Ash Street Church

Ash Street Church Your first time here, you are a visitor. From then on, you're family.

For our evening service this Sunday, June 28th, we will be attending "Praise Along the River" in Point Pleasant. We hope...
06/25/2026

For our evening service this Sunday, June 28th, we will be attending "Praise Along the River" in Point Pleasant. We hope you can join us!

06/21/2026

6/21/26

06/21/2026

The Place of Grace
Part I

“So the LORD God sent them out of the Garden of Eden” (Genesis 3:23a, GNT).

When I imagine a place of grace, my first thought is of somewhere quiet, peaceful, and free of turmoil. But as I come to a deeper knowledge of the things of God, I continue to better understand that this is not what it looks like practically.

When Adam and Eve sinned against God, he cast them out of the Garden of Eden. This was certainly a consequence for their actions－but was it not also an act of mercy? If they had, in their brokenness, eaten of the tree of life, they would have lived that way forever.

“Their relocation was not a place of abandonment－it was a place of grace . . . An unending life of shame and sin would have been their fate.”

－Lysa TerKeurst

Sometimes, God in his mercy saves us from ourselves. Can you imagine the world we live in today continuing on forever? I can’t. It has regressed throughout the millennia, and continues to decline. It may be our human nature to want to live forever, but if we really get down to it, that desire is not because this life is so great: It’s because we fear death. But when we put on Christ, we have victory over death,¹ and need not fear it any longer.

“He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15, NKJV).

Many passages of Scripture are difficult for us to accept. I know that when I read about different instances of infanticide by the pharaohs, or God himself telling the Israelites to destroy their enemies, including women and children, it makes me grimace, and my mind wants to question the character of God. How could a just God of love² permit such atrocities, or issue such commands?

While it’s still not easy, I have learned to accept these challenging situations on faith. It occurred to me recently that when God would issue an order of destruction against an entire people, he was simultaneously sparing the souls of the innocent. All of the infants and children who were killed in those scenarios would end up in heaven－and be spared an eternity in hell, as they would presumably have been brought up in savage and/or idolatrous societies like the preceding generations.

“. . . The son shall not bear the guilt of the father . . . But your little ones . . . I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised” (Ezekiel 18:20, Numbers 14:31, NKJV).

The place of grace isn’t a heavenly choir and still waters; that’s heaven. God’s grace in action saves us from the deserved punishment for our sins; it sustains us through the tribulations of this life,³ and works even the greatest evils for his good and higher purpose.

¹ 1 Corinthians 15:55
² Deuteronomy 33:4, 1 John 4:8
³ 2 Corinthians 12:9

- Markie Doczi

06/17/2026

For anyone interested, I have an email list for my weekly Sunday Thoughts. (I sometimes share different devotions on my personal page, and the emails include both.)

Feel free to private message me if you'd like to be put on the list.

- Markie Doczi

06/14/2026

“Keep Thy Soul Diligently” 6/14/26

06/14/2026

Sunday Thought:
For Such a Time as This

“Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14b, NKJV).

These famous words were spoken to young Queen Esther by her kinsman Mordecai, pertaining to an earthly kingdom; but they resound throughout history in the life of every believer, as it pertains to the kingdom of heaven.

“But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth” (Exodus 9:16, NKJV).

First we need to understand about the kingdom of God: Where is it? And when is it?

“‘My kingdom is not of this world’ . . . ‘For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you’” (John 18:36, Luke 17:21, NKJV).

The kingdom of God is timeless,¹ present, and yet to be fulfilled－as has been prophesied,² prayed for,³ and promised.⁴ It is timeless because YHWH is so.⁵ It is present in that the Holy Spirit dwells within every born-again believer.⁶ And it has yet to be fully realized because God’s timing is not yet; and when it is, everyone will know it.⁷

“Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him . . .” (Revelation 1:7, NKJV).

If we have put our faith in the inerrant Word of God,⁸ then we have accepted that he has a plan for each of our lives,⁹ and work for us to do.¹⁰ Furthermore, while every child of God is called to preach the gospel,¹¹ we each have different assignments under that umbrella calling within our unique spheres of influence.

“There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6, NKJV).

God is sovereign, and he is intentional－which means that he has placed you specifically in this day and age. So if you’re feeling insignificant, recognize this scheme of the devil and shake the lie off of your life.¹² God has you here and now for a reason. And Jesus loves you so much that even if you were the only sinner who ever lived . . . he still would have gone to the cross.

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13, NKJV).

If you are living in darkness, know that Jesus is the light. It is not his will that any should perish, but he gives us free will to choose whom we will serve. I pray that you will choose Jesus!

“. . . ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!’” (Matthew 3:2, NKJV).

If you are already a child of God but still struggling with your purpose, I urge you to draw near to your heavenly Father¹³ and make sure you’re right with him. Speak God’s Truth over your feelings! Seek his direction for your life－and quit living lost.

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2a, NKJV).

¹ Psalm 145:13
² Daniel 2:44, Revelation 11:15
³ Matthew 6:10
⁴ Matthew 25:34, 2 Corinthians 5:5
⁵ Revelation 1:8
⁶ 1 Corinthians 3:16
⁷ Isaiah 45:23
⁸ Psalm 119:160, 2 Timothy 3:16
⁹ Ephesians 1:4-5
¹⁰ Ephesians 2:10
¹¹ Matthew 28:19
¹² John 8:44
¹³ James 4:7

- Markie Doczi

06/10/2026

Come and join us this evening for our June picnic! We'll have homemade burgers, hot dogs, and all the trimmins.' 🍔🌭🥗

We eat at 6, with Bible study at 6:30!

06/07/2026

“Christ In You” 6/7/26

06/07/2026

Sunday Thought:
These Things Part II

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33, NKJV).

In Matthew chapter 6 during his sermon on the mount, Jesus said to give our needs to God, exhorting us to trust him with them rather than worry about them. But what are these needs?

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25, NKJV).

Jesus was saying that we shouldn’t waste our time worrying about our basic needs when God has promised to fulfill them. “For who by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” He asked in verse 27. We need to ask God for what we need, and trust him with it.

“But let him ask in faith, without doubting” (James 1:6a, CSB).

Jesus also posed a rhetorical question here: “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” I think Jesus was saying in part that we should focus our attention on living our lives for him, and on treating our bodies as temples, rather than hyper-focusing on sustaining that life (which is in God’s hands anyway¹), and on the adornment of that body.

But there’s a condition to these blessings. “Seek first the kingdom of God,” Jesus said－and then all of these things will be added unto us. God is not honor-bound to bless us when we are not living for him (though he may sometimes choose to do so). Blessings from God come through obedience to God.³

I believe that the promise of “these things” pertains to other areas of our lives as well. What I mean is that when we truly seek God first, we take all of our desires and requests to him. So, when we’re praying for a financial blessing, career success, a greater ministry－whatever it is－we need to first pray in his will, and then trust God with these requests as well.

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21, NIV).

Just as we know that what our children want isn’t always what they need, we need to have faith that our heavenly Father will, in his sovereignty, provide the things that we need, whether it includes what we asked for or not.

God has a plan for each of our lives,⁴ and kingdom work prepared for us to do.⁵ And when we seek him first, he promises to provide for our needs, bless our obedience, and work all things together for our good and his glory.⁶

“. . . The LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those whose walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11, ESV).

¹ Job 12:107
² John 3:16, Romans 5:8, 1 John 4:9
³ Deuteronomy 28:1-14
⁴ Jeremiah 29:11
⁵ Ephesians 2:10
⁶ Romans 8:28

- Markie Doczi

05/31/2026

“To The Suffering” 5/31/26

Address

398 Ash Street
Middleport, OH
45760

Opening Hours

Wednesday 6:30pm - 8pm
Sunday 9:30am - 10:30am
10:30am - 12pm

Telephone

+17409926443

Website

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