Anthem Hayden

This week we learned about what the disciples, family, and closest followers of Jesus were up to in between His ascension and Pentecost. This was a time of great anticipation! They spent much of their time praying together, and had to reckon with Judas’s betrayal and how and with whom they would replace him. We discussed how they acted without the Holy Spirit and the similarities and differences i...

This week we took a closer look at Jesus’ ascension. Frequently, our perspective of the ascension is limited to the fact that Jesus left the earth. Like His disciples, we are saddened by this fact. However, the ascension is among the greatest events of Jesus’ life and ministry on earth! We often overlook the fact that Jesus’ ascension was less about Him leaving earth and more about where He was go...

This week we continued to lay the foundation of the book of Acts. Continuing in Acts 1:1-11, we took a closer look at Jesus’ promise to the disciples - that the power and person of the Holy Spirit could come upon them, empowering them to be His witnesses to the very ends of the hearth. Like the disciples in this passage, many Christians are woefully ignorant of the person of the Holy Spirit and un...

In this week’s teaching we explored what the scriptures say about the kingdom. Acts 1:3 tells us that Jesus spent the 40 days between His resurrection and ascension speaking about the kingdom of God. Acts 1:6 tells us that Jesus’ disciples asked Him one last question before He ascended into heaven: “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Clearly the kingdom was on the forefront...

Written by Luke the physician to a certain “Theophilus,” (a name meaning “God-lover”) the book of Acts chronicles the growth of the early church. While Acts is undeniably exhilarating and inspiring, it is important to recognize that the purpose of Acts was not to detail the church in its perfection, but rather to detail the church in its infancy. In Jesus’ parting words to his followers, He inform...

This week, one of our elders, Pat Himenes, shared about the purpose of the Church. Unfortunately, many individuals and congregations have strayed from God’s vision of His church. It is imperative that we allow God and His Word to define these things for us. Teaching out of the Gospel of Matthew, Pat reminded us of how God defines the church and its role in the world. Pat encouraged and reminded us...

The book of Ecclesiastes ended as it began, with the Preacher exclaiming, “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, all is vanity.” In Solomon’s strictly “under the sun” mentality, this was a wise and correct conclusion. Although it was completely avoidable, it seems as though Solomon’s life ended in obstinate rebellion against the Lord. Praise God that we are not bound to such vain existences! Ther...

In this week’s study, we reexamined 1 Kings 11, which details King Solomon’s downfall. In 1 Kings 11:38, the Lord specifically states that He expects the king of Israel to walk in His ways, and to do what is right in His eyes by keeping His commandments. We then turned to Ecclesiastes 11, where Solomon encourages others to walk in their own ways, doing what is right in their own eyes - the very th...

This week’s passage is both confusing and frustrating. How do these seemingly random proverbs fit in with the larger context of Solomon’s search for the meaning of life? What point is he trying to make? The entire chapter seems as superfluous as the vanity of vanities that he so frequently mentions. In contrast to this, we turned to 1 Kings 8. In this beautiful passage describing young Solomon’s d...

This week’s installment of Ecclesiastes focuses on the certainty of death and the uncertainty of life. In Ecclesiastes 9, Solomon used the term “under the sun” six times, more than any other chapter in this highly encouraging book. Since Solomon had ruled out any hope of the afterlife, all that remained for him was a fearful expectation of death. While King Solomon correctly identified that all pe...

One of our elders, Jake Rider, shared this week’s message out of Ecclesiastes 7. This is another chapter where Solomon primarily communicates through numerous proverbs. Many of these elevate death over life, sorrow over joy. In contrast to Solomon’s gloomy pronouncements, the New Covenant helps us to see that God uses the hardships of life to grow our faith and to bring Him glory. With Christ, eve...

In this week’s passage in Ecclesiastes, Solomon’s overall focus seems to be on authority. Beginning with strong admonition that people ought to obey their king and respect his authority, Solomon then turns to his perceived lack of justice in the world. The wicked seem to prosper while bad things happen to good people, and God seems slow to exercise His authority to bring judgment upon the wicked a...

This week’s passage is challenging. Solomon continues to fall deeper into the darkness of a life lived strictly under the sun. In these verses Solomon bitterly complains that worldly things fail to bring real and lasting satisfaction to his soul. Although he correctly describes such a life as grievous evil, toil, darkness, and vexation, we see no signs of Solomon turning his heart back to the Lord...

At first glance this chapter seems to cover an assortment of unrelated topics. However, upon closer inspection we see that each topic ties into a larger theme- that of relationships. Beginning with the large societal relationship between the oppressed and their oppressors, the Preacher works his way down relationships between two and three people. Although His view is strictly “under the sun,” eve...

In the previous weeks, the Preacher has railed against the vanity of wealth, success, self-indulgence, toil, wisdom... practically anything of which he could think. However, Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, radically switches gears. Instead of attempting to illustrate the vanity of yet one more aspect of life, Solomon seems to affirm some very sensible ways to approach worshiping the Lord. While there is unden...

This week’s passage contains the most well-known verses of the entire book. “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...” and “He has put eternity into man's heart...” There is undeniable truth and beauty in the Preacher’s brief moments of lucidity. However, Solomon was not celebrating these things, quite the opposite. Living life “under the sun,” Solomon fel...

This week we covered Ecclesiastes chapter 2. In the first eleven verses Solomon boasts of his many pursuits, pleasures, and accomplishments. However, his braggadocious attitude does not last for long. In the remaining verses of chapter 2, we hear from a very depressed and disillusioned man. What was the point of all his striving? What did he gain from all his toil? Nothing but a clearer understand...

This week we continued to examine Ecclesiastes 1. In this chapter, the “Preacher” rails against the supposed meaninglessness of God’s creation. Solomon’s godless approach soured his perspective; rather than seeing order and beauty in the cycles and rhythms of our world, all he could perceive was weariness and vanity. Solomon then turned his sights upon wisdom and knowledge. Solomon refused to allo...

This week began our study of the fascinating book of Ecclesiastes. Its author, King Solomon, began his life loving God and walking in His ways. He was famously granted wisdom by the Lord and became a great king of Israel. Sadly, Solomon’s heart was eventually led astray by the things of this world. Written by King Solomon in the later chapters of his life, this book reveals the desperate state in...

The Advent theme this week is Joy! Unlike happiness, which is circumstantial, biblical joy goes much deeper than agreeable circumstances and pleasant emotions. Biblical joy is rooted in who God is and what He does for us. We explored Mary’s joyful song of praise in Luke 1, as well as the surprisingly joyful chapter of Isaiah 35.

During this second week of Advent we celebrate Jesus, our Prince of Peace. The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, is derived from the root verb shalam, meaning "to be complete" or "to be sound." The Hebrew concept of peace is much richer than the mere absence of conflict. It can be translated as completeness, well-being, safety, or prosperity. In contrast to the ever-elusive peace...

To begin the 2024 Advent season, we examined the vital role that hope plays in the life of believers. In stark contrast to worldly hope, which is focused on what an individual may be able to accomplish, biblical hope is rooted in the person and power of God, for whom all things are possible.