“And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.” (Acts 2:44, NLT)

Human beings were created for relationships. The Bible presents the church as God’s new, redeemed humanity, marked by relationships that give definition to who persons are in Christ. The life of the church has always been expressed through concrete, identifiable, local groups of believers who grow together in faith.

Life Groups is a sermon series exploring the need for and blessings of small group life within the local church. It is in the small group where Christians grow closer to God, closer to one another, and experience real life and real love together best. At EMC, they exist in order for believers to connect, to grow, and to serve. This sermon series will be exploring each of these purposes in turn.

Series Playlist

Life Groups

Connecting

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds

00:00 / 42:04

RSS Feed

Share

Link

Embed

• 

  Connecting

  Jan 8, 2023 • 42:04

  Connecting has always been an essential component of life for the church of Jesus Christ, and to the author of Hebrews it is a matter of necessity and urgency. We must be very intentional to not give up meeting so that we can actively point one another to the all-sufficiency…

• 

  Growing

  Jan 15, 2023 • 46:31

  The pathway to attaining unity in faith and maturity in holiness begins with deeper intimacy with the Body of Christ. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Life Groups Scripture: Ephesians 4:11-16

• 

  Serving

  Jan 22, 2023 • 42:23

  Speaker: Richard Meservey Series: Life Groups Scripture: Isaiah 42

The story of Advent is the story of light and life coming to darkness and death. It is the story of a good, faithful God and his plans to rescue and redeem that which has been lost. After centuries of silence, he speaks. And when he does, what happens is amazing. His word does not come to the halls of power or to the appointed sovereign leaders of the world, but through a voice crying out in the wilderness.

This Advent season, join us as we hear the voice of an obscure, eccentric, outlier of a prophet, who prepared the way for the long anticipated coming of the Son of God, the fulfillment of every promise and the hope of all the nations. Marvel with us as we recall that the word of God landed on the stage of history in the middle of nowhere, and that it continues to come, even still, in the midst of our own wilderness experience.

Series Playlist

A Voice in the Wilderness

Heaven's Light Breaking In

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds

00:00 / 44:16

RSS Feed

Share

Link

Embed

• 

  Heaven's Light Breaking In

  Nov 27, 2022 • 44:16

  Advent might begin the church’s liturgical year, but the coming of Christ is the climax of the great salvation of God that began in his own heart from before the beginning of time. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: A Voice in the Wilderness Scripture: Luke 1:67-79

• 

  The Word in the Wild

  Dec 4, 2022 • 34:12

  God still speaks through his word. It is not some secret truth, reserved for the elite or the privileged. No, it belongs to the public domain, applies to us all, and always comes at just the right time. Hear him speaking into your own wilderness. Not a message of condemnation,…

• 

  The Bad News Good News

  Dec 11, 2022 • 53:11

  God never bases his forgiveness on the good things that you and I do, but only ever on the completed and all-sufficient work of his Son. But if you have truly turned to him in repentance and faith, in total surrender, what should the fruit of that look like in…

• 

  The Mightier One is Coming

  Dec 18, 2022 • 40:14

  The people of God are called to live countercultural lifestyles that reflect the values of the Kingdom of God that are incomprehensible to the world. The Mightier One is Coming, and all people will either be immersed into the fullness of his life or the fullness of his wrath. Speaker:…

C.S. Lewis famously once wrote, “When the author walks on to the stage the play is over.” He was referring to, of course, the second coming of Jesus Christ. It will be an event unparalleled in all of human history, and it will be a time of consequence. As Lewis notes, “It will not be the time for choosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it before or not.”

The Bible has a lot to say about the end of time (mentioned or alluded to over 300 times in the New Testament). Unfortunately, the tendency of many, even within the church, is to listen to the Bible for the wrong things. Rather than focusing on what the Bible is not saying about the topic, the people of God should be focusing on what the Bible is saying about the topic. What are the “end times” really? What will characterize the world, and what should characterize the church, in those times? What is the “Day of the Lord” and what difference does it make for my life?

The End is an end times sermon series that explores these questions and more. Those seeking answers the Bible won’t provide will be disappointed, but those with ears to hear and eyes to see what God is saying through his word will discover answers that have both immediate and eternal significance.

Series Playlist

The End.

A Time is Coming

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds

00:00 / 46:52

RSS Feed

Share

Link

Embed

• 

  A Time is Coming

  Nov 6, 2022 • 46:52

  The world today is increasingly hostile to its creator and the truth of his word. But the more the world resists the truth, the more the church must be determined to stand upon it, especially in light of the coming return of Christ and the judgment that he brings. Speaker:…

• 

  Living Holy Lives As We Anticipate the Lord's Return

  Nov 13, 2022 • 39:17

  Karl Bowden shares a message from II Peter 3 on the type of holy life Christians should live in light of the Lord’s return. Speaker: Karl Bowden Series: The End. Scripture: II Peter 3

• 

  When Will All This Happen?

  Nov 20, 2022 • 46:25

  Jesus is present with his church today, and he is coming to make right every wrong tomorrow. And until that day and hour which nobody knows, he commands us to fix our eyes on the future in such a way that it impacts every decision we make in the present.…

There is a burning desire in the heart of God to bring the nations to himself. It isn’t because he in any way needs something outside of himself to be complete. It is because God himself is love—persons in perfect communion. From the very nature of his being he has created all things and invites humanity into the joy he offers and is.

That invitation is proclaimed by those called “the church.” They are the “called out” ones who are also sent out into all the world. They are compelled by the very love of God himself shed abroad in their hearts—the personal embodiment of the presence and reconciling work of Christ. They are the gospel enfleshed—men and women, boys and girls, with hearts turned out in love for the nations, who will go to whatever lengths necessary to fulfill their mission and calling.

“Destinations” is a mission-focused sermon series that explores the grandness and scope of God’s call to his church to proclaim the gospel in both word in deed, both near and far.

Series Playlist

Destinations

The Love of God in the Soul of Man

Play Episode Pause Episode

Mute/Unmute Episode Rewind 10 Seconds 1x Fast Forward 30 seconds

00:00 / 45:20

RSS Feed

Share

Link

Embed

• 

  The Love of God in the Soul of Man

  Oct 9, 2022 • 45:20

  God is love. It is essential to his nature. From it he created the world, gave himself to redeem it, and makes room in his heart for you. As we think about “missions” or “outreach,” none of it makes any ultimate sense, and there is no real driving force behind…

• 

  Completing What is Lacking

  Oct 16, 2022 • 45:53

  To complete what is lacking in the afflictions of Jesus means embodying the self-giving love of Christ to the world—to be spent, to give ourselves away, to be broken bread and poured out wine in person to those who need it. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Destinations Scripture: Colossians 1:23b-29

• 

  The Promise of Better Things

  Oct 23, 2022 • 44:53

  There is an extremely low probability that being the type of missional person God commands you to be will result in you giving up your life in death. But there is a 100% guarantee that being the missional type of person God commands you to be will require you to…

• 

  For the Glory of God

  Oct 30, 2022 • 36:49

  The ultimate purpose for missional living, giving, and going is not the alleviation of human suffering, the fight for real justice in society, or even the rescue of souls from an eternity in Hell. Those purposes, however Biblical, noble, and right are subordinate to the even higher purpose of the…