The Essentials: Unpacking Our Core Beliefs
There are countless beliefs Christians can hold on thousands of different issues. But at Ashworth, we choose to focus on only 6 primary, core beliefs which all of us agree to hold in common. In this series we unpack our belief statement, one topic at a time.
The Essentials – Q&A
Pastors Brent and Ryan look at the category of beliefs that are not necessarily essentials called distinctives and answer questions raised during the Essentials series. Discussion Questions If somebody asked you to explain your understanding of if a person can lose their salvation, what would you tell them? At Ashworth we leave room for a lot of tension and grey in our understanding of scripture. Do you appreciate this approach or do you wish we were more black and white…
The Essentials – The Bible
Pastor Brent Clark looks at different videos of the Bible and why we must be careful not to put too much or too little weight on the Bible as the Word of God. Discussion Questions If you had to explain to someone why they should read the Bible, what would you say? What practical steps can be taken to move beyond ignoring the Bible or only studying the Bible and allowing it to speak with authority into our lives? This…
The Essentials – Salvation
Pastor Ryan shares how salvation is a gift from God by grace through faith available to all. He challenges us to stop trying to add to what God requires for Salvation and to humbly submit to Jesus to the be hero of our lives. Discussion Questions In what ways are you tempted to ADD the saving work of Jesus? Jesus PLUS Knowledge? Jesus PLUS Good Deeds? Or Jesus PLUS Obedience? When you think about the non-Christians in your life, do…
The Essentials – Jesus
Pastor Brent examines the importance of the essential belief in Jesus, who Jesus thought and said he was, and what those closest to Jesus believed about him. Discussion Questions How different would your life be if Jesus were not real or never existed? What does that indicate about your spiritual life? What do Jesus’ statements about himself and his actions show us about who he thought he was? (John 10:30, John 14:1, Luke 5:20-24, John 5:24-25) If asked by a skeptical friend, “Who…
The Essentials – Humanity
Pastor Ryan looks at how our view of humanity is essential and impacts our view of ourselves, others, and God. Perfect… Sort of Happy Valentine’s Day! Today is a day all about love and so I want to begin with each you you taking a moment and think about the most perfect person. For those of you who are married, you should be thinking about your spouse – obvioously. If you’re single, think about your first crush. Whether married or…
The Essentials – God
Pastor Brent looks at how the belief in a god might not distinguish Christianity from other faiths but the why viewing God as a Triune, Creator, Ruler God is essential to the Christian faith. Discussion Questions How does your belief in God impact your sense of holiness? Justice? Love for neighbor? Do you tend to think of God as ONE or as THREE distinct and different Gods? Why do you think it is important to our faith to keep a balance…
The Essentials
Pastors Brent and Ryan discuss how in order to determine the essentials we have to start by acknowledging not everything is black and white and following Jesus means being okay with living with some mystery and tension in the Bible. Discussion Questions 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? How open are you to differing views in your beliefs? Are you…