Anthem Church

As Jesus continues his earthly ministry, he continues to reveal the character of God to those around them. The question posed to the Pharisees is posed to us: what will we do with the authority of Jesus?

When Christ heals, he is always doing some deeper work for the benefit of those around him. Alleviating the pain in our life can be a good thing, but God is always seeking to bring about a deeper healing, the saving and growth of our souls, in each of his followers.

God is good and gracious, working in our lives for our benefit and joy. Sometimes this aligns with what we hope and wish for, but when it doesn’t, we can trust God, knowing that he is still working good in and for us, growing our faith all the while.

Jesus invited his disciples, and invites us, to enter into the work of God and his people, advancing the kingdom of heaven with the Lord’s help. Will we avail ourselves to this labor of love?

What does it mean to worship in spirit and in truth? God reveals our sin and reveals his Son as the remedy for that sin. Engaging with the Spirit and the truth of God allows us to worship with full hearts.

We all have a hunger and a thirst deep within for life itself. The love of God reaches through circumstance, stereotype, and obstacles to offer living water, satisfying our souls.

It’s a new year, which means it’s the time when most of us make plans and goals, with hope for a better future. Let’s start the year by putting down the most important stones first, that we may be rooted in grounded in places where we can be blessed to grow in Christ.

Every year, we find ourselves caught up in the flurry of December’s activity and expectation. The Christmas story, however, reminds us that the birth of Jesus was far from tidy, convenient, and easy. God entered into the brokenness of humanity, into the mess and darkness, in an unexpected way. May we allow Christ to break into our busy lives, and may we be caught up and distracted by the deepest t...

In our experience of this fallen world, we often find that promises are forgotten and our mistakes and sin are remembered. However, with God, he reverses the curse, remembering his promises to his people continually, and in our repentance he forgets our sin forever. Listen in as we celebrate this God, who gave his only Son as the greatest act of mercy to a needy and desperate world.

God satisfies those who are hungry but sends away those who are full of this life. The question is, which are we? And how do we know? If we humble ourselves and prepare room in our hearts, Jesus promises to meet us, feast with us, and fill us with good things.

What does it mean to pursue humility? Is it always bad to be proud? As we examine the next lines of Mary’s Song, we lift our eyes to God, who opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Our pride keeps us from the very presence, power, and promises of the God who longs to provide for us and commune with us; may we pursue him in humility today.

We begin our Advent series this week by focusing on hope. Though Mary had many questions and doubts about how God was working in her life, she held on to her humility, and with the help of others recognized her place in relation to her God. She entrusted herself to his goodness and timing, and found comfort and joy in following his lead, one day and one step at a time.

As we conclude the third chapter of John, we examine the end of John the Baptist’s life and ministry as well. What does it look like to live a life surrendered to God?

Our default state as humanity is one of darkness. We are prone to hiding and doing whatever it is that satisfies our flesh and our selves… at least for a while. Jesus Christ came into the world as the light, stepping down into our darkness that we may be rescued from it, filled with the Spirit of God, and sent forth in hope, joy, and healing to love and serve God and others.

We can get used to hearing the good news of Jesus, especially when it is contained within well-known verses like John 3:16-18. However, repetition is good for God’s people, and it is in fact necessary to remind ourselves of the beauty and power of what God has done for us in sending his Son.

Many people claim to be followers of Jesus, but what does his saving grace actually look like in our lives? In John 3, Jesus teaches Nicodemus what it means to be born again; it’s not just about what we know, but where are hearts and eyes are fixed.

How do we ensure that our lives are not “mis-lived?” Jesus, in his love, confronts our worship, our passion, and our hope; he shakes us up where needed to bring us back to a heart of worship and devotion, necessary for a true live lived as image-bearers of God.

Is Jesus big enough to worship as God and also close enough to care for the needs of my life? We wrestle with the reality of a God who can be both, but Jesus shows us in his life that he is able to usher in the kingdom of God and number the hairs on our head, all while loving and serving the people around him.

As Jesus begins his ministry on earth, he begins with the work of building relationships and drawing people to himself. In Jesus we see the power of redeemed relationship, and how God works through a number of means to bring people to himself in truth and love.

We have a deep need to be wanted and to be relevant, but the ways we try to satisfy this want typically bring more death than life. The account of John the Baptist shows us how we can embrace our identity, position, and the work before us, and in doing so we can prepare the way for Jesus to reign in our hearts and in the lives of others.

Jesus came to us, in the fullness and glory of God, to make God known to humanity. He dwells with us and welcomes us - will we heed the call to forgiveness and relationship?

The book of John masterfully weaves old testament themes into the portrait of Jesus' ministry. In John chapter 1, the Apostle picks up these old testament themes to show us one thing: from the very beginning, it's always been Jesus.

We begin our journey through the book of John by examining its chief subject: Jesus Christ. There is a difference between knowing about Jesus and beholding Jesus; it is good and right to know about our Savior, but what does it mean for us to behold him fully?

In order for church community to be good, pleasant, and glorifying to God, it needs to be submitted fully under the banner of Christ’s calling on each of our lives. True fellowship shares in God’s abundance, relief, and blessing as we pursue him together, loving one another as he has called us to in the gospel.