Anthem Church

Given the current climate of our church, we will take a break from our Judges series and address the events of the last week head on, rather than try to tip-toe around them. Quinn Bartrug was born at 25 weeks gestation on Wednesday, September 28th and sadly passed away in the evening on September 29th. God does not ask us not to grieve when bad things happen, but rather He wants us to seek him in...

We are introduced to our first Judge this week. Othniel, our first judge, is a reminder to us that God is in control and we are not. It can be very easy to forget that God intends to use us for His purposes and His plan for His glory each and every day. Do you feel useful to God? In what ways have you made excuses to limit your usefulness for God's purposes? Remember, you are still useful if you a...

What legacy are you leaving? As long as you are breathing. it is not too late to leave a Gospel legacy. When you know that the Gospel is enough and it is effective, then you can embody it so others can learn to treasure it. We must leave a better legacy for our churches and our homes.

The Old Testament book of Judges is an incredibly relevant book for us today. Judges is the account of Israel’s history as they enter into the land promised by God, as Abraham’s descendants. While the account in Judges is historical, its chief concern is with respect to God’s person and work within historical events. In particular, Judges reveals how a faithful God deals with and, even uses, falle...

Despite being in a state of total depravity, unable to restore ourselves to right relationship with God, God sent himself, in the form of a man, Jesus Christ, to live the perfect life we could not live, and willingly die the death we should have died. In his resurrection he conquered death and set us free from the wrath of God, so that one day Christ will return and restore us to our originally cr...

The book of Nahum reveals to us the ferocious nature of God’s love, the severity of his wrath, and just how closely these are intertwined. For those who oppose, persist in sin, or set themselves against God, Nahum is a call to repent and a reminder of God’s fierce hatred for sin and disobedience. For those who have trusted in Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, the book of Nahum can be a great comfo...

Opening up Acts 15 shows us what can happen when we try to place barriers or restrictions on the gospel. Though the barriers we set up in the present day may be less obvious than the Judiazers' attempts to require circumcision, they are no less perilous to both us and those whom we are trying to reach with the gospel. Like the Jerusalem council, we must ensure that we address these false gospels q...

In the early days of the church, as Christ centered worship began to emerge, the security and comfort of Israel’s tradition and self perception was threatened. In one of the shortest ministries in the bible, the deacon Stephen reveals the hypocrisy of the present-day Israel, who had accused him of speaking blasphemy; after presenting a history of Israel and its heroes, Stephen reminds them of thei...

God, where are you? God, why are you doing this? These are the two questions the prophet Habakkuk is asking of God. His faith is being tested. Although wrestling with his faith, his faith is not weak, it is getting stronger. The hard things that life throws at us are designed to strengthen our faith in who God is. God’s sovereignty, promises, and power are all meant to spur us on to persevere when...

Despite being spoken and written thousands of years ago, the prophet Joel speaks to a very modern dilemma: lost years. Each of us have seasons in life that don’t go anywhere according to plan. We often times ask the question, “What was the purpose of it all?” Joel clearly identifies God’s merciful plan and redeeming work despite lost years that we can hold fast to.

What is mission? People are sent all around the world on "mission trips", but for what purpose? Jesus. Jesus is our mission. Whether on the other side of the world or in your backyard, that is our mission. Mission doesn't involve Jesus, Jesus is the mission. We, the church, are on mission to make disciples of all nations, tribes, peoples, and languages. We submit to his authority daily for his mis...

God is light, He sends light, and we (man) are supposed to reflect that light. Jesus says we are the light of the world, which means you need to work out, hold out and pour out God's light...not your own. So how do we do this? We work out our salvation, hold out the word of life, and pour out our lives for Jesus.

We have seen some of the most devastating acts against one another occur in our country in the last month. In lieu of concluding our series, Abandoned, we need to look to Jesus this week to understand that our reconciliation happens first to Him, and second to each other. We are meant to be one body, reconciled to Him and to have peace amongst all. For it's through Jesus that we know God and are a...

The church at Laodicea found itself being accused of being a tepid church; somewhere between hot and cold...lukewarm. This happens when we surrender God's sufficiency and diminish our depravity. The solution? We need to stop selling out, copping out, and shutting out.

Too often, people live their lives without any acknowledgement of God’s calling. As believers, we each have a calling on our lives. Using Acts 13, Paul gives us a framework of how to not only discern our calling, but also live it out.

This Father's Day we visit the city of Philadelphia in Revelation, chapter 3. This modern, progressive city is a wealthy, fertile, and beautiful place to live. The church in Philadelphia is praised for it's endurance. But what does it mean to [biblically] endure? Christians, we are promised eternal strength and eternal victory at the end of our days if we endure. And they we endure is by keeping t...

Though Zephania's specific context was to a rebellious Judah, it contains one of the Bible's strongest assurances of God's triumphant love over us. His warning to repent from our sins and idolatry because of the Father's fiercly jealous love AND his reminder that the same God redeems us through Jesus are still pivotal themes in our understanding of the gospel. "Zephaniah’s prophecy is rich in the...

The city of Sardis is a seemingly easy place to live. A free Christian society, no roman occupation, nothing questioning, attacking, or criticizing their way of life. But they, like us, need a wake-up call. It takes a lot of energy to be a Christian, but we have the greatest sustainable source, Jesus. We all must be reminded that our works do not save us, rather we are saved by Christ for the work...

Thyatira is a place that serves one main purpose: to protect the capital city of Pergamum to the north. It is a military city that people mostly just pass through, but with so many people wandering through this city, it is one that can easily be changed by the culture around it. The church in Thyatira is a changing church, one that is being conformed to the culture, not changed by God and this is...

The city of Pergamum is comprised of the well educated, innovative, and spiritually prideful. Jesus addresses this capital city's church body regarding their need to hold fast to him and to not compromise their theology for the culture around them. Jesus is not blind to where he has put your church or where he has put you. Wherever you are, he's asking you to hold fast to his name. Because a good...

This week the church at Smyrna is encouraged to stay faithful, even when things are hard and trying. Are you remaining faithful? Faithfulness is often times marked by poverty, slander, and tribulation in one's life. Although it doesn't sound appealing, that is what Jesus is asking of us as children and as the church; to remain faithful.

This week the church at Ephesus is addressed regarding their lack of love towards Jesus. The church has abandoned its first love and needs to turn back to Jesus lest they fall to ruin. Have you abandoned your first love? Is Jesus taking a back seat to other things in your life? Would we not be Ephesus loved ones; repent of your old ways, remember what Christ has done for you, and let him renew you...

Local church attendance is on the decline. Hostility towards Christianity is on the rise. You may be surprised to know that this comes as no shock to Jesus. In the book of Revelation, seven different churches, in seven different cities are singled out for our edification. In doing so, we find seven different reasons a church is brought to ruin. Curiously, none of the reasons have to do with a chur...

We are counting down the top five objections to Christianity according to the Resurgence Report; an ambitious cultural study completed in 2013, with focus groups completed in Austin, Boston, Phoenix, and San Francisco. It is untenable for Christians to embrace the "new" tolerance of today's culture, if for no other reason, because we are to be the visible reflection of the invisible God. God is no...

We are counting down the top five objections to Christianity according to the Resurgence Report; an ambitious cultural study completed in 2013, with focus groups completed in Austin, Boston, Phoenix, and San Francisco. This week, we ask, "are we, the church, relevant?" The culture would say no, however our responsibility to the culture remains the same: preach the Gospel. What people need, is not...