Posts by Ryan Lenerz
Advent Christmas Blocks
We understand it can be so hard to have meaningful moments in the home at Christmas. Between all the presents and parties it can be hard to center your family on the reason for the season. We want to help you start – and finish – an Advent Resource this year! 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…
Spiritual Drought
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that many of us are experiencing a spiritual drought. But how are we going to survive it? Let’s take a lesson from the woods…
06.29.21 Feed
ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END 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…
06.22.21 Feed
BAD NAMES 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…
06.15.21 Feed
IT’S OK TO BE SALTY 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…
06.08.21 Feed
EVEN THE LOSERS 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…
06.01.21 Feed
MORE THAN A BUILDING 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…
05.25.21 Feed
WELCOME TO THE PRIESTHOOD 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…
05.18.21 Feed
ONCE AND FOR ALL 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…
05.11.21 Feed
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW 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…
05.04.21 Feed
WORK IT 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…
04.27.21 Feed
YOU’RE #2! 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…