Anthem Church

To be a 1st century Jew meant to be in bondage to the law. Jewish commandments covered everything from marriage, to death, to taxes, to sex, to money, to church, to diet...and the list goes on. 613 laws to be exact. The Gospel preached to the church in Galtia was one that freed them from these laws, demanding that faith alone in Jesus was our only means of justification. However, as we'll learn, old habits die hard as the Galtians returned to a Gospel of works. And we do the same . . .

Galatians is more than just "angry Paul". Galatians is examanation of what can go wrong when we are centered on anything other than the Gospel. In this intro to our series, we examine the church in Galatia, how it was started, and the purpose & theme of this letter.

Does God not have the right to be concerned with what He created? As Creator, does He not retain the right to show mercy on whom He sees fit? These are the questions God asks Jonah in our abrupt conclusion to this series. He calls His people to a life of mission, one which we regularly run from. After four weeks, we come to this startling revalation: "WE ARE JONAH".

You're not the point, and the more you think you are the point, the more you will be enslaved to a thousand vices. And the more you will resent the idea of repenting. The reality of grace is this: If you want to experience God's relenting, you have to stop resenting repenting. The more you come to grips that it's about God, your natural posture will be repentance, and the full brunt of God's grace for us here and now is experienced.

You have a heavenly Father who listens to the desperate cry, of desperate people, in desperate circumstances, of their own creation. So often we wait until we've been ground up, chewed up and spit up before turning to God. Often, this is because we don't think we deserve His. Due to our actions, inactioins, posture and rebellioin, we tend to think God has no interest in helping us. Though is God is indeed thorough in His discipline, He is also generous in His grace.

In Chapter 1, Jonah is called to go to evil city of Nineveh and preach repentance. Much to our initial disbelief, instead, Jonah makes a run for it in utter rebellion. However, we soon learn that we are much more like Jonah than we are willing to admit.

Charlotte Elliott has written some of the most influential hymns of all time (Just As I Am). She be­came an in­val­id around age 30, and re­mained so for the rest of her life. About her phys­i­cal con­di­tion, El­li­ott wrote: My Heavenly Father knows, and He alone, what it is, day af­ter day, and hour af­ter hour, to fight against bodily feelings of almost over­pow­er­ing weak­ness and lang­uor and ex­haust­ion, to re­solve, as He en­a­bles me to do, not to yield to the sloth­ful­ness, the de­press­ion, the ir­ri­ta­bil­i­ty, such as a bo­dy caus­es me to long to in­ dulge, but to rise ev­ery morn­ing de­term­ined on tak­ing this for my mot­to, "If any man will come af­ter me, let him de­ny him­self, take up his cross dai­ly, and fol­low me." In Elliott's hymn, "My God, My Father While I Stray", she is qualified to point out that spiritual serenity ought to be cultivated in spite of the shaking mountains and agitated waters. The spiritual calm the Scriptures refer to does not come from a lack of trouble

Charles Wesley, along with Isaac Watts, are considered the two most influential writers of English hymnody to date. Wesley, an Oxford man, was ordained into the Anglican church and sent to America to stabilize the religious climate of the Georgia colonies and to evangelize Indians with his brother John. On the ship to America, he came across a zealous group of Moravians who were characterized by evangelistic missions and enthusiastic hymn singing. Charles, and his brother, returned to England unsuccessful and disillusioned. While spending time in Aldersgate, they fell under the influence of another group of Moravians. It was at this time, that Charles recognized he had given himself to ministry, but not to Jesus. On the the 11th anniversary of his Aldersgate conversion, Charles wrote the hymn "O, For A Thousand Tongues". The title's origin was rumored to come from influential Moravian leader and Wesley friend, Peter Bohler who said, "Had I a thousand tongues, I would praise Christ Jesus with all of them." T

If you want to start a good argument, begin by attempting to explain the Trinity. There is no such word in the Bible as "trinity" but the concept is most definitely there. The trinity is, in short, the God-head made up of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; all being God and yet all being uniquely distinct from the other. Reginal Hebner wrote this hymn for liturgical use on Trinity Sunday, 8-weeks after Easter. The emphasis of this hymn was to reaffirm the doctrine of the triune Godhead and to worship him, as such.

This classic hymn of Isaac Watts based on Galatians 6:14 has often been called the greatest hymn in the English language. Another contemporary of Isaac Watts said of it, "There may be a few others equally great, but there is none greater." All one needs to do to realize the truth of this statement is to sing this majestic hymn. The contrast is vivid as Paul declared his boasting to be in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the Judaizers the Cross was an object of shame; for Paul it was the object of glorying. They gloried in the flesh; he gloried in the Savior. The "Cross" speaks of the atonement of Christ with which Paul was identified and by which the world was crucified to Paul and he to the world. The world system with all its allurements, fleshly displays, and religions of human effort was cast aside by Paul. He looked at the world as if it were on a cross-and the world looked at Paul as though he were on a cross. The original title of this hymn was "Crucifixion to the World by the Cross of Christ

IMAGO DEI: Part 5 of at Anthem

When Christian Smith and his fellow researchers with the National Study of Youth and Religion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill took a close look at the religious beliefs held by American teenagers, they found that the faith held and described by most adolescents came down to something the researchers identified as "Moralistic Therapeutic Deism." --R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

You need to understand that the culture we live in is absolutely, passionately, committed to pouring itself out for created things, rather than the Creator God. People are worshipping everywhere, all the time. The question is who are you worshipping, what are you worshipping, where are your worshipping, how are you worshipping . . . not if.

Through the grid of the Gospel, we are able to turn generational curses into generational blessings. On Father's Day, we examine how our sin and postures can be imprinted on our children without careful gospel fluency. In addition, those of us on the receiving end can find freedom and wholeness.

Do you know the Gospel? Do you know it isn't just about salvation? Can you articulate it? Can you address everyday issues with the Gospel? We must understand that it is the Gospel, that not only saves us, but strengthens us. That our identity is rooted in Gospel as a constant reminder of the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism sums up our whole purpose: "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever." Solomon is pleading with young men and women not to forget Jesus in the small windows of life that can affect the next 30 years.

Solomon attacks, perhaps what is the biggest global threat to the gospel . . . and America is responsible for it.The prosperity gospel that plagues our churches and lives While wildly unpopular, the true Gospel calls us to sacrifice and suffering much of the time. This goes against the grain of our quick-fix, performance-based cultural currency. Ironically, Solomon's suggested preparation seems all-too-easy. You want depth? You want significance? You want life? You want meaning? Solomon suggests it starts with . . . dinner?

Solomon tells us there are two ways to view the world. The first, says that man's problems are external. Therefore, we possess the ability to create fixes to all of which ails us. Thus, eradicating the need for God. The second view says that man's problems are internal. That our fractured DNA is corrupt by nature and we are unable to provide or create the remedy. If that's true, then this corruption is not only extended on an individual level, but on a collective one, as well.Institutions at large--government, school systems, churches--all fractured. How are we, then, to live?

Solomon reminds us of the reality of sin. It's omnipresence in the world was imputed to us as Adam's legacy. However, in Jesus, we have hope for a different imputation. But first, we need to discern the posture of our heart...

If you are too righteous you will fall into legalism and become like the Pharisees. If you embrace wickedness then you will fall into lawlessness. Both are to be equally to be avoided. But how?