“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father.” (James 1:17, NLT)

Every year, people all around the world put thought and effort into giving Christmas gifts to the people they love. Some spent vast amounts of time (and money) to make sure that the recipients of their gifts are happy with and blessed by what they have been given.

But to the Christian, Christmas is so much more than a time to give and receive more “things” purchased from Amazon. It is the time of the year where we get to reflect on the greatest gift of all time: Jesus Christ, the son of the Father, given to all the world. God put eternal thought and effort into giving his creation the best he has to offer, that we might be eternally blessed.

This Advent season, join us as we unpack the gift of Christ by exploring the traditional themes of hope, peace, joy, and love. These all come from the Father in heaven, and they can only be found in Christ the Son.

Series Playlist

Christmas Gifts

Hope

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  Hope

  Dec 1, 2024 • 50:46

  The God of surprises calls his people from every generation to make their home in the center of his will, to be about his missional work in whatever “cities” they find themselves in, and to put their hope in the future he has in store for them. Speaker: Sean Scribner…

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  Peace

  Dec 8, 2024 • 48:37

  In his son, Jesus Christ, God has withheld no spiritual blessing. Everything pronounced over Israel in Aaron’s blessing at the foot of Mt. Sinai can be found fully in him alone. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Christmas Gifts Scripture: Numbers 6:22-27

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  Joy

  Dec 15, 2024 • 46:35

  “The people of God are called to be a people who rejoice. We rejoice because Christ’s first Advent means Immanuel, God with us, but also because at his second Advent we will rest in safety, forever; our souls will not be left among the dead, but will be raised to…

The life God envisions for his people is not one of isolation or extraction. The work of Jesus is not intended to pull his followers out of society, to have no part in civic life. Instead, he calls those who belong to him to embody his presence in the world, before the world, as we pass through the world as witnesses, salt, and light.

But how is the Christian to balance the needs, expectations, and requirements of life lived in two kingdoms? How do we reconcile competing authorities? How can we exercise the type of participation in the affairs of the world as Christ commands, without confusing or conflating them with the affairs of heaven? There are no simple answers to these questions, but there are biblical answers.

The Christian Citizen is a sermon series that examines biblical principles for how Christians can live obedient lives of witness and influence as “temporary residents” (I Peter 1:17) passing through this world. Grounded in a confidence in the providential goodness and power of God, believers are exhorted to be in the world, but not of the world, living out the realities of the kingdom of God amidst the nations.

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast

Trusting the God of Providence

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  Trusting the God of Providence

  Oct 13, 2024 • 47:27

  The reaction of the church in Acts to the growing tension and hostility it faced in the public sphere was to pray. Their prayer centered on the sovereign God of providence, superintending his world. It acknowledged not only who he is but that they too had a part to play.…

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  Embodying Kingdom Values

  Oct 20, 2024 • 46:18

  The church is the physical embodiment of Jesus Christ in the world by the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. Peter refers to its individual members as “temporary residents and foreigners” who are in the world, but not of the world. As such, they are called to not only live…

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  Blessing That Leads to Blessing

  Oct 27, 2024 • 43:19

  God is not just concerned with what Christians will do at the ballot box, but who Christians will be. Not one human heart has ever been transformed by the outcome of an election. Heart transformation only comes about by the grace of God at work through the Spirit filled and…

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  The Priority of Unity

  Nov 3, 2024 • 47:49

  Speaker: Richard Meservey Series: The Christian Citizen Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16

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  Is Government a Good Thing?

  Nov 10, 2024 • 40:50

  Speaker: Richard Meservey Series: The Christian Citizen Scripture: Romans 13

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  Faithful Presence

  Nov 17, 2024 • 44:33

  The church awaits the return of Jesus to establish his kingdom upon the earth in a final, climactic way. But it is not idle in its waiting. Rather, it remains busy, putting to work what has been entrusted to it, in order to see hearts transformed and the kingdom established.…

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  The Most High God

  Nov 24, 2024 • 50:16

  The call to the faithful on Christ the King Sunday is to relent in whatever pride, stubbornness, or focus on the things of the world we might have, and to lift our eyes to heaven, that we might behold with the eyes of faith the Most High God and see…