Anthem Church

We all long for something more. A home that is lasting. We long for a society that is just. We yearn for a lasting beauty and joy. As we mine the life of Abraham we find that this longing is really for the city which was designed and built by God. This is the place we are created for. This is paradise.

Many of us pursue Christ because we feel a duty or obligation. We give mental assent to the doctrines of the bible, and try to do the right thing, and yet we don't have joy. In Philippians Paul teases out the connection between treasuring Christ and having abiding joy. Our joy has not found it's proper object until we treasure Christ above all else.

We all want to change. We want to break free from patterns of self-destructive behavior, from habits of sin, and emotional brokeness. But every time we set out to do so, we find that sin is lurking just around the corner. This sermon explores the struggle with sin and self and the deliverance we can find in Christ. We can expereince the shalom of God in our lives.

God is glorified when we love those who oppose us. He is glorified when the weak display his power, and He is glorified when we respond in humble faith. As we explore the story of Elisha and Naaman, we will see these ideas demonstrated in a powerful way.

Sometimes we face situations that seem hopeless. Often, its not clear to us how God is going to come through on our behalf. Elisha face a situation that was beyond his abilities: raising the Shunamite woman's son from the dead. But she and Elisha trusted God who has power over life and death. As we look at this narrative we find two models of faith and trust, willing to engage with God in what see...

It's easy to feel dis-empowered in a world filled pain and opposition to God's kingdom. However, we have a God who is able to empower us through his Spirit. This sermon explores the connection between being filled with the Spirit of God, allowing Christ to dwell in you, and being effective for the mission of God.

God has given us a commission to make disciples who make disciples, but with all the distractions in our culture it's easy to drift away from our mission. How do we stay focused on the mission of God? This sermon will help us examine where you are on mission with God, and where we need realignment.

God's provision often comes in unexpected ways. As we examine the life of Elisha, we will see the importance of God's provision through us. We are called to care for the least among us in tangible ways, and point them to the provision of God in Christ. This is how we magnify the glory of God.

Elisha is often overshadow by his predecessor and mentor Elijah. However, Elisha was fully committed to glorifying God with his life, and his life pointed to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. Looking at the life of Elisha can help us understand what it means to fully embrace God's call on our lives to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.

Normally, loyalty is associated with the past. We think of being loyal to those who have gone before, and at best we associate loyalty with the present. We are loyal to our friends, our workplace, etc. However, the biblical understanding of loyalty involves both looking forward and looking back. This sermon explores the idea of loyalty in the context of faith, looking to the accomplishments of tho...

The second half of the great commandment instructs us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Unfortunately, God has not simply called us to love those with whom we see eye to eye. In this sermon, we explore who God has called us to love, and what it really looks like to love them.

The apostle Paul shows us how both Christ's death and Christ's resurrection are made manifest in his life. He suffers but still lives with hope and is not driven to despair. Through his words we can learn how we can display the life of Christ through our suffering.

Pastor Allen concludes the book of Ruth in redemptive fashion. Keeping to his promise, Boaz settles the matter as Ruth's redeemer, through shrewd legal dealings and total sacrifice. In similar fashion, Jesus settles the matter of our redemption through the legal, sacrificial, substitutionary atonement on the cross. Our ultimate and final redemption has been purchased, announced and witnessed. Jesu...

Now having been blessed by a God who favors her, Ruth steps out in active faith as a response. When our faith is passive, we simply seek to avoid evil. However, Ruth demonstrates a faith that actively seeks to do what is right. How about you? Are you passively trying to avoid evil? Or are you actively pursuing what is right? Likewise, we must understand that Jesus is actively working on our behalf...

Chapter 2 concludes in start contrast to its opening. Ruth begins the day hoping for blessing and ends the day blessed beyond her imagination. Though God may not bless us circumstantially as we all would like, He has blessed us with everything that matters (Ephesians 1:3). In spite of what our circumstances may tell us, in Christ we are soaked to the bone with the blessings He has rained down on o...

Sometimes through pain and suffering it becomes very difficult to see the favor of God. However, if we're willing to examine ourselves and the things we think will bring us pleasure and peace, we will find that we're the problem. To see God's favor on us most clearly requires us to be fully satisfied in Him alone.

The first chapter of Ruth reminds us of God's sovereignty even in our suffering. William Cowper wrote: ". . .behind every frowning providence is a smiling face." We trust that God is in control over each and every difficulty life can throw at us, as He works out all things for His glory and our greater joy. This is gloriously good news, in spite of how we feel sometimes, because it means all hard...

The Lord is good and even restores us when we need it. So often, we lean on our own strength and our own remedies. However, the scripture paints a different picture where His children find refuge, solace, and restoration another way. Pastor Allen describes his own journey and need for restoration in his upcoming sabbatical.

Friday begins one of humanity's lowest points in history. Saturday is one of humanity's most hopless points in history. But this is not the end. Sunday is only a day away. We have all thought to ourselves, "this is not how I thought it would end". Pastor Allen takes us through the 3-days of Easter and allows us to connect with the human condition and the hope of a living savior.

Sectarianism is the withdrawal from and letting go of culture. "Visiting sectarian churches is like visiting a museum dedicated to the past. This is because all sectarian churches eventually become dated from being removed from people in the world. Sectarians do not live by the necessary faith in the gospel and therefore believe that evil hearts and sinful actions and worldly social structures are...

God has a mission...we don't have a mission. Rather, we are to participate on His. That mission is that we are a sent people, just as Jesus was sent to us. And the mission has a church. Which is what he sends corporately. The local church is a specific group of regenerated believers in a specific place at a specific time. As so, God's mission is always done with expectation of community. In this s...

Christopher J.H. Wright says, "There is one God at work in the universe and in human history, and ... this God has a goal, a purpose, a mission that will ultimately be accomplished by the power of God's Word and for the glory of God's name. This is the mission of the biblical God."

Not being ashamed of the Gospel means a lot to the believer. Paul's letter to Galatia has been evidence of that. What are you branded to? What do you suffer for? Shadows? You won't ever be able to fully get your arms around the shadow, so what you need is the substance found in the true Gospel of Jesus.

Galatians: Part 9 of 10 at Anthem.

It is Paul's desire to see the Gospel fully formed in the life of the Galatian church. Like a mom who gives birth, it requires a substantial amout of effort, pain and time. First, the Father draws us so that the Gospel might come to bear on our lives and save us from the penalty of sin. Then, it seeks to save us from the power of sin by sanctifying us under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Finally...