Anthem Church

What are you going to do with Jesus? This is the most important question you will ever answer in your entire life. Will we partake of the joy and forgiveness God offers in Christ or will we drink the cup of wrath, which we all deserve, as we deny Christ? Listen in as we examine heaven, hell, and the lion and lamb that is Jesus Christ.

In this week’s installment of the Dominion series, we turn our attention to angels and demons. While culture has characterized these beings in a number of different ways, scripture is clear on their origin, organization, and ordinances. Demons can burden and oppress us, but freedom is found in confession of these burdens, proclaimed truth, and worshipful deliverance as we look upwards toward God i...

Satan’s plan is to counterfeit God’s creation, set up traps for God’s people, and interfere with God’s mission. However, we see clearly in scripture that this adversary, while dangerous, is certainly limited, and in the end his dominion is short. Our great conqueror, Jesus Christ, has already struck the fatal blow to our enemy, and in time Satan’s dominion will be no more. Until then, we place our...

Dominion is a series focused behind the veil of the seen world. In the cosmic realm, there is a battle between good and evil occurring for claim to territories, institutions, and souls. Though Christ struck the fatal blow to Satan on the cross, our Enemy continues to lash out and cause confusion, pain, and suffering as he awaits his final death. This sermon is an introduction, a survey of spiritua...

When we believe rightly, when the reality of what God has done for us in Jesus resonates in our hearts, our lives change, and we step into the good works that have been prepared for us beforehand. To what are you devoting yourself in this season? May we believe in what is trustworthy and true, and may our good works flow our of worship and love for our Creator God.

Jesus tells his disciples a parable comparing the kingdom of heaven to a treasure that is hidden in a field that a man finds and sells everything he has to possess the treasure. In this parable Jesus communicates that the value of the kingdom of heaven is incomparable to anything the world has to offer. When we place the appropriate value on the kingdom we find joy in the kingdom even when life is...

As we look at the biblical idea of patience in James 5:7-11, we see in verses 10-11 that patience is rounded out by the idea of perseverance and endurance. Those who claim Jesus as Lord can rejoice in suffering; not because we enjoy it or wish for it, but because the Lord can use it to grow us, grow our faith, and grow our hope and love in Him.

The world we live in is warring against the calling and discipline of patience, which we are to have as followers of Christ. Holy patience, however requires that we live in light of God’s presence and love; we also must step into the Spirit’s help to love one another as we have been loved by God himself.

As we conclude our journey through the book of Ecclesiastes, we are reminded of the chief duty of all people: to fear God and to keep his commandments. This lesson, and the many others contained in this rich book, only change us inasmuch as we remember them. We learn when, how, and why to remember, and thereby allow them to work in our lives by the power of God.

The main purpose of humans is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, in light of eternity. However, as we walk in the world under the sun, we find false purpose in the here and now. While our lives in this world are ours to steward and live well, we can’t find joy living solely for the temporal. In these verses, shared as the new year is upon us, Solomon’s inspired words help us thread the needle a...

This Christmas Eve we examined three historically Christmas hymns: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, O Holy Night, and O Come All Ye Faithful. We learn not only have their origin but examine the good news they communicate regarding the birth of our Redeemer Jesus Christ.

All Christians are leaders and all leadership is contagious. Our lives are not our own and how we lead directly impacts other people. In Ecclesiastes 10:1-18 we examine the errors and consequences of bad leadership as an encouragement to lead others in such a way that reflects and honors Christ.

Though life under the sun often doesn’t play out as we would all expect or hope, God has granted us a precious gift to help us navigate this life: wisdom. The reverence of the Lord is the beginning all wisdom, and all true wisdom is from him, given to those who ask for it. May we humble ourselves before God and before others, that we might cherish and learn from wisdom and live the lives that Chri...

As King Solomon continues in his lessons of wisdom, he begins to repeat important themes in hopes that God's truths will sink into the hearts and minds of his readers. In this portion, we are reminded of the importance of being present to God in the present moment. Tomorrow isn’t promised; we can and should steward our lives, but no fretting over the future will bring our desired peace. Yesterday...

The world is full of unmet expectations. In an attempt to understand them we easily find ourselves fixating on these things in a way that is unhealthy. Only God can fully understand everything that happens under the sun. Rather than fixating on our unmet expectations be encouraged to meditate on who God is and the grace that he has poured out on us.

Death is a difficult topic of conversation, but it is one that must not be ignored. In Ecclesiastes 8:10-13 Solomon tells us about a burial he witnessed and his thoughts on life as a result of what he had seen. What he saw is people who do not fear God living in sin yet not appearing to face any consequences for their life choices. In light of this perceived injustice Solomon reminds us that there...

Submission to authority is a challenge for all people. Under the sun, authority will always fall short, but in any context it is supposed to serve as an intersection with the kingdom of God and as a reflection of the caring authority that God has over the world. This sermon teaches us how to conduct ourselves under authority of any kind and also reminds us of the limitations and functions of autho...

Try as we may to control and fix our lives, there are many things that are out of our reach to affect. Properly understanding the sovereignty of God and our inability to fix ourselves helps us to face life’s reality. We so frequently think that we are in control and God is unable, when in fact God is in control, we were made to depend on him, and he desires to “make us upright” - to give us a life...

Our lives today are full of distractions. While it is easy to go through our days distracting ourselves from our hurts, struggles, and desires, God himself calls us to the contemplative life, a life aware of his presence, his love, and his working. Distraction distorts our desires and impairs our emotions, but a contemplative life is an advantage, a protection, and a preservative; it reminds us of...

All of us desire rest - not just physical or mental rest, but the deep, abiding rest of the soul. We try to attain this rest under the sun through our past striving, our present searching, and the potential solutions the future might bring. However, all of these efforts fall short. Jesus instead invites us into the present rest offered through faith in Him. He promises true rest today - may we acc...

The church has a long history of unhelpful discussion about money. When we focus too much on practicality, prosperity, or poverty theology, we miss the core of what the Bible teaches about money. Money itself is an amoral resource to be stewarded, but the love of money causes many unnecessary pains. The world tells us that we aren’t happy because of what we don’t have, but Scripture commends to us...

Within the church, any church in fact, you will find hypocrites. We all claim to live in light of a love we don’t deserve, and we are all inconsistent in showing that love to one another. We can often be ignorant, rash, and unreliable, but nevertheless we are Christ’s bride; we are all precious in the sight of God, and therefore we should consider one another in this way. When we come to gather, w...

With the launch of our Gospel Communities for the next year, we are reminded in this sermon that Christ's prayer for the church, for all time, is oneness, just as the Spirit, the Son, and the Father all experience oneness. May we at Anthem step deeper together into this holy calling!

The true fellowship that God desires for his people is an interactive practice. Not only do we need to seek one another out in love, but we also need to open ourselves to truth spoken into our own lives. Fellowship helps us with our incapability, our misery, and our vulnerability. We were never made to live alone; in the weakness of our humanity we are able to bear one another up, attaining the un...

Oppression in all of its forms is a past and present reality for humanity living under the sun. Personal oppression is a spiritual, mental, emotional, or physical burden or impediment weighing heavily on one’s conscience. We as followers of Jesus cannot disengage from this reality, but must consider and engage with oppressed people in a true and thoughtful way. Protection from oppression is by God...