Advertise on podcast: Anchor Church City

What if the trials, pressure, or "prisons" you face are actually the very platforms God wants to use to advance the gospel? In this message on Philippians 1:12–18, we explore how Paul’s chains unexpectedly emboldened the early church and spread the good news further than before. Discover how confidence in God can turn your everyday challenges into opportunities to boldly and authentically share the joy of Jesus.

Paul has an unshakable joy that isn't impacted by circumstance, where does this come from? In this passage we see Paul's meaning statement: "To live is Christ, to die is gain". Today we look at how our ultimate hope frames our present meaning and determines our joy. And we see that Christianity is the only meaning that suffering can't steal.

In this sermon on Philippians 1:1–11, we explore how the apostle Paul models a life of defiant, subversive joy even while facing trial and imprisonment. Discover how Paul's deep affection for the believers and his unshakable confidence—knowing that God faithfully carries to completion the good work He begins—allow him to remain centered on the gospel regardless of his circumstances. Tune in to be encouraged by a rich, optimistic approach to prayer that shifts our focus from asking for trials to be removed to experiencing an unshakeable joy anchored in Jesus Christ.

Whose plans do you think are better? Yours or God's? In Acts 16, Paul’s plans changed dramatically. The Holy Spirit kept shutting doors and steering him somewhere completely unexpected: Philippi. Paul’s story is a reminder to let go of control and to respond to God with trust and obedience, and to wait and see what he will do. Paul’s obedience led to the planting of the church in Philippi and the gospel going into Europe for the first time. What could the fruit of your obedience be?

This mornings panel of messages are linked by the idea, ‘What God Taught me…’ Gina’s sharing on what it means to Wear Christ, Jocelyn on our Imperishable Crown & Ollie on Beyond Faithful. Sharing from Ephesians 4; 1 Corinthians 9 and Jeremiah 29.

Join us this week as guest speaker Hugie from Anchor Northern Beaches explores Philippians 4:10-13, and what it means to live with contentment. In our lives, we are often guilty of always chasing more, never satisfied with what we have. But if we pause and reflect - where is God inviting you to be content with circumstances you would never have chosen? How can we learn contentment and look for an eternity minded purpose?

Deuteronomy ends in a way not many stories do; with a grave, an unfinished promise, and a leader who spent forty years walking toward a land he would only ever see from a distance. In this final message of our Choose Life series, Matt asks what it means to be remembered well, and why the death of the Bible's greatest prophet is not the end of the story but the point at which God's faithfulness comes most clearly into view.

Every day we are faced with thousands of decisions, but the ultimate choice set before us is between life and death. In Deuteronomy 30, Moses calls God's people to a decision that goes far deeper than human willpower, it requires a complete transformation of the heart. Discover how God provides the new heart we need through Jesus Christ, empowering us to choose life, hope, and faithful obedience every single day.

Deuteronomy's long stretch of law lands on one declaration: Israel is the LORD's, and the LORD is Israel's; a treasured, holy people. But holiness was never meant to be private; it was meant to be seen by the watching world. Matt looks at what it means to be set apart not for our own sake, but as witness to everyone around us.

We spend a lot of energy trying to feel "clean", chasing quick fixes like digital breaks and fresh starts. Yet Deuteronomy 12 challenges us to look deeper at what our lives are truly consecrated for. Our Lead Pastor, Matt Sparks, connects the dots between Israel's altars and Christ's ultimate sacrifice, inviting us into a candid reflection: what baggage do we need to drop, and what do we need to devote ourselves too?

It's easy to feel like you need God when you've got nothing left. Deuteronomy 8 asks a harder question: do you still need him when you've got everything? Moses looks back at Israel's wilderness and ahead to their promised land, and finds the same test of dependence in both.

What do we do when we want to love God, but keep forgetting him? Deuteronomy 6 speaks to that very human problem. In this sermon, we look at why our attention drifts, why other things so easily take God’s place, and how listening, remembering and retelling the story of God’s love can shape the way we actually live.

We tend to hear the Ten Commandments as a courtroom: rules to keep, or rules you've broken. But that's not how they were given. Before God says a single "you shall," he reminds Israel of a rescue already accomplished. In this sermon, we look at Deuteronomy 5 and ask what changes when we read the Ten Words not as a ladder to climb but as wisdom for a people already loved, and what it costs God to keep covenant with people who can't keep their side of it.

Everyone worships something, you just might not call it worship. In this message from Deuteronomy 4, we ask why an ancient warning against idol-worship might be the sharpest diagnosis of modern life you've never heard: why the things we build our identity on always let us down, and why a "jealous God" might actually be the most loving thing about him. If you've ever wondered why exclusive claims about God feel intolerant this message flips that question on its head.

Forty years after fleeing slavery in Egypt, God's people stood on the edge of everything they'd been promised and chose fear over trust. In this message, we trace three ways ancient Israel let doubt curdle into disobedience, and what it looks like to trust a God who's already proven He'll carry us through our own giants. Because the same God who parted seas and led with fire by night is still asking: will you believe He's for you, even when the evidence feels stacked against you?