SERMONS
Weekly Teaching from the Bible
Insiders & Outsiders
The difference between “Christian” and “Disciple” is that being a Christian is all about what a person believes but being a disciple is about what a person does. If you’re a church person, and you consider yourself to be a follower of Jesus, it’s crucial to understand that non-church people, non-faith people look at us and expect more of us than we expect of ourselves. And while many people hide behind the label “I’m a Christian! I’m a Christian! I’m a Christian!” people on the outside are looking at us and saying “Yeah, but you don’t look like Jesus! You don’t look like Jesus! You don’t look like Jesus!” And so there’s a tension. There’s a conflict. It’s why so many people aren’t involved in a local church. The attitude is like “Forget ‘Christian’. Why don’t you look more like Jesus?” - Pastor Ryan Martinez
Quitters
Can you imagine if suddenly we decided to quit being christians for 6 months, what would happen? People would get around us and they would say “I don’t feel coerced… I feel drawn”. And living like this would make non-Jesus followers question the way they live their own lives because they’ve never seen such honesty. See, this is how most of us came to faith. We saw people like this and we were drawn in. This isn’t rocket science. “Oh Pastor Ryan, I’ve never heard this before”. It's been in there for 2,000 years. Our problem is that we’ve settled for being Christians and we’ve settled for the brand “Christianity” and we gave up something good. – Pastor Ryan Martinez
Brand Recognition
Jesus wants you to love each other in such a way that people on the outside peer in and are drawn to me because they look at you and say “Wow! Look at how they love.” And I want you to create a community that’s defined and characterized by that kind of amazingly generous, unconditional, compassionate, ridiculous, “WHO WOULD DO THAT”-kind of love. Can you imagine if we got this one thing right? If we got this one thing right in our homes, if we got this one thing right in our church, if we got this one thing right in our workplaces, if we got this one thing right in our schools? If we got this one thing right in our neighborhood? Could you imagine?
The Community of Christ
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. - Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
He is Risen - Easter Sunday
Today is Easter Sunday 2023 and today is about celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus; the perfect sacrifice made on our behalf, good forever. This is the foundation of our faith. This is the basis of everything we believe to be true about God. And it started 2,000 years ago today! We should celebrate! We should take time to dwell on this and praise God for such an incredible gift. But what does it all actually mean for us?
Welcoming Jesus - Palm Sunday
Jesus makes what many people call his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Greeted by people shouting praises and recognizing his Kingship. This Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem on a young colt was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy found in Zechariah 9:9 His triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding a donkey was also foreshadowing his death 5 days later. See, in Genesis the story of Abraham being asked by God to sacrifice his son Isaac, as they are making their journey up the mountain for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac,(the sacrifice) was riding a… donkey
Beyond Your Means - Part 2
“Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” - 2 Corinthians 9:6
Beyond Your Means - Part 1
God's not after your money, God is after your heart. I’m not interested in you giving more and more, I’m interested in you being obedient to the one you call “Lord”. Again, this is not about what I want from you… This is 100% about what I want for you. - Pastor Ryan Martinez
Response to Urgency
So the Apostle Paul spent the first 11 chapters of Romans laying out the doctrinal foundation of our faith. Righteousness comes by faith and faith alone from start to finish, humanity is trapped in a downward spiral of sin and wickedness, Justification, sanctification, we are loved by God beyond measure, the law is good, Mercy,
- Pastor Ryan Martinez
All Authority Comes from God
If we’re going to follow Jesus, it’s about learning how to make peace with others and surrender to Gods will our first response. What if we knew more about peace than politics? What if we prayed before we posted? - Pastor Adam Erwin
The Transformed Life
Paul makes it clear that a life that has been offered to God as a living sacrifice should be a life that serves other people. Not just through your job… My job is serving people… Nope, that’s not what he’s talking about. Not just Sundays at church… Don’t get me wrong, when you serve here, it’s valuable… but not just here. No, but every moment of every day should be viewed through the lens of service. - Pastor Ryan Martinez
The Mystery of Mercy
Through prayer, God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit living inside of us, each day brings fresh new mercy. This is another reason Spiritual Disciplines are so very important. Every morning, God is faithful, even though every day, we fall short. Mercy is God’s gift to the repentant heart and what we do in response to God’s mercy sends an important message to the people in our lives. The book of James is very clear that though deeds are not required to earn God’s favor, or to be a Christ-follower, a repentant heart that loves God will surely be evident by the lives we live. - Pastor Ryan Martinez
Scripture: The Life You’ve Always Wanted
How can we be successful in this life if we’re not growing in our faith? And how can we grow in our faith if we aren’t keeping his decrees and commands? And how can we keep his decrees and commands if we don’t know His Word? Knowing the Word of God is vital to our success as Christ-followers. And I’m not talking about knowing other people’s thoughts and interpretations of His Word. We have to engage it for ourselves.
Fellowship: The Life You’ve Always Wanted
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42 NIV - Pastor Jason Pilgrim
Worship: The Life You’ve Always Wanted
Jesus said, on His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the colt, “rocks will cry out in worship” if we don’t. A primary purpose of Worship is to keep us in the Father’s presence, or you could say, to keep us aware/sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. To gain greater access and intimacy and to connect with Him, I’m going to talk Him from my heart! - Pastor Dan Stauffer
Prayer: The Life You’ve Always Wanted
What if prayer wasn’t just something we suffered through? What if prayer could be something we looked forward to because we understand we’re not checking off a task on a spiritual to-do list, but we’re meeting with the creator God of the Universe and we’re developing relationship with him. - Pastor Ryan Martinez
Make God Known
2023 is here! And with a new year comes a new emphasis! We are kicking off 2023 with our “Heart for the House” series. Heart for the House is a two week series examining our focus, as a church, for the next year. This year, we’re focusing in on and diving deeper into our mission at Anchor: to “Know God and Make Him Known”. Here at Anchor, we believe the mission to “Know God and Make Him Known” lead us into our vision of “Hope for All”. During week 2 we’ll talk about what it takes to “Make Him Known” so join us as we break down and unpack Anchor Church’s “mission at hand”. - Pastor Ryan Martinez
New Beginnings
Have you ever made a New Year’s Resolution? I think we all have in some form or fashion because with the beginning of a new year, we would like to have a fresh start with most everything else, as well. Unfortunately, most New Year’s Resolutions fade fast and we’re right back where we started and frustrated by it. The same thing can happen with our faith, but it doesn’t have too. Join us this New Year’s Day to hear about New Beginnings in Christ.
Have you ever made a New Year’s Resolution? I think we all have in some form or fashion because with the beginning of a new year, we would like to have a fresh start with most everything else, as well. Unfortunately, most New Year’s Resolutions fade fast and we’re right back where we started and frustrated by it. The same thing can happen with our faith, but it doesn’t have too. Join us this New Year’s Day to hear about New Beginnings in Christ. - Pastor Ryan Martinez
The Candle of the Lord
Advent is a time of preparation for the birth of Christ. Join us as we light each of the Advent candles one week at a time and dive into their meaning to help prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. Because Jesus, the light of the world, was born to free us from the Kingdom of Darkness, and he adopted us as his children into his Kingdom, we now get to join the family business. Bringing hope to everyone we can. Loving people unconditionally. Being gracious and compassionate. We get the divine privilege of being the light of the World. Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 5. Pastor Ryan Martinez