lawn to family swim night at Clive Aquatic Center these community events are sure to please everyone in the family. Happening on the second Friday of the month, gather the family (and your friends!) and head to community night.

Union Park

Union Park is one of the five original parks in Des Moines. Having been around since 1894, this park is a Des Moines staple. With a water play area, basketball and tennis courts, and the infamous rocket slide, this isn’t your average park. Pack a picnic to eat in the flower garden or treat the family to a ride on the Heritage Carousel. At 50 cents for kids and one dollar for adults, the Heritage Carousel isn’t free but won’t break the bank either.

Ashby Splash Park

In the dog days of summer it’s important to keep cool. If you’re not lucky enough to have a pool— or you don’t have a membership at the community water park, head over to Ashby Splash Park. Kids will be able to have the same exhilarating experience of running through the sprinkler—without the damage to your yard. Bonus, it’s an unofficial rule of summer that if you play in the sprinkler you don’t have to take a bath that night. Enjoy an extra glass of wine mama, you deserve it.

It’s at this point in trying to read the Bible that many people want to give up. They start to think the Bible is too boring, and they wonder, “why are all these boring parts included?” And I understand. Even as much as I love the Old Testament, I tend to scan through some of these long, tedious passages.

But did you ever stop to think about why what we consider to be boring parts of the bible actually made the cut? Why they were included? Below are the top 3 reasons these passages are in our Bibles and what they teach us.

The boring parts were crucial when written

As Christians who are saved by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, we may not appreciate the importance of the long lists of bizarre laws and regulations given to the Israelites. But those lists of laws were crucial to God’s people who were trying to please Him through their obedience.  Before Jesus showed up and changed everything, those laws were God’s way of protecting people from conflict, disease, and idolatry.

Or when we look at the land boundaries as described in Joshua 14-21, we see text that seems so unnecessarily tedious. But if your parents split up the family farm between all their children, you too would want an accurate deed describing exactly who received which parts of the land.

You see, we have to remind ourselves that the Bible wasn’t written directly to each one of us individually.  So yes, some parts may not seem to apply to you as directly, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t crucial to others at some point in history.  These details give us perspective on the Bible and how it was written for an audience much wider than just ourselves.

The boring parts prove historical existence

If you were to write a fable to teach your kids morals, would you take the time to write out a long genealogy of each character? Or would you spend thousands of words describing the boundary markers of where each family tribe lived? Not surprisingly, the authors of Greek and Roman mythology didn’t write about those things either.  Not like the authors of the boring parts of the Bible did.

So the next time you dread reading one of these monotonous sections of details, recognize these details actually serve us an incredible gift today – as proof of the historicity of the Hebrew people’s existence, and point to the accuracy which the Bible was trying to communicate for future generations.  Boundary details of family tribes aren’t important to fables or myths, but they are to actual families who need to know the markers of their land.  We should recognize this as proof of the authenticity of our Bibles.

The boring parts Show God cares about the little things

We have a tendency to think of God as being a great, big guy in the sky who doesn’t care about my tiny problems.  He only worries about the BIG stuff.  But when we read about how God wanted a census taken with every person counted, or how he gave laws for land owners to leave the corners of their fields for the foreigners and impoverished to harvest for themselves, you realize he cares about the little things.

He cared about the details of the Israelite lives thousands of years ago, and he cares about the details of your life today. God is not a cosmic force who threw this world together and now is just watching it all play out.  He is actively at work bringing light and life through the actions of those who are willing to follow his leading.

So the next time you get caught in the monotony of one of these boring parts of the Bible, remember they are actually more important than they seem at first blush. And if there’s a boring part of the Bible that you just don’t understand, leave a comment below and I’ll try to help you see it’s place in the Big Story of God.

While I haven’t read tons of books on this topics, among those I have read, I would recommend this book as the most balanced and scripturally grounded.

You can check out more details on the book at Amazon.com.

A lot is written across the internet telling people that God gives us all a second chance, but what about the person who has given up on God?  There is a scarcity of information trying to persuade a person to Give God a Second Chance.  Now think about that, trillions of articles and pages on the internet, and I couldn’t find more than a page or two arguing for why God is worth a second shot. It baffles me because nearly everyone in America knows somebody who is done with God, but NOBODY is talking about why, perhaps, God deserves a second chance from us.

In our previous blog post, Pastor Brent took us to one of Jesus’ most famous parables, the story of the prodigal son, and he unpacked 5 of the most common and understandable reasons people give up on God. Let’s take a look at the 5 reasons he listed:

1. We choose to walk away
2. Circumstances happen to us
3. We become religious
4. Bad Theology
5. Bad Christians

That’s a really quick overview, and if you missed the post, I encourage you to go check it out.  Brent concluded by asking each of us to evaluate if the reason we walked away from God was actually God’s fault – was he to blame, or something or somebody else?

Today, I want to pick up where Brent left off.  Brent wrote about us.  He wrote about why we gave up on God. And today, I want to look at things from God’s perspective.  What is it that God has done or offers to us that should maybe make us consider giving him a second chance.  If he’s not the one who should be taking all the blame for our busy schedules, our tragic experience, our unfair expectations, or our lousy church experience, then maybe, just maybe, he deserves s moment of your time to look at why God is not the one we should be running FROM but the one we should be running TO.

Why God Deserves a Second Chance

He Gives Purpose

Now in saying this, I understand many people who have walked away from God would take offense at that.  They would say they have purpose.  Very few people are living a life without any purpose at all.

The problem is, without God guiding our purpose, we as humans can very easily serve a purpose below what God intended when he created us.  Without God guiding us, we can find our entire lives are centered on ourselves, our comfort, our status, our kids – completely self-centered.  Only when we walk in step with the God of the universe will we take on a perspective bigger than ourselves.  That’s essentially what the Apostle Paul was teaching when he said:

Ephesians 2:10 – For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

God created us and gave us each assignments, work he decided he wanted us to do for him long ago.  And that is now our purpose.  We don’t live to build our best life now.  We live to build God’s Kingdom here on earth.  And it’s in building that Kingdom that we actually come closest to God’s original decree to humans.

Going all the way back to the first chapter of the Bible, immediately after God created Adam and Eve, he told them their purpose:

Genesis 1:28 – God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.

God created us and then he told us to fill the earth and subdue it.  Create, build, tend, care for, multiply, enjoy HIS CREATION AND HIM.  That’s ultimately our purpose.

Here’s the truth, without God establishing our guiding principles, our boundaries for what we are to live for, we the human race find all sorts of less meaningful things to live for.   And without God, we can’t judge anybody else’s purpose as wrong or less.

• That’s how we get white supremacists working to eradicate blacks.
• And how we get a dictator in North Korea working tirelessly to bomb America.
• And all sorts of people here in Des Moines working countless hours to pay for fancy cars or lavish lifestyles – completely consumed by and suffocating in their greed.

And without recognizing that we actually need God to establish our purpose and identify what we should be working towards, all sorts of  people do all sorts of things that are harmful to others and themselves, making a mess of their lives.

It reminds me of the closing verse in the book of Judges, the low point of Israel’s history.  It says: “And everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”

He Offers Forgiveness

What I find fascinating is in Brent’s message last week, several of his reasons people give up on God are because of feeling that somehow he has wronged us.  He caused our suffering.  Or he didn’t help when I lost my job.  He didn’t answer my prayer for healing.  And we feel like God owes us an apology.  That we need him to answer for his actions.

But the truth is, we have it all backwards.  God doesn’t need US to forgive HIM and give him a second chance.  We need God to forgive us.  God has never sinned against us.  He has never been the cause of our pain, he has never abandoned us, or gossipped about us, or failed to do what he promised.  We have failed to truly know him, to know what his promises are, to know the evil our sin causes us and others.  But that’s not reason for God to seek our forgiveness – it is reason for us to seek His.  We have wronged God, and many times we don’t even know it.

Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

That’s the truth.  We are at fault.  And those who have turned away from God would be well served to humbly tell God, “God, I’m mad at you.  Show me the truth.  Teach me your ways. “

And praise be to God, he knows that, and even before we ever asked, he sent his son to the cross to die for our sins.  While we were still his enemy, while we were fighting against him, not following his purpose for our lives, he was doing the work to show that he forgives us.

1 John 1:9 – If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When we finally stop blaming God and thinking he owes us an apology and realize we owe him one, and we confess our sins to him, he stands ready to forgive us our sins and to wash us clean.

That’s exactly what every religion is seeking to accomplish.  This is the very purpose of the world’s religions – to offer a way for humans to atone for our sin or to reach a place of perfection, outside of our failure mistakes.  The difference between Christianity and the rest of the world’s religions are that in this faith based on Jesus Christ, forgiveness is freely given by God, and not earned by our good works.  Yes, we do good works in response to God’s goodness, but no amount of good works ever makes us clean.

He is Our Hope

The third reason God deserves a second chance is that he IS our Hope.  Some people have given up on God because they look at their suffering, the death of a child, the evil in the world, and they say “There is no God.” Or maybe they feel like God must not care at all.  And so they walk away.  But I contend, in those dark times, if you walk away from God, what else are you putting your hope in?  Or have you completely abandoned all hope for the future.

Jesus’ disciples faced a similar situation once when Jesus was teaching some difficult things that people didn’t understand.  In the same way our failure to understand suffering causes us to walk away from Jesus – this teaching was causing everyone to walk too.  And as the crowds were leaving him we read this:

John 6:66-68 – From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.  “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

Do you see in this statement how Peter recognizes that while Jesus teaching is challenging, he has no other options.  He may not love the teaching, he may not understand it, but he does understand this – “Jesus is the ONLY HOPE he has for eternal life.”

After walking away from God, we might try to put our hope into things apart from Jesus – we might put our hope in our income, or in our spouse, or in our reputation, or into addictive behavior that makes us feel better like shopping or drinking.  But do we really think any of these things are worth building the foundation of our life on? Or are they just fleeting diversions?  I think David got it right when he penned Psalm 39:

Psalm 39:6-7 – We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.

God has promised never to leave us or abandon us.  He has promised to cleanse us when we confess our sin.  He has promised to give us his inheritance one day as we live in the Kingdom where all our sickness is healed, where all are loved ones who love Jesus will be, where there is no pain, no evil, no suffering, and no reason to blame God for failing us.  At that time we will see in completion his Goodness.  And it is in that perfect future and God’s grace and mercy to get us there where we must put our hope.  Compared to that, nothing else even comes close!

He is Faithful

Putting our hope in God is meaningless if he is known for letting people down.  But we read in Hebrews:

Hebrews 10:23 – Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

This is the God who promised 70 year old, childless Abraham that he would have descendants that outnumbered the sand on the ground.  And at 100 years old, God gave him a son, born to his 90 year old, baren wife.  Now that’s being faithful to a promise.

This is the God who promised to give the Israelites the land of Canaan.  And then he toppled the walls of Jericho from just the sound of trumpets, he defeated an army of tens of thousands through the obedience of just 300 men with torches, he defeated a giant through the trust of a boy named David, and he proved to be faithful as the Israelites took over the entire land God promised to them.

This is the God who fulfills not a few prophecies about the coming Messiah, but dozens of prophecies are fulfilled in his life, death, and resurrection.  Throughout the Old Testament, God was making dozens of promises about the coming Messiah, and he was faithful to fulfill them all!

And the best part of God’s faithfulness is that it doesn’t depend on us.

2 Timothy 2:13 –  If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.

Abraham tried to have a child through his servant. The Israelites often disobeyed God’s commands.  Herod did all he could to try and kill baby Jesus.  And through it all, God remained faithful to his promises.

And he remains faithful to his promise to you too.  Even though you’ve tried God out before, you’ve walked away, you’ve been unfaithful, you’ve given up, that doesn’t mean HE has given up on YOU.

Will You Consider Giving God a Second Chance?

When we really examine the reasons we give up on God, while we may not love to admit it, none of our reasons are God’s fault.  In various ways, his goodness, his perfect creation, and the purpose he gave to us has been tarnished.  And in our failure to see the root cause behind why we walked away – we unfairly blame God.  But I hope that in reading this, I have given you some very real and tangible reasons to consider giving God a second chance.  I mean that – are you willing to say to God today, “I need you God.  I need the purpose you offer. I need your forgiveness.  I need the Hope found in you.”

Just like a father whose heart breaks if his kid walk away from him, God’s heart breaks for every person who has walked away.  And he yearns for a second chance.  He pursues you and He hopes that you might look and see that he is good and faithful, and worthy of being your Father.  He loves you more than you can even comprehend.  And it’s the Love of God which is truly the #1 reason he deserves a second chance.  And that is where this series will continue next week as Pastor Brent concludes his teaching on the Parable of the Prodigal Son – looking at the amazing love of the Father.  So make sure to come back next week to read our following article about why God wants to give YOU a second chance.

Introduction

Today I’m excited to continue our message series “All In” — where we are looking at how we can live our lives Taking Risks and Trusting God to make a Kingdom Impact.  

Priorities: We began this series with Amy teaching on the book of Haggai and specifically on how the Israelites had prioritized their own lives over God and restoring the temple.  And we compared that to our own lives and how we prioritize so many little things in our lives over God.

Neighbor: Next, Pastor Steven spoke about how going ALL IN means that we take care of our neighbor — and that we can’t define who our neighbor is in terms of how we usually think about it, but that our neighbor is anybody we see who has a need in front of us.  God calls us to take care of those all around us. 

Sacrifice: Last week, Pastor Brent told us the story of Abraham’s incredible faith in being willing to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac, to God.  And what we saw in the life of Abraham was a man willing to give anything to God, even the thing he held most dear, his own son.  And we were challenged to ask ourselves how much we are willing to sacrifice if God comes asking.

Firstfruits: Today, I want to teach you about the principle of giving God our firstfruits.  This is an incredibly important principle that was part of the Old Testament Law, but that too many of us, unfortunately, are ignorant of.

Here’s essentially what the principle of firstfruits asks of us.  Imagine that you are going to a buffet restaurant.  Or maybe you avoid buffets, then imagine a church potluck in our basement.  Now think about all the different foods in that buffet line — the baked chicken, the mashed potatoes, macaroni, deviled eggs, broccoli salad, and of course, the dessert table.  

Now imagine being the last person to go through that buffet line.  The mashed potatoes are wiped out with just some of the crusty ones stuck on the edge of the pan, the devilled eggs are all gone, some macaroni ended up in the broccoli salad, and the dessert table is all picked over.  Now that buffet looks a lot less appealing, and we feel like we are settling for the leftovers.

That essentially is what we do to God with our lives — often with our time and our money.  And what giving of our firstfruits means is that we let God through the buffet of our lives first.  We let him pick the best stuff.  And today, I hope to show you why giving God our firstfruits rather than our leftovers is so important — important enough that I think none of us will ever find true joy and contentment if we don’t make this a pattern in our lives.

Text

If you would open your Bibles to Deuteronomy 26,  Here is where we find the reason why God established the Festival of Firstfruits and also can see how it applies to our lives today. 

When you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it,  take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the LORD your God that I have come to the land the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us.”  The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the LORD your God.  Then you shall declare …  He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey;  and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, LORD, have given me.” Place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before him.  Then you and the Levites and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice in all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household.  —Deuteronomy 26:1-5, 9-11

Before we dig into the lessons we can learn from the firstfruits offering, I want to first help connect the firstfruits offering God required in Old Testament times with our own lives today.

Firstfruits: The first thing you might notice in this text is how much it speaks about the land.  This is because the land was so important to the Israelites.  Remember that God gave them these instructions for the firstfruits offering after he led them out of Egypt but before he brought them into the Promised Land and chased out all their enemies.  He was telling them, “The firstfruits of your crop are important because they will remind you that I am going to keep my promise to provide all that you need to live.”

For us today, we don’t have the promised land, and since most of us aren’t farmers, the land isn’t our source of income — our jobs are.  But think back to when you were searching for your job.  I imagine most of you prayed to God for that job.  You asked him to provide for you a way to make income.  And God provided, he gave you the job, and whether you despise the job today or not doesn’t change the fact that God provided for you.

Offering: Next, we see the offering that is made is the “firstfruits of the soil.”  This is essentially, the early crop of whatever was being grown in the land.  For the Israelites, this was their sustenance.  Nearly everybody was farming food for themselves as they didn’t have a market to grocery shop like we have.  But for us, this is like giving to God our money.  Since we don’t farm, we don’t rely on food items we grow directly, but on our cash, which allows us to purchase food.

Recipient: Finally, this text says that the people are to take the crops from the land and give them to the priest.  Leviticus 23 gives more instruction about exactly what the priest did with this offering and how he would wave a large sheaf of grain from the first harvest of grain before God and then offer it to the Lord.  As Christians, post-Jesus, we don’t have priests who act as intermediaries between God and common people.  And while I’m tempted to say that pastors are the New Testament version of the priest, so give me all your money — that’s not accurate either. Essentially, the crops were given to God, for his glory and for his honor.  And so I think the most accurate way to describe where the offering of firstfruits should go, would be to say it should go to furthering God’s Kingdom, for his glory and his honor.

Putting it Together: As we put this together, what we see is that while the Israelites offered the first of their crops from the land to the priest who offered the crops to God, we are to offer the first of our income to God through investments that make a Kingdom Impact.

Lessons From Firstfruits

Having connected the firstfruits offering with today, I want to point out that we are NOT commanded to give our firstfruits to God anymore.  This offering has been fulfilled in Jesus, so please don’t think I’m giving you another obligation to follow.  I do think, however, that giving God your firstfruits teaches you lessons that will bring you greater joy in life. Let’s take a look:

1) Reminds us of God’s Faithfulness

Like I have already described, this passage in Deuteronomy clearly ties the land that produces the crops to the promise God made to Abraham so many years ago.  So, one of the main purposes of this offering was to remind them that God was faithful in fulfilling his promise to give them the Promised Land.  In the same way, when we give back to God from the money he blesses us with, we are reminded that we only have money to give because he has faithfully entrusted it to us in the first place.   

2) Gives us a Heart of Thankfulness

The second lesson we learn from this passage, is in the last verse where it says, “rejoicing in all the good things the Lord has given.” When we give back to God our firstfruits, we are given a heart of thankfulness.  We put our focus not on what we are giving away, but on all that God is giving TO US, and we rejoice.  We thank God for his generosity and care rather than feel like it’s a chore or an obligation.

3) Teaches us to Trust God to Provide

Our third lesson from firstfruits actually comes to us from a verse out of Proverbs 3.

Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;  then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. —Proverbs 3:9-10 

Here we are reminded of what it really means to give your firstfruits.  For the Israelites, their firstfruits came in first, but there was never any guarantee that the remainder of the crop would come in.  Perhaps a hail storm would come through the next day and wipe out the remainder of the crop.  So, in giving their firstfruits, they weren’t giving a portion of the total crop they knew they would harvest — they were giving ALL of their early crop and were trusting God to bring in the remainder of the harvest for them.  That’s why this verse says, “THEN your barns will be filled to overflowing.”  It points to the trust the Israelites must have in God to give to him first and trust him to fill their barns afterward.  

In the same way, when we give to God first, rather than waiting to see how much money we have at the end of the month, we are forced to learn to trust that he will provide for us and help us to meet all of our financial obligations.

4) Points us to Jesus – God’s Firstfruits Offering on our Behalf

Our fourth and final lesson from firstfruits actually comes to us from the New Testament.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.  —1 Corinthians 15:20-23  20

This text gets me really excited because it shows us that God doesn’t ask for anything from us that he isn’t willing to give himself.  You see, in this letter, Paul points out that based on the calendar of Festivals, if Jesus was crucified on Passover, then according to Leviticus 23, he was resurrected on the Day of Firstfruits, and was therefore a type of firstfruits offering to God.  

Like the sheaf of grain the priest waved before God, on Easter Sunday Jesus’ resurrected body was waved before God as an offering for the eternal life given to all who belong to him.  So, in the same way that the Israelites offered this firstfruits offering as thanksgiving to God for rescuing them from Egypt and bringing them to the Promised Land, through Jesus, we now give this offering with thankful hearts that God has rescued us from the bondage of sin and offers to us a better promised land — eternal life with Him!  

Application

Those are the lessons we learn if we give to God from our first.  Now each of us needs to examine our lives and ask ourselves: Are we giving God our firstfruits or our leftovers? Are we allowing God to go through the buffet line of our lives first, or are we eating all the good stuff ourselves and leaving him the crusty edge of the mashed potato dish?

Money – As I have already said, we really have two main resources to give: our money and our time.  When thinking about your money, you must ask yourself, “Am I giving to God from my finances first, or am I waiting until the end of the month to see what I have left?”

The reason this is a big deal is because we all have a tendency to spend all that we have.  That’s why saving is so hard.  Financial planners all say, if you want to save for a home or retirement, or for your college savings account, you have to put that money into a savings account at the beginning of the month.  Now what that means is that Financial Planners are just stating what God tried to tell us all along — you have to set aside money for the important things first or it will get wasted on the trivial.  You have to offer back to God a portion of the gift of income he has blessed you with as soon as you receive it, or else you will waste it on yourself.  And when you do that, you demonstrate to God that your priority in life is YOU before God.

For those of you who want to give more back to God but struggle to consistently give to God through offerings at church or giving to charitable causes, may I offer you a really simply way to literally put God first in your finances?  Teenagers, this applies to you as well, so listen in. Set up Bill Pay with your bank and the day your paycheck clears, have your bank send a check to wherever you want to faithfully and consistently give. This is the best and most faithful way I have figured to give to God my firstfruits.  Since I don’t farm, and I don’t bring in a crop only once a year, years ago I setup my bank account to send our offering check to church the day I receive my paycheck.  When I receive my wages, I immediately give back a portion to God to say “Thank You God.  You have been so faithful to me. I know I can trust you to always provide.”

I’m not trying to say this is the only way to do this, but it’s the way I found that works for me to consistently give back to God.  And you know what — at the end of the month, I have always had enough to pay for everything else I needed to.

Time – The second resource we all have is our time.  And while I know these passages I have shared don’t directly address our time, I believe this principle of giving God our firstfruits extends beyond crops or just our finances.  

Having said that, does God get the first and most focused portion of your day, or does he receive your scraps?  Do you squeeze your Bible reading time in while waiting at the doctor’s office or do you schedule it and give it your full attention?  

This is probably the most personally convicting part of this sermon for me.  While I have an automated system to make sure God gets the first of my finances, for some reason, I find it much easier to give God the leftovers of my time.  And I justify it in my mind by saying, “I’m just in a season of life or week of work which is extra busy.  God will understand.”  But the problem is, every week is busy, and so I frequently find myself guiltily giving God my scraps of time because I fail to give him the first and best portions of my time.  I need to change that, and perhaps you do to.

Conclusion

I understand this might be a very convicting message for you.  But going  all in for Jesus and the Kingdom of God isn’t easy.  It requires us to rearrange our priorities in life and often to make sacrifices.  

It means putting an end to our excuse making.  We have to stop saying, “I’ll give more money if I have any left at the end of the month.”  We have to stop saying, “I’ll spend more time praying and reading my Bible, more time building relationship with Jesus when I’m not so busy.”  Guess what?  There will always be new items vying for your money and new activities vying for your time.  

The buffet of your life will always have people and desires seeking to consume all of you.  You have to decide if you will make everything else wait for God to go through and take the best portions of your life first, or if you’ll make him wait to the end, and give him whatever is left.

I have a family of four sons. As a foster family, our conversations around the dinner table can be a bit different than the typical family.  A lot of learning takes place around our dinner table, and sometimes we find ourselves in some really funny moments.

For instance, this week, one of my sons asked me about water baptism.  So I was explaining that water baptism is an outward sign to others of the inward change that happens when a person decides to follow Jesus.  I explained how baptism by itself does not get you into heaven, but is a step of obedience.

After my lengthy explanation, my 8 year old asked what exactly it meant to be baptized and I told him it was when a person was dunked under the water.  To which he replied, “Oh, then Michelle has baptized me a whole bunch of times!”  Back story: Michelle took our 8-year old to the pool several times this summer and he loved being cradled like a baby and then flipped backwards — or to him now, baptized.

But here’s where this cute little story became a great sermon illustration — his next question at the dinner table was this: “What happens when somebody becomes a Christian?”

Wow!  That’s a big question for a little guy.  But isn’t that THE question we all have to wrestle with after we decide to follow Jesus?  We recognize we are sinners who need a savior and so we put our hope in Jesus to make us right with God, but then what?

Fortunately, we’re not the first people to be asking that very question — it was actually the first question pondered by Jesus’ disciples after they found out he was leaving them after his death and resurrection.

But I think Jesus’ response was one they never expected.  You see, today, we are continuing our Remix Series we do in the summer where we pick up a sermon series from the past year and add to it to make it more complete.  And this past Easter, you may remember, we did this series called UnExpected where we looked at Jesus’ life after he died on the cross and how the story doesn’t ever go how we would expect.  But we ended the series before the very last story we read about Jesus and it’s in this story in Acts 1 where we find out Jesus’ answer to  what should happen to a person after they become a Christian.

Jesus Commands His Disciples to Wait for Power

So that’s where we will be reading from today — Acts 1.

You see, after Jesus rose from the dead, the Bible says he lived on the earth another 40 days, appearing to numerous people and furthering his teaching.  Those are the stores we taught in this UnExpected Series.  And it’s toward the end of those 40 days where the book of Acts begins.  The first several verses are simply an introduction about how Acts is written by Luke, the same author of the Gospel of Luke, for Theopolis, to tell him a detailed account of what happened after Jesus death and resurrection.

Now, picking up the story in Acts 1:4-5

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

What I find UnExpected here is that Jesus commands them not to leave.  “Don’t go try to do anything great yet.  You’re not ready.” Now remember, these are the same guys who spent three years in Jesus’ Official Job Training Program.  These are the guys who he already sent out two by two to practice telling people about the Good News of God coming to save his people.  Yet he says “Wait.”

Why? Because they aren’t ready yet.  They are Christians, they are followers of Jesus, they are trained, but they’re still missing something.  They need to wait for the gift the Father promised, the Holy Spirit.

What’s so critical about waiting for the Holy Spirit? Jesus answers that in Acts 1:8

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

They needed to wait for the Holy Spirit because He would give them POWER.  This word power is the same word used to describe how Jesus performed his miracles.  It’s the power of God.  In fact, it’s sometimes used as an adjective to describe God as the Mighty Lord.  Essentially, this Power is the source of every supernatural act of God — it’s the source that allowed Jesus to perform miracles — and it’s being passed on to the disciples!  THIS IS A BIG DEAL!

But I wonder if the disciples fully understood how big of a deal this was?  Did they really understand what this power would look like in their lives? Could they ever imagine how it might change them? I’m guessing they had no idea what kind of a wild adventure they were in for.

The Disciples Transformed by Power

Here’s a quick synopsis of how that power completely transformed the lives of Jesus disciples:  Acts 2 is the famous chapter where the gift of the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples.  And it’s amazing to compare the disciples before and after this pivotal event.

• Before they received the power of the Holy Spirit
  • they all ran away when Jesus was taken captive by Roman soldiers
  • Peter denied knowing Jesus, even to a young slave girl
  • After Jesus’ resurrection, they were all hiding together in a locked room
• But after receiving the Power of the Holy Spirit
  • Peter got up in front of over 3,000 people to preach to them about how Jesus was the Messiah the Jews had been waiting for
  • In fact, in Acts 5 many of the disciples were flogged for preaching about Jesus, and yet we read of how they rejoiced for being counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name of Jesus.
  • In Acts 8 Phillip took the message of Jesus to the hated Samaritans and he performed miracles and drove out demons.

In all these cases, the very men who were so easily terrified of suffering for Jesus became incredibly bold witnesses to Jesus. In doing so, they were experiencing the UnExpected Power which Jesus had promised them.

And what they found was that they needed that Power because God was bringing them to an UnExpected People.  They were no longer speaking to Jews in Jerusalem.  On the day they received the Holy Spirit we are told they were all speaking to people from around the Mediterranean in their native languages, empowered to do so by the Holy Spirit.

Plus, God was bringing them to UnExpected Places.  Philipp went to Samaria — where the Jews’ half-breed relatives lived.  Yet God called him there and Phillip willingly went.

And as they went with this UnExpected Power to these UnExpected People and Places, they experienced UnExpected Results.  Could Peter have ever expected 3,000 people to respond to his first sermon ever preached?  During my first sermon, I was just happy to keep the whole crowd awake!  And then to see the church continue to grow so quickly and spread so widely. . . nobody ever saw that coming — and the disciples could never have manufactured that kind of growth and expansion.  But when they obediently followed God’s leading and stayed in step with the Holy Spirit — the Power of God yielded UnExpected results.

When a Person Becomes a Christian

But now, back to the question around my dinner table.  What changes when a person becomes a Christian? From this passage, we see two things: We receive purpose and power.

Purpose

In Acts 1:8 Jesus tells his disciples that they will be his witnesses in Jerusalem, to Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.  And in doing that, he gives them their mission — their marching orders.  No longer are they to be content with life and go back to their careers as fishermen, they are to be witnesses to Jesus Christ, the Messiah.

And it’s important for us to understand that this is still the mission for every follower of Jesus. No, we aren’t all expected to go overseas as missionaries preaching about Jesus — but we are expected to be a witness to Jesus in our own lives we cultivate here in Des Moines.  Here at Ashworth Road we regularly talk about how as followers of Jesus we are to bring the Kingdom of God to earth.  We are to love the unloveable, serve the poor and oppressed, and share the message of Jesus with those who have never heard about his saving grace.  That’s the new life purpose every person receives when they become a Christian.

Power

But here’s the more UnExpected piece of what changes after we become a Christian — the part we don’t talk about as often — probably because it’s more mysterious, harder to define, and quite honestly, not as much a part of my own life — the Power.

Just like the disciples of Jesus received power from the Holy Spirit to do things beyond what they ever could have imagined, those of us who follow Jesus have that same power available in our own lives.  But, I think, just like the disciples, we don’t realize we’re missing it, and we don’t know what to expect if we did operate out of that power.

Unfortunately for us in America, we think that any sort of supernatural action is totally outside the box of how God still operates today.  We relegate stories of miracles to the Bible, or maybe some divine healing of a friend’s aunt’s co-worker – a story we heard from somebody else a long time ago.  But we don’t have any of our own stories.  And so we have lost our expectation for God’s Power to do anything remarkable in our lives.

Here’s a fun fact — missionaries around the world see supernatural miracles, healings, and divine gifts from God all the time.  The rest of the world, especially those without the means to be as self-reliant as we are, have learned to DEPEND on the power of God to transform their lives.

But I don’t want us to only focus on the miraculous, supernatural aspect of the power of God.  The power of God in our lives is ultimately given to fulfill our purpose — to be a witness for Jesus.  So that power might look like you sharing your faith in an unexpected place with some unexpected people — not because you are such a bold person, but because the Power of God was alive inside you and prodded you to speak out.  Now you may not think sharing your faith is a big deal, but who knows?  That’s all Peter did, but because he was obedient to the Unexpected Power, he saw Unexpected Results — 3,000 conversions and the birth of the church!

I wish I could put a slide up on the screen describing what the Power of God might look like in your life, but the truth is, I can’t.  God works in incredible ways, ways beyond definition, ways we might never imagine until we experience it for ourselves.

How to Operate in Power

But even while I can’t box in what the Power of God might look like in our lives, I can point out what’s needed for us to experience that Power.

1.  Have an Expectation

Reading through the book of Acts, we see that the Christians very quickly recognized that the Power they were given was changing everything.  And they learned to expect it.  Both Peter and Paul were willing to pray for people who had died, expecting them to be brought to life.  Phillip was praying to drive out demons.  They were all preaching everywhere they went, expecting God to stir the hearts of the listeners.  They had an expectation.  And we need that too!

We need to have an expectation that God has given us power to do things we never thought we could do.  We have the power to kick that addiction or break that unhealthy habit.  We have the power to get past our fear of speaking out for Jesus to tell that family member about the love and grace of God.  We have the power to pray into the impossible situation and expect God to do answer.  The God who created the universe out of nothing has given that power to us — let’s expect to see something amazing happen!

2.  Walk in Step with the Spirit

We also see in Acts that the disciples were listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit and walking in step with the Spirit.  We read about how the people were devoting themselves to prayer and learning about Jesus.  They were striving to be obedient to their mission.  When the church at Antioch heard the Holy Spirit told them to set apart Paul and Barnabas for missions, they listened.

In the same way, we need to be walking in step with the Spirit in order to operate out of the power of the Spirit.  The Holy Spirit can’t operate through a person who isn’t listening and who isn’t focused on the same things God is focused on.  This supernatural power isn’t for ourselves – it’s to glorify God and make Him known.  And we only do that when we live each day focused on what God wants us to do and say — by staying in constant relationship with him through the Holy Spirit.

3.  Be Obedient to the Prodding of the Spirit

Ultimately, even after the disciples learned to expect the power of God to work through them and they walked in step with the Spirit and heard his voice, they still had a decision about whether to obey or not.  Peter didn’t have to get up and preach to all those people after the Holy Spirit descended on him at Pentecost.  He could have stayed in the upper room.  The disciples who were locked up for preaching about Jesus could have stayed home.  But they chose to be obedient.

In the same way, if we want to see the power of God operate in our lives, we have to choose to obey the prodding in our Spirit of God telling us what to do.  Though the task may seem impossible — it may be the scariest conversation you’ve ever faced — if you feel like the Holy Spirit is telling you to do it, then trust the Power of God to yield Unexpected Results.

Expect the Power of God to Transform Your Life

Here’s the question each one of us has to ask ourselves: Do you Expect the Power of God to Transform Your Life?

When I look at my own life, the answer most days is NO.  I’ve lost the expectation.  I don’t pray big prayers.  I unconsciously doubt that God would ever give Ashworth Road UnExpected Results and instead plan out all my events, hoping to manufacture some consistent level of growth through my own merit.  I pray puny prayers.  I worry that things will never change.

But if that’s what the disciples were going to count on to build the early church, then they were sunk!  Jesus knew that — that’s why he told them to wait.  “Wait for the Power you will need.”  And we need that same power — the supernatural power that comes from God has been given to YOU.  How is it going to transform your life?

I know you sometimes feel pressure to fill your summers with more than seems to actually fit: multiple camps, baseball games, vacations,  strawberry picking (my family favorite), and all sorts of other adventures.  Yet at other times, you are so tired, you know you are giving your kids the leftovers of your energy, mere scraps after a long day of work, managing bills, driving errands, and dealing with yet another home maintenance issue.  So we feel guilty and again muster up the strength to load up our schedules with our kids and we run ourselves ragged yet again.

What if, instead of thinking that we need to pour lots of activities into our kids lives, we instead built a regular rhythm of conversations and quality play time into each week?  What if you planned for every, say Tuesday,  to be a family night where you ate together, talked together, did an activity or game together, and didn’t need to be scheduled into a program to do it?

For several months now, I have been taking my boys with me to the YMCA one night each week, and I have really enjoyed the opportunities it has given me to talk with them about important life lessons and to hear about the things they deal with each day at school.  By playing together, they open up to me and share all sorts of things, and I am lucky enough to have a glimpse into their worlds.  Plus, in the various situations we encounter, I have amazing teaching opportunities.  When a kid loses his temper for losing a game, I am able to teach my kids about winning and losing and about how to help somebody who is angry.  When somebody is excluded from a game because he isn’t very good, I get to invite that kid onto my team and teach my kids how to value everybody.  And when a young woman wears revealing clothes to work out in, I am able to talk with my boys about modesty and how they should view woman as God’s daughters.

It’s in this ordinary activity, planned regularly, that I am trying to make the best use of my 936 weeks with my boys.  What things could you do to take advantage of each week you have with your kids?

Technology is a double-edged sword.  It devours hours of our teenagers time, and yet it put important information at your finger tips whenever and wherever you need it.  Some people lament how the prevalence of tiny screens everywhere has damaged community while others couldn’t imagine a world without the conveniences technology offers us.

The same tension exists when considering how technology affects Christians.  How ironic it is that the same tiny screen can offer a person access to daily Bible reading plans or devotionals, the best Bible teachings, and answers to life’s difficult questions AND access to violent games, pornographic images, and a world of cyber-bullying.  But rather than lamenting the latter, I believe it is my job to encourage the use of the former list of benefits of this technology.

Using Technology to Connect with God’s Word

I know it’s difficult to start a new habit of reading the Bible each day (it took me years to establish my current rhythm, which I finally developed through the support of an app), but I encourage you to allow one of the Bible reading apps below to help you start that new habit – a habit which will bring years of blessing to you if you are willing to take this first step.  Download an app.  Let it remind you to read the Bible each day, and then actually take the time to read the section and not just swipe the alert away.  Often it’s these small changes to your life which make the greatest impact.

So without further ado, I offer you my list of the Top 3 Bible Reading apps to engage in God’s word each day:

 The Bible App – This is the most downloaded Bible app in the world for both Apple and Android devices.  It allows you to select from almost any Bible translation you would want, highlight and take notes as you read, share those notes in a community together, and follow any number of pre-defined reading plans.  

If you get this app, I suggest starting with the Discipleship Journal’s 5x5x5 Reading plan which allows you to read the New Testament by reading a chapter a day, for 5 minutes, 5 days a week.

GoTandem – This unique app asks you a series of questions when you create your user account and from there tailors the verses it sends to you both in the morning and the evening.  For instance, if you recognize that you struggle with materialism, it will send you Bible verses about money along with a couple questions to help you think about money and belongings the right way.

Every Day Bible – This app is similar to the One Year Bible which has been so popular for many years now.  Each day when you open the app it will put your Bible passages from the Old Testament, New Testament, and a devotional all into one column to read.  You are allowed to customize how much you actually want to read each day, but then this app provides the reading plan in the most simple format.

“How could I think that was a good idea?”

“What was I thinking?”

Each of us have done things we regret.  Sometimes we realize our error immediately and sometimes it is years later before we realize how bad of a choice we made.  And those bad choices are the result of our foolishness, selfishness, or sometimes complete naïveté.   We simply displayed a complete lack of wisdom in the situation.  The question we all want to answer then is this: what can I do to make sure I never make costly mistakes like that in the future?

This is the question Proverbs 3 seeks to answer.  It tells us we need to seek wisdom, and not wisdom in our own eyes, but wisdom from God.  Too often we try to acquire knowledge to help us make better decisions in life, but knowing the facts isn’t enough.  Wisdom means knowing how to apply the facts to a situation to make good decisions.  And when we seek that wisdom from God, Proverbs 3 tells us we will reap the benefits of long life, peaceful paths, more restful sleep, and no fear.  That sounds like a life I want to have!

But to experience that life, to gain that wisdom from God, we have one requirement to meet: 

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

do not depend on your own understanding.

6 Seek his will in all you do,

and he will show you which path to take.

You see, being wise in your own eyes will continue to lead you into trouble.  But God, who created you, who wants you to experience rest and peace, promises to give you wisdom and show you which paths to take as soon as you stop depending on yourself and start depending on him.   So the final question you have to answer for yourself: are you willing to fully depend on God for wisdom?

Questions to Ponder 

1. What is a problematic area in your life where you are seeking to solve the problem through your own good ideas? 
2. Release that area of life to God in prayer (including your worries and fears) and ask him to give you the wisdom to navigate the situation.  

Sometimes this feeling of longing for something missing is referred to as thirst.  We find that language in verse 1 & 2 of Psalm 42:

      As the deer pants for streams of water, 
         so my soul pants for you, my God. 
      My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. 
         When can I go and meet with God? 

The problem is that all too often when we feel this thirst described here, we try to quench the feeling with tangible means.  A new cell phone, new friends, new job, new trinket from the dollar section of Target… big or small, we’ve all tried to quench the thirst in our souls with items or changes that never satisfy the way we hope.  

What we need to do is learn from the author of this psalm.  There are some things in life that only God can satisfy – and the deep longing for contentment, protection, and acceptance are only found in Him.  So join with me and let’s give up our dependence on cheap substitutes and let’s drink deeply of the satisfaction our souls will find by spending time with our Heavenly Father who loves, comforts, and protects us like none other.

Questions to Consider:

1. Do I ever feel a thirst to spend time with God?  If not, why not?  
2. What are the usual things I try to substitute for spending time with God?  Surfing the web? Shopping? TV?
3. Pray for Jesus to put a deep thirst in your soul for him.  Drawing closer to Jesus can begin with a prayer that he be the one to draw you in.  After all, he has the power which you might lack.

Join our Reading Plan Today

1. Download the Bible app to your smartphone at bible.com and add the plan titled “Love Renovation”
2. Download & print a copy of the reading plan to keep in your Bible (View PDF)
3. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for additional devotional thoughts and questions to consider

I imagine many tears were shed during Jesus’s final night with his disciples before his crucifixion on a cross.  In John 14, we read about this climax of emotion between Jesus and his traveling companions of 3 years, his disciples.  Like many great endings, Jesus tells his friends that they will be better off when he goes, that they will do great things, and that he loves them very much.  The difference here is in leaving, Jesus actually is able to make things better for his disciples.  He plans to ask God for whatever they ask him for.  He plans to send them the Holy Spirit who will give them wisdom and understanding.  And he is going to prepare a place for their eternal destiny.  Unlike movie characters who are simply saying nice things to make the other feel better, Jesus will actually be working to make the future better for his disciples.

And the same is still true for us 2000 years later.  While we wait for Jesus, he still takes our prayers to his Father, God Almighty.  He still gives us his Holy Spirit to lead and guide us in all we do.  He is still preparing a place for when our bodies give out on this earth.  

And it is in those promises that we should find comfort in this amazing farewell scene.  This farewell, afterall, is part of the most famous story ever told.

Questions to Consider:

1. How do you see the role of the Holy Spirit in your life?  Given that role, does it make sense for Jesus to say it is better for you to have the Spirit than Jesus himself?  If not, is your view of the Holy Spirit perhaps too limited?
2. Jesus promises peace to his followers in this chapter.  Not a guarantee a conflict-free life, but a peace within the conflict.  How much of that peace do you experience?  If you lack peace, why?
3. Who does Jesus imply is the prince of this world?  How can you combat the very real spiritual battle against him?

Join our Reading Plan Today

1. Download the Bible app to your smartphone at bible.com and add the plan titled “Love Renovation”
2. Download & print a copy of the reading plan to keep in your Bible (View PDF)
3. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for additional devotional thoughts and questions to consider

Questions to Consider:

1. Look back at the key verses.  Is there one you should commit to memory?
2. Where do you need to repent of sin and let the Holy Spirit make you more like Jesus?
3. How are you demonstrating to others the love of Jesus inside you?

Join our Reading Plan Today

1. Download the Bible app to your smartphone at bible.com and add the plan titled “Love Renovation”
2. Download & print a copy of the reading plan to keep in your Bible (View PDF)
3. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for additional devotional thoughts and questions to consider

The problem with this sin is that if we all feel more important than those around us, then our cares and concerns are more important than other’s cares and concerns.  So we spend our time on our own issues, rather than helping others.  Or maybe we even spend time doing the things we really enjoy, ignoring those in need around us because, “that’s their problem.”

If anybody could take that attitude, it would be a king reigning from his throne, looking down on his poor and pitiful subjects, glad that he isn’t one of them.  But here is what makes Jesus, so amazing and worthy of our worship.  He is a king, who gave up everything, to live among the poor and destitute people of this earth.  And why?  Because he cared more about our cares and concerns than about himself.

In this chapter, Paul is holding Jesus up as a model for all of us who call Jesus our King and Lord.  We are challenged to see others as more important than ourselves, to be willing to give up our comfort, convenience, time and money, to help others in need.   Will you accept the challenge to live for the sake of others rather than yourself?

Questions to Consider:

1. What is one hobby, or item, or moment that you distinctly remember giving up for someone else’s benefit?  How did you feel when you gave of something that was important to you?
2. What is one selfish interest that you cling most tightly to, sometimes at the expense of others?  Ask God to help you give up that selfish interest, to sacrifice your own unhealthy desires for the benefit of those around you.
3. Imagine how it would feel to walk into your home or into our church if everybody was living as Paul describes in verses 3 & 4 – in putting others’ interests before your own.  That would be a community I want to be a part of!  What small step can you take to do your part in creating a family and a church community of people who think more highly of others than themselves?

Join our Reading Plan Today

1. Download the Bible app to your smartphone at bible.com and add the plan titled “Love Renovation”
2. Download & print a copy of the reading plan to keep in your Bible (View PDF)
3. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for additional devotional thoughts and questions to consider

Granted, Paul immediately follows that statement up with a warning not to use your freedom to sin, but to instead love and serve others freely.  So the point of this passage is to stop focussing on not sinning and start focussing on going out and serving!

Questions to Consider:

1. In what ways do you try to “earn” your righteousness?
2. In what ways might you abuse your Christian freedom?
3. What does it practically look like for you to walk in step with the Spirit TODAY?

Join our Reading Plan Today

1. Download the Bible app to your smartphone at bible.com and add the plan titled “Love Renovation”
2. Download & print a copy of the reading plan to keep in your Bible (View PDF)
3. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for additional devotional thoughts and questions to consider

So we strongly encourage each and every one of you (youth and kids included) to join us in this 21 day adventure.  We believe it has the potential to impact our church in bigger ways than we could ever imagine.

The reading plan includes one chapter of scripture each weekday and challenges you to use the weekend to meditate on what God has shown you through the weekday readings.  Additionally, each day includes a key verse from the chapter for you to consider.  You might even want to memorize some of the key verses if they really speak to you.

Follow Along

1. Download the Bible app to your smartphone at bible.com and add the plan titled “Love Renovation”
2. Download & print a copy of the reading plan to keep in your Bible (View PDF)
3. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for additional devotional thoughts and questions to consider.

Begin Today

Join us from Day 1 – read Luke 10 today and focus on verse 27:
And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 

Not surprisingly, this mentality of comparison-shopping is how most Americans pick a new church to attend.  Gone are the days of attending the closest church in the denomination that we were raised in.  Many people don’t even know what a denomination is anymore.  And so as “brand” loyalty has waned, people now look for a church that is the best fit for them and their family.  The problem is, many people don’t know what they should be looking for in a church when they are trying to find the right church for them.

Since we understand the importance of attending a church that fits your needs, we have accumulated a list of important questions to consider when selecting the best church for your family.

1)  Does the church teach about Jesus or about rules?

Many churches have become so wrapped up in teaching about what Christians are supposed to do and not do, that they actually fail to teach the message of Jesus Christ who came to this earth to reconcile us to God through no effort on our part.  Jesus himself was not one to get caught up in following all the rules as much as he cared about bringing glory to God.  Find a church that focuses on Jesus, because he’s the One who changes everything!

2) Does the church have programs you and your children will enjoy attending? 

If you don’t like to attend, then you won’t.  It’ important to feel like you belong in a church as you begin to grow in your faith.  And you will never feel like you belong if your kids are bored to tears or the music puts you to sleep.

3) Do the people in the church practice what they preach? 

A church that teaches about Jesus should be serving the needs of the community and showing love to everyone inside and outside the walls of the church.  Too many churches TALK about what YOU should be doing but then live a lifestyle that demonstrates they don’t actually believe it themselves.  You will never grow in a church like that or under leadership like that.  Make sure the people in the church are living a life you want to imitate.

4) Is the size of the church a match for you? 

How you are received into a large church versus a small church will be vastly different experiences.  It is much easier to remain anonymous and enjoy a wider array of classes at a large church while at a smaller church it is much more likely that people will get to you know and your family very quickly.  You need to decide for yourself which is more important, having classes for your exact needs or having people who truly know you.

While some of these questions may only be answered by visiting a church yourself, you can save lots of time by first looking through the church website or even placing a call to the church during the week with your specific questions (but please don’t call on Sunday morning, it’s a bad time to call).

Most importantly in this process, however, is to pray about what church you should attend.  At least once I felt like God wanted me to attend a church I wasn’t crazy in love with after attending.  But it turned out to be a great church for my family and me during that season in our lives.  While you can do all your homework to narrow down you list, listening to God will help you choose the right church to call home.

And while finding the right church may take longer than you thought and may be more tiring than expected, don’t give up.  Finding the right church to call home, like finding the best deal on Black Friday, is incredibly rewarding!

So the question is, why would you keep a friend who is actually your enemy?  Why wouldn’t you be more selective when choosing who to be around?

The fact is, who you are friends with may be the greatest factor in determining the outcome of your life.  I actually believe the  decision you make about who are your friends infuences your life more than any other decisions you will make.  How you do in school… impacted by the support of your friends.  Where you go to college… impacted by where your friends are going.  Who you marry… you will probably find this person from among your friends or their friends.  Are you beginning to see how everything revolves around this crucial decision?

That’s why our youth are going to begin the year with a series called World’s Worst friend.  We want them to have a great year, and that all begins with choosing the right friends.  So encourage your teens to join us on September 3rd at 6:30 PM and learn about the importance of choosing good friends and how to pick the right friends.  After all, it makes all the difference in the world!

That is the first line of our church’s belief statement on the subject of salvation, which was the topic of our youth study last night.  As I read that line, one teen asked, “But how can you say salvation is for all people if we believe that some people are never saved from their sin?”

Herein lies the issue which people often get confused about.  When you mistakenly believe that salvation is only offered to a select few, you view God as a mean, unfair, vengeful God who damns people to hell.  And since you have no interest in worshiping a terrible God like that, you write him off and decide to do this journey of life on your own.

But what if you understood that salvation is an amazing gift wrapped up in a gift bag with your name on it?  God has paid an undeniably high price for that gift which he now offers to you and every other person who has ever lived.  He is not a mean God, choosing who to condemn, but instead is a gracious God offering a gift of peace even to those who are at war with him.  If you believed that about Him, would you not see his great love for you, even before you loved him?  And then, what on earth would stop you from receiving that gift and opening it up.  

And inside you would find the free gift of salvation God makes available to all people.

So the big question isn’t, “How could God be so mean to offer salvation only to a few?”

Instead, the question is, “Why are you choosing not to accept and receive this amazing gift God has given to you?”

Sin is Sneaky

The serpent told Eve that if she ate the apple she would be like God.  We often think Eve’s sin was being disobedient by eating from the tree she was told not to (though, to be fair, God gave the command to Adam before Eve was created, but I digress).  But the key point here is that sin was crouching at her door.  This wasn’t about an apple, this was about her desire to be more like God.  A woman made by the hands of God, in the image of God, thought there was something more she needed to be like God.  And so she ate.

And the result was nothing like she expected.  Instead of feeling great power or knowledge, she immediately felt shame.  Shame of her nakedness for the body which God had just deemed “very good.”  You see how sin deceived her?  She wanted to be in control and be more like God, but in fact it was the sin which ended up controlling her.  

In the same way, we have to understand that sin does not show itself to us in neon lights that say “SIN”.  It is sneaky and disguises itself as things which are good for us, will bring us joy, will solve our problems, etc.  But just like Eve discovered, these temptations to sin never live up to the great things they offer.  While Eve wanted to experience greater knowledge, she actually experienced shame.

Our Response to Sin

1) Just like Adam and Eve, our initial response to sin is to hide it.  Adam and Eve ate of the apple and immediately hid from God.  They knew they had done wrong but they didn’t want anyone else to know.  In the same way, even when we are aware of our sin, we are embarrassed and so we hide it so nobody thinks less of us.  Church goers are especially guilty of this as we try so hard to make everybody think our family is a good Christian family every Sunday, regardless of our faults and struggles the other 6 days of the week: “As long as we wear collared shirts and dresses and bring our Bibles to church, nobody will notice our disdain for each other, dad’s porn addiction, mom’s constant cynicism, and Julie’s cut up wrists,” they think.

2) After we get caught in our sin, our first reaction, like Adam and Eve, is to blame somebody else.  Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent, I blame my wife, you blame your co-worker, etc.  When we are in the middle of sin, we don’t want to accept fault and so we push it to somebody else thinking this makes us clean.  We don’t even have to be taught this behavior – spend a day with a toddler and you are sure to hear some creative stories passing blame from the child to the stuffed animal.

So How Do We Fight Against Sin

Praise God, He gives us a strategy to battle against the temptations which confront us.  Yes, sin is sneaky and is quick to control us, but our defense is the same for sin as for fighting off stealth ninjas – TURN THE LIGHTS ON!

 Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.  It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.  But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them,  for the light makes everything visible. (Ephesians 5:11-14)

Just like this passage describes, we need to expose the sin in our lives for what it is, then with the lights on it, we can actively fight against it.  This is why confession of sin to God and to others is so important.  When we stop hiding our sin, like Adam, and start exposing our sin to God, then we are in a position of strength to fight against the temptations in our lives.

The problem is that some people believe that all of life is the result of cosmic chance, of a burst of energy coming from an unknown source, whereby all of life, our world, and our own personal existence is simply blind, and meaningless, luck.  With this understanding of where you came from, you are left to conclude that life is as random and meaningless as the bang from which all life sprang.

If, however, you attribute the bang to something planned and chosen, to a source which is rational and eternal… to God, then the value of your existence is flipped upside down.  The Christian Bible offers a description of how the world began which scholars still differ on how to interpret its meaning.  And while the argument about literal creation as described in Genesis 1 verses God controlling a process of evolution is intriguing, it is not the main point of what the author was trying to describe.

No, the main point of the first chapter of the entire Bible is written to show that YOU have value in God’s eyes.  You see, the Bible says that “God created humankind in His own image,” (Genesis 1:27).  That means that the value and dignity of God Himself has been put inside each one of us.  Even those who are far from God and reject his existence carry the very image of God in them.  So now it doesn’t matter how you feel about yourself or what others say about you which determines your value.  The very fact that God created you in his likeness means that you matter.  You matter to him.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

You matter so much to God that before you even cared about him at all, He already sent his son Jesus to this earth to die for all that you have done wrong and to rise again to new life in Heaven forever, so that we too can rise to new life forever after we die.  I know in the midst of your darkness all you can seem to focus on is the storm around you, but I encourage you to focus on the One who created you, the One who loves you, the One who values you.  Let Him give you your meaning, value, dignity, and hope.

When I think of the word “friend,” I find the Bible helpful to recalibrate what it has meant in its historic meaning.  Here are a few verses which paint a clear picture for the meaning of the word:

• John 15:13 – “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
• Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 –  “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow.”
• Proverbs 18:24 – “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Do you see the depth of connection the Bible speaks of when referring to a friend: laying down your life, helping them when they fall, sticking closer than a brother.  The best example of this type of friendship in the Bible is David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 20).  Jonathan is the heir apparent to the king, his father Saul.  But he knows that God has called his friend David to be the next king.  At times, Jonathan has opportunity to help his father kill David, but he instead puts his own life in danger and protects David.  He picks David up while he is down and stays at his side through all sorts of adversity.  While we never read of David’s brothers helping him while Saul is trying to kill him, we do read of Jonathan sticking closer than his brothers.

But he continued pushing further.  When asked about those who do not believe in God, he said:

“You ask me if the God of the Christians forgives those who don’t believe and who don’t seek the faith. I start by saying – and this is the fundamental thing – that God’s mercy has no limits if you go to him with a sincere and contrite heart. The issue for those who do not believe in God is to obey their conscience.” (Read Article)

And most recently he stated in an interview the following comments: (Read transcript of this interview here)

“Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense.”

“Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is Good.”

“From my point of view, God is the light that illuminates the darkness, even if it does not dissolve it, and a spark of divine light is within each of us. In the letter I wrote to you, you will remember I said that our species will end but the light of God will not end and at that point it will invade all souls and it will all be in everyone.”

It seems to me the pope has taken a turn away from orthodox Christianity and into new waters.  These waters, I’m sure, make my 90 year old Catholic grandmother uneasy.  I know they make me uneasy and I’m not Catholic.  

The problem is that he is spending too much time trying to make the message of Christianity more palateable, more accessible to those without faith.  He has removed Jesus (essentially), he has removed holiness, he has removed God’s justice, and just like Rob Bell, he only sees God’s Love.  

This is a distorted message which does not line up with the message of the New Testament.  God is not just the force of Good – He is our Creator and therefore our Judge.  And his son Jesus is our Savior.  Now one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6).  

The idea of religious tolerance and a pluralism of faiths all leading to God has been exploding across America for several years now, but I never expected to find this message so clearly supported by the pope. 

But the difference between teaching Genesis 1, the creation of the heavens and the earth, to junior highers instead of elementary students is that junior highers have already learned at school and museums that the earth is billions of years old and has gone through many stages of evolution.  With that as their new found knowledge, teaching them a literal, 6-day creation story of the Bible  essentially forces them to decide if they will believe their teachers and scientists or their parents and pastors.  Obviously, to many students, this feels like an impossible choice.

After teaching my lesson to the junior highers, the room cleared out, but the odor lingered.  In marched my senior high students, holding a more subdued excitement, but a group of teens looking forward to the upcoming year.  For them, I decided it was time to spend the year walking through the belief statements of our church.  I’m sure their first response to hearing about a year of doctrine was less than positive, a desire to get back in the car and go do something more interesting.  But then I started asking them questions about what they believe and why.  Instantly, a dry conversation of the doctrine of scripture became an intriguing conversation about experience, logic, and the Bible.  In this conversation, it was clear that culture tells teens to use experience and logic to guide their beliefs, not an ancient book.

So yes, being a teenager in America is difficult.  The world is teaching our kids one thing, often poking fun at the beliefs of Christians.  And often, the world’s depiction of Christianity is warped or incomplete, making their views look more attractive.  My goal this year is to teach my youth how to navigate their faith and their culture.  They must learn how to hold belief in Genesis 1 AND belief in science, which is not the enemy of faith.  They must learn how to use the Bible as an authoritative source of truth and be able to defend themselves when asked why they believe the Bible.  

The world makes it difficult to be a Christian teen.  My job is to equip my teens to go into the world and intelligently discuss with others how the Bible holds the greatest truths ever told.

For example, many people support capital punishment because of Leviticus 24:17-20 which says, “Anyone who takes another person’s life must be put to death … Anyone who injures another person must be dealt with according to the injury inflicted— a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”  But this issue is not so clear when considered in light of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:38-39 where Jesus tells his disciples not to seek revenge but to turn the other cheek.  It is situations like this one which allows good Christians to fall on both sides of the issue.

Unfortunately, too many Christians pick one or two key issues for themselves and choose the political party which they most align with on those issues.  It’s as though those one or two issues are the litmus test for which party is God’s party.   Republicans believe Jesus is a republican because he HAS to be pro-life and democrats believe Jesus is a democrat because he loves and cares for the poor.  People on both sides of the aisle are convinced Jesus is on their team, and from that, they often associate their party as being the more Godly party.

Sadly, after taking this class on ethics, however, I am convinced that neither party is one which Jesus would join.  Yes, both hold to Christian values on some (mostly differing) issues, but both also value things which are contrary to the Kingdom of God.  And realistically, the Kingdom of God is the only party we should be giving our allegiance to.  Only in the Kingdom will we find a perfect system where the poor are cared for, where justice is perfectly fair, and where life is valued in a way we can’t even comprehend.  

In the meantime, we in America are stuck with a workable, though far-from-perfect, political system with two primary parties.  Sure, we can affiliate with one party or another, but as Christians, we must never forget that our allegiance and our values should be based on the wisdom in God’s word and not by the political platform of our party.

And half our team was rewarded a week later with poison ivy spreading across our bodies.  Having never had poison ivy before, I didn’t know how bad it was, but now I am wiser and more experienced (unfortunately) and can say that it is terrible.  I considered scraping my skin off with a cheese grater – thats how bad my arm itched.

In a moment of misery I wondered – in the future should our church send people out to locations with known fields of poison ivy?  Aren’t we just asking for discomfort and and itching arms if we knowingly go and pull weeds where this evil plant exists?  I mean, I understand that our Summer of Love projects are meant to help people, but should we do it at the expense of our own pain and suffering?

And then I thought more deeply about that questions, about the suffering Jesus endured for me, about the beatings Paul endured to spread the Gospel of Jesus, about the centuries of oppression and suffering Christians have endured for sharing the love of Jesus with others.  And in that reframed perspective, I realized a little bit of poison ivy rash is a small price to pay.  This is no reason to stop our efforts to people who happen to have this harmful plant in their yards.  This IS a reason to make sure everyone on the team dresses properly next time, but not to stop.

Showing others the love of Christ has a price.   Sometimes that price isn’t what we expected, sometimes it hurts, sometimes it itches, but it is always worth it.