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Roots
Sermon Series

During his earthly ministry, Jesus famously taught the lessons of his kingdom through the use of parables. In fact, Mark 4:34 states that “in his public ministry he never taught without using parables” (NLT). The Synoptic Gospels record at least 35 of them, which have been cherished by the church and used for millennia to help her understand the things of God.

While this might be a well known fact about the teaching ministry of Jesus, how much Jesus drew from the truths of the Old Testament in his parables is often overlooked. In this light, his teaching is less a matter of new revelation and more a matter of restating existing revelation with the clarity and application that his person and work represent. All truth is God’s truth, and the lines of revelation can be traced throughout the Bible from cover to cover.

“Roots” is a sermon series on the parables of Jesus with an eye toward their connection to the truth of God revealed in the Old Testament. The goal is that we would have a more holistic understanding of what Jesus taught, and how key teachings of the Old and New Testament come together in him.

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
The Parable of the Sower
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  • The Parable of the Sower

    The Parable of the Sower

    Jul 7, 2024 • 41:18

    Jesus used parables to communicate the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, which gave his listeners the opportunity to choose whether to draw nearer to him or withdraw further from him. The question is not whether truth is being revealed, but whether hearts are open to receiving it. Jesus didn’t…

  • The Wise and Foolish Builders

    The Wise and Foolish Builders

    Jul 14, 2024 • 40:31

    The teachings of Jesus come with a challenge: Will you listen and do what he says, or not. The difference between those answers is the difference between being wise and being foolish, between blessing and catastrophe, between life and death. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Roots Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27

  • The Lost and Found

    The Lost and Found

    Jul 21, 2024 • 51:36

    God is not the grouchy old man who offers salvation purely out of pity for the misery of man’s lostness. He is also not the benevolent benefactor, whose charity is impersonally extended to those in need from a distance. He is a Father who has sent his Son and Spirit…

  • The Rich Man and Lazarus

    The Rich Man and Lazarus

    Jul 28, 2024 • 46:56

    Jesus taught that one’s eternal fate is fixed at the point of death, and that fate is determined by choices made in this present life. How are you using every moment today in preparation for the future? God helps those who repent and call upon the name of the Lord…

  • The Parable of the Persistent Widow

    The Parable of the Persistent Widow

    Aug 4, 2024 • 39:35

    We live in an evil, broken world—full of hardship, suffering, and injustice. But the Scriptures call those who belong to God to live (and pray) in faith—faith that says even though God may not do what is right in the timing or manner we demand, he will certainly do it…

  • The Parable of the Wedding Feast

    The Parable of the Wedding Feast

    Aug 11, 2024 • 43:02

    The wedding feast that God has prepared for his son at the end of time is open to all who will come, but only if they come in the right manner. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Roots Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14

  • The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

    The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids

    Aug 18, 2024 • 49:43

    Those who await the return of Christ must never give up nor give in. We must seek first the Kingdom of God, pursue holiness, be about the Father’s business, and make wise, eternal investments with every moment of life. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Roots Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13

God’s Will
Sermon Series

One the common things you might hear someone say in Christian circles is, “I want to know what the will of God is.” This is a fine thing to want. Indeed, God himself does will certain things for his creation, and he wants us to know what those things are. He is not a distant, aloof deity unconcerned with the affairs of the world. He is near, and he is committed to seeing his purposes and designs for his creation fulfilled.

So there is no need to have angst over this issue. God has made his will known in the scriptures. Granted, you won’t necessarily find the specific answers to every particular question you might have directly in the Bible, but the Bible provides the essential framework by which we can know and enter into the general will of God, which has bearing on his specific will for each of the particulars of life.

In Colossians 1:9, the Apostle Paul writes, “We have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.” God wants us to have “complete knowledge” of his will, and this new sermon series, “God’s Will,” offers the starting point for that to come to pass.

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Repentance and Faith
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  • Repentance and Faith

    Repentance and Faith

    Jun 9, 2024 • 44:07

    Jesus taught that the difference between who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven and who will not boils down to who does his Father’s will. At the center of the Father’s will is to rightly acknowledge and honor Christ as Lord, but it has to be more than mere lip…

  • Trusting Obedience

    Trusting Obedience

    Jun 16, 2024 • 46:27

    While the will of God before all else is for us to receive the fullness of Christ through repentance and faith, God’s interest and purpose for our lives does not stop there. The Scriptures affirm that he has plans for us and promises to guide us in the paths we…

  • God's Will for Us to be Holy

    God's Will for Us to be Holy

    Jun 23, 2024 • 28:40

    Speaker: Karl Bowden Series: God’s Will

  • Secret Place in God

    Secret Place in God

    Jun 30, 2024 • 44:49

    Speaker: Karl Bowden Series: God’s Will

Revival 2024 – Hearing the Holy Spirit
News


Join us for our 2024 spring revival: Hearing the Holy Spirit, May 19-22. This is our annual event where we set time apart as the body of Christ to allow the Holy Spirit to refresh, renew, and revive. Bring your family and friends for this exciting time of seeking God together as the body of Christ!

Schedule of Events

Sunday, May 19, 10:15am – Outdoor Pentecost worship service. Please wear red!
Sunday, May 19, 6pm – Worship service in the FYF Worship Center. Pastor Sean Scribner preaching.
Monday, May 20, all day – Self-guided prayer walk across EMC campus. Come when you are able, work through the guided walk at your own pace, and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Tuesday, May 21, 6pm – Special testimony service in the chapel on how God has spoken to you through his word. Prayerfully consider how you might share your experiences along one of five prompts:

  1. What is something that you have recently learned or had affirmed about the nature and character of God from the Bible? How have you come to know him more fully as a result of his word?
  2. What is something the Scriptures have prompted you to do or to change recently? What recent difference has it made in your life?
  3. What Scriptural truth about God do you want to proclaim to the congregation? How can you magnify who he is from the word?
  4. What is your life verse and why?
  5. Is there a Scripture the Lord has used to give you direction or clarity about your purpose or call?

Wednesday, May 22, 6pm – All church potluck and Family Recreation Area dedication. The church is providing fried fish. Please bring other meats, sides, and desserts to share.

God the Spirit
Sermon Series

“He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” – John 14:17, NLT

The Holy Spirit is a distinct Person within the Triune Godhead. He is not an energy, or force, or power. He is not a something, but a divine Someone. He is no less God, or personal, than the Father or the Son. This is the catholic (ie. universal) faith: “That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit.”

The Spirit can be known from the first pages of the Scriptures. He is present in the creation of the cosmos. He anoints persons for holy tasks. He illuminates the minds of the prophets. He comes upon the Messiah and rests. He is the agent of new birth and the power for holiness. He speaks, he abides, he can be grieved. The scriptures say all this and more.

“God the Spirit” is a sermon series devoted to knowing the Holy Spirit more intimately–that we might see more clearly who he is and how he operates; that we might be more attuned to his voice and open to his work; that he might reign in our hearts and use us for his purposes in bringing glory to the Father and the Son. He leads into all truth, and the truth will set you free!

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
The Holy Spirit
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  • The Holy Spirit

    The Holy Spirit

    May 5, 2024 • 43:19

    The Holy Spirit is not a power, force, or emanation of God, but a divine person, co-equal to the Father and the Son. The goal for the Christian, therefore, must never be to treat him like a thing to know about and use, but as a person to draw close…

  • Symbols of the Spirit

    Symbols of the Spirit

    May 12, 2024 • 55:21

    The Bible offers certain symbols that reveal various dimensions of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. Together they affirm that he is the breath of life from God, who comes to cleanse, renew, and purify those upon whom he rests because of their union with Christ. Speaker: Sean…

  • The Phenomenal Spirit

    The Phenomenal Spirit

    May 19, 2024 • 56:42

    The supernatural phenomena of Pentecost wind, fire, and speech in Acts 2 are all about the fullness of God’s presence and power available to the church through the person of the Holy Spirit. All of God, in all of us, for all the world. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: God the Spirit…

  • The Speaking Spirit

    The Speaking Spirit

    May 19, 2024 • 58:30

    The Holy Spirit is a divine person who speaks and has something to say. The primary means by which the church can hear his voice are the scriptures and prayer. Reading the Bible and praying are not disciplines we add to the spiritual life. They themselves are the spiritual life.…

  • The Abiding Spirit

    The Abiding Spirit

    May 26, 2024 • 52:50

    The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost changed the calculus forever. It was a watershed moment in the history of humanity, redefining the way that God and man relate to one another. It opened up all the possibilities of heaven: life greater than death, real transformation and power for…

  • The Giving Spirit

    The Giving Spirit

    Jun 2, 2024 • 45:34

    True Holy Spirit spirituality does not result in states of ecstasy or detachment, nor any form of disembodied individualism. The work of the Spirit in the Christian life is to incorporate embodied persons together under the Lordship of Christ. This is expressed and manifested through a variety of gifts, services,…

VBS 2024 – Scuba
News

Register Now!

Our theme this year is “Scuba – Diving into friendship with God.” Kids will explore what it means to have a friendship with a real, loving, trustworthy God – a friendship that lasts forever! This will be a week full of faith discoveries, memorable music, and epic adventures that help kids grow in faith!

WHEN:  Monday – Thursday, July 22 – 25

TIME:  9 am – noon (plus a closing program on Thursday evening at 5:30 pm )

WHERE:  Evangelical Methodist Church, 820 Old Okisko Rd., Elizabeth City, NC 27909

AGES:  3 (and potty trained) through rising 6th graders

COST:  Free

Contact Chelsea Wortman for more information.

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