Anderson Sermons

Church, this present world is a spiritual battleground. Walking and talking with God during the battle is essential to our personal growth and our victory over the enemy. When we fail, and we all will fail from time to time, the solution is to ask for forgiveness. When we look to tomorrow and hope to do better, the key is to ask for His protection. Deepening intimacy with our heavenly Father throu...

We have needs and desires that only God can fulfill, and our heavenly Father is more generous than we can possibly imagine. So Jesus instructs us to ask, and to keep on asking!

When we pray, we frequently jump straight to asking God to meet our needs and fulfill our desires. And God does invite us to bring everything that is on our hearts to Him, but Jesus instructs us to first remember that relationship takes priority over requests. Remember! The One who invites us into conversation is our gracious Father and transcendent King!

Prayer is like a foreign language. We don't instinctively know how to speak with God, but deep inside us we need to, and we long to, communicate with our heavenly Father. For this reason, one of Jesus' highest priorities in transforming His followers into His image is to teach us to pray. Are you ready to learn how to pray?

The world's economy runs on to merit, but God's kingdom runs on grace – unexpected, undeserved and unlimited favor from the Creator and Redeemer of mankind. On this Easter Sunday we remember and celebrate the ultimate demonstration of God's grace given freely to us through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

Prayer is always the appropriate response to every situation. James reminds us to pray when life is hard and when life is good, when we are sick and when we are in sin. James reminds us of the value of community in our lives and the power of God unleashed through our prayers. So let's get to work building a deep and enduring lifestyle of prayer!

Prayer is always the appropriate response to every situation. James reminds us to pray when life is hard and when life is good, when we are sick and when we are in sin. James reminds us of the value of community in our lives and the power of God unleashed through our prayers. So let's get to work building a deep and enduring lifestyle of prayer!

We have a problem. A big problem. Our problem is ourselves! Our hearts are divided and our affections are disordered. We want to love God and others, but we also want to pursue our own insatiable self-interest. The result is conflict in our relationships and distance from our God. But God has a bigger solution – His grace, His favor which empowers us to love Him with an undivided heart a...

Words are powerful and dangerous. We will one day answer to God for the words we speak. After all, words can destroy people's lives or heal their hearts. And not only are words powerful, they also reflect what's in our hearts. For that reason, the only way we can control our speech is to ask God to change our character. We need His wisdom and His grace to speak and act in ways that build up rather...

Eternal life is a free gift received by faith. Eternal life isn't earned and it cannot be lost. However, God's intention for our lives is not merely to give us eternal life, but to transform our lives so that we reflect His character. And this is James' concern as well – maturity. Mature faith expresses itself outwardly in good works that glorify God. Immature faith, or as James describe...

If we turn quickly to anger in the midst of our trials, if we fail to listen attentively to God's voice, if we become distracted by other voices around us, or if we simply choose to ignore His voice, will destroy our intimacy with Him and undermine our journey toward maturity. On the other hand, when we listen attentively, and say “yes” to all that He has for us, our lives will...

When life gets hard, we are often tempted to doubt God's goodness, or even to blame Him for the consequences of our own sinful choices. But sin comes from within our own hearts. So James urges us to resist sin's lies, and instead to trust in the goodness of God. God never leads us toward evil and death, but instead He sent His Son to save us from our sins and to lead us into life. God is always go...

It has been observed that suffering will either make us better or bitter. The outcome depends entirely on our response. We can't control when trials come, how frequently they will appear in our lives, or how intense they will be. But we can choose our response. When we embrace the truth that God is able to use our sufferings to deepen and mature our faith, and when we seek His guidance through our...

Nothing is as it should be in this world. But the present struggles will come to an end. The final chapters of our Bible describe a perfect ending, which actually reflects the perfect beginning of the rest of our lives. God will bring heaven to earth and we will experience perfect relationships in perfected bodies in a perfect place with satisfying labor in the very presence of our Creator and Red...

The world as it now exists is not all that God has planned for us. The best is yet to come! When Jesus returns to the earth, He will fulfill all of God's promises and defeat all of God's enemies. In fulfillment of God's promises to Israel, including all of the blessings extended to the gentiles, Jesus will establish God's kingdom on earth and reign with His people for 1,000 years. After this He wi...

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, will return. And when He returns, He will bring joy to His followers and judgment on His enemies. He will gather His people together for a great feast, a party that will be better than anything we can possibly imagine. But those who say “no” to Jesus' invitation will face destruction. Are you with Jesus, or against Jesus? Will you have a seat at Hi...

In preparation for Christ's return, God will decisively demolish the world system that is full of deception, immorality, greed, and idolatry. This world order that opposes God is described in Revelation as “Babylon,” and it will inevitably fall, exposing people's rejection of God. But even as we anticipate the eventual emergence and then destruction of Babylon during the tribul...

Have you ever thanked God for His justice? We often talk about God's grace and love, but words like “judgment” and “wrath” tend to make us uncomfortable. But the Book of Revelation shows us that God's justice is good and necessary! His justice is rooted in His character, and it flows from His holiness and love. His justice flows from His commitment to re-cre...

From the beginning of human history Satan has been building a counterfeit kingdom alongside the Kingdom of God, competing for the allegiance of men and women who are made in the image of God. Satan's plan will reach its most powerful form during the second half of the tribulation, when through the work of the Antichrist (1 st beast) and the false prophet (2 nd beast) he will establish a kingdom wh...

Satan is the ultimate bully! He is real. He is smart. And he is powerful. But we give him more credit than he deserves. Revelation 12 reminds us that in the cosmic conflict that has been raging throughout all of human history, the devil cannot win. God wins! Our adversary was defeated by the death and resurrection of Jesus, and he will be defeated fully and finally when Jesus returns. He can also...

Nothing can silence the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ! But because His gospel includes both bitter news (our sin must be judged) and sweet news (Jesus died and was raised for our sins), all of God's messengers should expect opposition. Nevertheless, no matter how the world responds, we should proclaim His message with confidence. Jesus and His kingdom will prevail!

God is not impulsive or reactive. All His ways are intentional and consistent with His righteousness. When He brings judgment on the earth it will be measured and purposeful. His judgments will vindicate His people who have suffered injustice; His judgments will display His power; and His judgments will expose the hardness of human hearts. And yet even as His righteous judgments come upon the eart...

For millennia God's people have cried out to Him, “How long, O Lord?” How long will you delay bringing justice to this earth? How long will you delay establishing Your righteous reign upon the earth? When the Lamb of God takes the scroll and begins to break its seals, “tribulation” will begin upon the earth. It will be a time of unprecedented distress. God w...

God alone is worthy of worship. And in God's throne room everyone knows what to do – worship. Worship God the Father because He is the Creator and rightful ruler over all that He has made. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom that will not fade away. Worship God the Son because He has redeemed men and women from every nation so that we might give God His rightful worship and exercise do...

What would Jesus say to us if He wrote us a letter?! In chapters 2-3 of the book of Revelation, Jesus dictated to John seven personal letters to seven unique local churches, encouraging them to stand firm in their faith, warning them to turn away from sin, and reminding them of their future reward in Him. And His message still applies to us today. In the midst of a culture hostile to us and to our...