Messages by Brent Clark
The Invitation of the Beatitudes
Pastors Brent Clark and Ryan Lenerz look at the words of Jesus and how we might miss Jesus’ invitation in the beatitudes for all to be a part of the kingdom if we try to make them a list of rules to live by. #micdup #beatitudes #Jesusownwords
This Not That Temple
Pastor Brent looks at how the temple is the meeting place between God and humanity and how God’s original design was for humanity to exist in his presence and his purpose will be accomplished in the restoration of the new creation.
This Not That Sacrifice
Pastor Brent looks at Hebrews 10 and how what seems to be a barbaric and primitive system of sacrifice in the Old Testament was made obsolete by the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
Beyond Work
Pastors Brent and Ryan discuss what it means to find and fulfill your calling and how you can even achieve this in whatever current job you have. Discussion Questions What skills and passions has God put inside of you that uniquely enable you to fulfill your calling? What is that calling? If you had to write down what God called you to do, what would you say? In what ways do your calling and your job overlap?
Beyond Me
Pastor Brent challenges the conventional wisdom of the day that says you do you by examining what it really means to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. Introduction What do you prefer? Let’s learn a bit about you based on your brand preference: Zoom or MS Teams? This is the ultimate COVID option.Coke or Pepsi? The original question.Casey’s or Kim & Go? What about breakfast pizza?Levi’s or Wranglers?iPhone or the other device?Walmart or Target?Facebook or Snapchat?Jesus or Jesus?…
Beyond Evangelism
Pastor Brent talks with Matthew Becker about how evangelism and sharing Jesus with others doesn’t always have to be about a sales pitch, fear tactics, or even telling them about Jesus, but can be about walking with them a journey toward Jesus.
Beyond Religion
Pastor Brent challenges the idea that Jesus came to establish a new religion and shows why trusting in religion won’t get you where you thought you were going. Discussion Questions Why do you think some could be drawn to religion (right beliefs, behavior, rituals, etc.) over a relationship with Jesus? Why do you think Jesus was so hard and confrontational with the religious leaders in Matthew 23? As Jesus critiqued religion, do any of his critiques surprise you? If so,…
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 – 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 – 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…