ANTHEM!

yeah I know, Anthem's been over for a week and a half now. I forgot to make a post dedicated to Anthem, so here it is:


It's been a while since my last post and a lot of things have been going on since then. Last time I gave you a look into the soul of Matthew Reynolds. (somewhat) I think this is what the blog is all about, getting inside the head of Matthew Reynolds, scary. The main thing that happened since the last time we met was Anthem, VFC's fall conference. This was a trip of many firsts. This was the very first VFC fall conference, I guess it took a little to figure out we needed something to carry us over until VisionQuest, the spring conference. This was also my first VFC conference. And you know what I found out? VFC conferences rock! People have been telling me about VFC conferences for a long time and I have been trying to imagine what one would be like for a long time. I see now that what everyone has been telling me for years times a hundred is what I got at Anthem.
No one could have prepared me for the time I had at Anthem. These were some of the best, if not the best, times of my life. God moved in many ways during these three days. He met us in many ways during the messages, the worship, and the true biblical fellowship we had there.
We had four messages at Anthem. The first night Bill Kittrell (the greatest speaker of all time) spoke of the Fear of the Lord and the Holiness of the Lord. This message impacted me in reminding myself that "His opinion of my life is the only thing that matters." This had a big impact on me because I am concerned with what other people think about me. Mr. Kittrell show me that this thinking is wrong and is sin. He said that the fear of man is: a sinful concern with what people think about us.
That next morning Craig Cooper spoke on the sinfulness of man. He showed us the seriousness of sin in: 1. The problem of sin, 2. The effects of man's sin, 3. The consequences of sin, and finally 4. God's remedy for sinners. He showed us that sin cannot be overlooked. He stated that, "sin is very, very serious, and we have very, very seriously sinned."
That evening, Bruce Landis showed us the "biblical solution to the biblical problem (Holy God and sinful man)." He showed us that God made a way for sinful, men can be reconciled to a holy God by the death of Jesus Christ. That we no longer have to fear the judgment of a holy God but look forward to an eternity with Him.
The last message was by Mike Plewniak. He spoke about where are passions should be. He said, "what will be the anthem of your life if we die tonight?", "What am I going to be gripped by, my passion?", "What is going to be my anthem?" These statements impacted me in the way I live my life day-to-day. The Christian life "means living for something greater than ourselves." The anthem of our lives should be: "to make Christ look great." Mike then spurred us on to spreading this good news of salvation to everyone. He said, "we must proclaim the Gospel to others.
Then, as if the messages weren't enough, Anthem really showed me the importance of relationships. Throughout Anthem, we had many times of biblical fellowship. These were times not limited to just guys or girls but everybody. These times of biblical fellowship brought us together in a way that can only be from God. These times really developed some strong friendships through these three days. I will always remember Anthem '05 for the gift of God these friendships are to me.
In conclusion, God met us there at Anthem. He met us in a way that can only be because of Jesus' death on the Cross. But God doesn't stop there, He brings us together so we can enjoy His presence and worship Him together.
Thanks Mike, Craig, Bruce, and Bill for some outstanding messages. Thanks to all the interns for their hard work in putting this together. But most of all, thank you God for meeting us there. We can plan all we want, but we need God to meet us there.
Thanks,
Matthew Reynolds