Our Name

God has a beautiful plan for each of us, and music offers a great illustration for what that looks like.

Consider the word anthem. An anthem is a symbolic song of devotion and loyalty. It’s a sacred song of praise and affection. It’s a song that memorializes greatness and celebrates the monumental.

The parts of an anthem are the individual notes. A skilled composer picks the right notes and arranges them in the right order to form a melody. The notes have to be in right pitch and have to be in proper rhythm. But an anthem is far more than the right notes, in the right pitch, in the right rhythm. An anthem is greater than the sum of its parts. How so? In an anthem individual notes come together and point to something far greater than they could by themselves.

Anthems are powerful. Go to a football game between arch rivals. The players, and even the fans, are ready to throw punches. But then the first note of the National Anthem is played and something amazing happens. Enemies are reconciled. That’s the power of an anthem.

What makes an anthem an anthem is that it involves lots of people. Yes, we can sing an anthem by ourselves, but how much more appropriate is it to sing it with others? An anthem is celebratory. It’s a party song. It is meant to be huge, loud, and sung by multitudes.

God is the Great Composer and He is currently composing His great anthem. He is fashioning the beautiful and eternal anthem of His glory. And here’s the thing: we are the notes. When we embrace Jesus as Lord and Savior, God scores us into His song. The moment we become a follower of Jesus, God grafts us into His eternal anthem. We, the church, are the anthem of God’s glorious kingdom. And God wants His anthem to be huge, loud, and heard everywhere.

There are two ways we make God’s anthem loud. First, we do so by singing anthems to God. When we gather together for worship we don’t simply sing songs but we sing anthems. We passionately celebrate God’s greatness. Together we sing of our affection and loyalty to God. In a spirit of unity we loudly and joyfully memorialize God’s goodness and grace.

Second, we make God’s anthem loud by being living, breathing anthems of God’s glory. Our lives should be a loud song of praise lived for the glory of God. Our lives should be monuments of God’s grace. As followers of Jesus we are to live as a note in God’s eternal song. Living an anthem means giving your life into God’s hands, surrendering your will to God’s plans, and lovingly obeying God’s commands.

Living an anthem is living a life of love, faith, and hope. Our lives are an anthem when we love God and others. Our lives are an anthem when we live out our faith as faithful followers of Jesus. Our lives are an anthem when our hope in the gospel changes our perspective from the here and now to the eternal and heavenly. And when we live lives of love, faith, and hope our lives become a loud anthem of God’s glorious grace in this world.

But let’s remember than an anthem is not meant to be sung alone. It’s meant to be sung alongside others. Each follower of Christ is an individual note in God’s song and when we live life with one another (other believers) we make God’s anthem loud in this world.

Join us at Anthem Church and be part of God’s beautiful anthem.