Messages by Brent Clark (Page 13)

Messages by Brent Clark (Page 13)

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

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 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

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

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

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…
restoring the foundation

Hitting the Wall

Pastor Brent Clark looks at how when we follow Jesus, we can sometimes hit a spiritual wall that leaves us feeling empty and that God has left us, but we can endure and push through the wall.
restoring the foundation

Restoring Healthy Spiritual Rhythms

Pastor Brent looks at how not all changes made during the pandemic have been bad and give us a new opportunity to establish healthy spiritual rhythms in our lives. Discussion Questions What are the spiritual disciplines you need to cultivate to keep connected to God? What are the practices of self-care you need to attend to your body and nurture your soul? What are the gifts, passions, and burdens within you that God wants you to express for the blessing…
Best Christmas Ever

The Christmas Light

Pastor Brent traces the importance of light from the beginning to the end of the biblical narrative and how Christmas is a reminder of the light of Jesus that has dawned to overcome the darkness.