All posts by Sean Scribner

About Sean Scribner

Pastor Sean is the Lead Pastor at EMC. He and his wife Rebecca have three children: Savannah, Nathan, and William.

Ready or Not
Sermon Series

Like a street light indicating what is about to happen, the apostle Peter penned his letters to the churches under his care in the hopes that they might be prepared for when it does. To him, and to the rest of the early church, the return of Jesus Christ was an imminent certainty, the single most important Day in the history of the world. Peter’s pastoral concern was for the readiness, holiness, and hope of the people of God.

Peter’s writings are no less instructive or relevant to the church today. We live under the constant awareness of how near we are to the end of time. But whether the end is tomorrow or another 2,000 years from now, the attitude and posture of the people of God remains the same. “Ready or Not” is a sermon series intended to recalibrate the mind and heart of Christ’s followers to think and live rightly in these last days.

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
A Ready Hope
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  • A Ready Hope

    A Ready Hope

    Nov 12, 2023 • 49:03

    The early church did not wait around for things to get bad before they began living as though they were in the end times. They lived with the conviction that Christ truly could return any minute. Theirs was a ready hope that kept their minds and hearts sober and watchful…

  • A Holy Hope

    A Holy Hope

    Nov 19, 2023 • 45:44

    A hopeful people are a ready people—sober, alert, and watchful for the Master’s imminent return. A ready people are a determined people—determined to live a certain way in the present as a response to the past and with anticipation of the future. A determined people are a holy people, who…

  • A Certain Hope

    A Certain Hope

    Nov 26, 2023 • 46:03

    The Christian hope is one that is certain, because it is built upon the objective reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in history and its fruit can be seen in lives that are transformed and made holy in love. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Ready or Not Scripture: I Peter 1:18-25

Choices
Sermon Series

The choices people make can say a lot about their character. The book of 1 Samuel, written to record the life of Israel’s last judge (Samuel), the rise and fall of Israel’s first king (Saul), and the preparation for Israel’s greatest king (David), is filled with characters making choices of consequence. Some are good. Others are very bad.

“Choices’ is a sermon series that explores some of the key events in a crucial window of Israel’s history. We will see in the faithfulness and treachery of figures and events many have known since their first Sunday School class God’s providential purposes at work, and the theological insights gleaned from the inspired Scripture’s telling of history will offer guidance for being the faithful people of God for today.

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
The Trial of One is the Salvation of Many
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  • The Trial of One is the Salvation of Many

    The Trial of One is the Salvation of Many

    Sep 3, 2023 • 35:59

    The way God works in the life of the individual reflects the tendency of his ways. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. No situation is too big for him. No person is too small for him. His providential purposes not only incorporate, but often rest upon, hopeless, impossible…

  • A Voice in the Silence

    A Voice in the Silence

    Sep 10, 2023 • 37:40

    God’s voice has not gone silent, even amidst our own wicked generation. He still deals patiently with people and speaks powerfully through his word—the word entrusted to his church that has been given a window of opportunity to proclaim it to the world. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Choices Scripture: I Samuel…

  • Anything but God

    Anything but God

    Sep 17, 2023 • 43:18

    Despite Israel’s hardness of heart, God was determined to make a people for himself. He is looking for those who will put away all their substitutes and seek not just his will, but God himself. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Choices Scripture: I Samuel 8

  • You Had One Job!

    You Had One Job!

    Sep 24, 2023 • 48:42

    Yahweh is the kind of God who invites people into his plans and purposes. As Saul is revealed to be a failure as king, hope still remains. God will raise up another, a man after his own heart, from whom will come the King of all Kings! Speaker: Sean Scribner…

  • The Lord's Anointed

    The Lord's Anointed

    Oct 8, 2023 • 32:32

    At our time of deepest despair, the word of God comes to remind us that God is in control. He has chosen his Anointed One, and his plans and purposes can be trusted. It is up to the people of God to choose to trust him. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Choices…

  • For the Glory of God Alone

    For the Glory of God Alone

    Oct 15, 2023 • 51:26

    The story of David and Goliath teaches us that having God and his word at the center of your life changes the calculus entirely. What matters is not having instruments of human power by your side, but the one true God of Israel who saves. In his eyes, the real…

  • Meeting God in a Cave

    Meeting God in a Cave

    Oct 22, 2023 • 51:24

    Speaker: Karl Bowden Series: Choices Scripture: I Samuel 24 and Psalm 57

  • Into the Darkness

    Into the Darkness

    Oct 29, 2023 • 42:37

    Who better to turn to when times are dark than the one who alone has the power to transform darkness into light! Jesus Christ offers what you and I need most: Not information or knowledge of the future, or the means to control nature or fate, but intimacy and fellowship…

  • When Life Comes at You Fast

    When Life Comes at You Fast

    Nov 5, 2023 • 32:42

    Where do you turn when the going gets tough? Turn to Jesus Christ, the one who suffered for you. He has entered into the depths of the human condition, conquered our greatest enemies, and freely shares the plunders of his grace. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Choices Scripture: I Samuel 30

Kingdom Come
Sermon Series

“Everyone tried to touch him” (Luke 6:19, NLT)

Everywhere Jesus went the crowds followed. There was something truly unique and magnetic about him. In the Gospel of Luke, it is mentioned over 30 times that the crowds gathered around him, seeking to get as close as they could, trying to touch him if at all possible. People couldn’t get enough of Jesus.

Kingdom Come is a sermon series that looks closely at some of the most poignant accounts of this phenomenon throughout the gospel. It will seek to explain the question of what it was about Jesus that drew people so close. Together we will get a clearer picture of who this heavenly man was and still is, and we will be invited to draw closer to him ourselves.

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
True Welcome
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  • True Welcome

    True Welcome

    Jul 23, 2023 • 44:37

    Everywhere he went, the crowds were drawn to Jesus for a reason. For at least one woman, it was the invitation to come to him just as she was. He offers the same to you. Come to him, have faith, and receive the peace and blessing of God. Speaker: Sean…

  • A Remarkable Descent

    A Remarkable Descent

    Jul 30, 2023 • 52:38

    Jesus knows the true content of each person’s heart. He has descended right into the midst of our brokenness and need. He makes himself known in ways that result in our healing and forgiveness. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Kingdom Come Scripture: Luke 5:17-26

  • Healing Power

    Healing Power

    Aug 6, 2023 • 41:52

    The touch of Jesus has the power to heal what is truly broken, to affirm the existence and value of another, and to grant peace to those made sons and daughters of God by grace. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Kingdom Come Scripture: Luke 8:42-48

  • Holy Exasperation

    Holy Exasperation

    Aug 13, 2023 • 55:16

    The exasperation of Jesus is not the result of our inability, limitation, or need, but our unbelief, particularly when we have already experienced his grace. He has come to reveal himself and work in deeper ways than our own small minds can imagine, and he asks for us to truly…

  • Oasis of Grace

    Oasis of Grace

    Aug 20, 2023 • 42:38

    On the outskirts of Jericho, the one who couldn’t see at all was the one who saw Jesus best. Like him, as oasis of grace is available to all who look to Jesus in faith and see him for who he really is. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Kingdom Come Scripture: Luke…

  • A Gracious Invitation

    A Gracious Invitation

    Aug 27, 2023 • 51:09

    All throughout Luke, the crowds are seeking out Jesus, but on the threshold of Jerusalem Jesus declares that the Son of Man has come to seek out us. He wants to come into your house, to make his home in your heart, and to offer what only he can offer.…

Building Blocks of Life
Sermon Series

The Psalmist exclaimed: “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3) We live in an age of destroyed foundations in society, in families, in the church, and in individual lives. But there are truths, foundational principles, doctrines, that never go out of style. You could call these the building blocks of life.

As believers we often get distracted in living life and forget the basic building blocks. What are these essential truths that form a sure foundation for life? The Apostle Paul reminds us of these in 1 Corinthians 1:30. They are: wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

Whether these are new teachings or well-known to us, we all benefit from examining them. And lest we forget, these principles are not formed by our own strength–they are found in Christ Jesus alone and are received by grace through faith in him.

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Wisdom
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  • Wisdom

    Wisdom

    Jun 25, 2023 • 34:20

    Speaker: Richard Meservey Series: Building Blocks of Life Scripture: I Corinthians 1:30

  • Righteousness

    Righteousness

    Jul 2, 2023 • 37:17

    Speaker: Richard Meservey Series: Building Blocks of Life Scripture: I Corinthians 1:30

  • Sanctification

    Sanctification

    Jul 9, 2023 • 38:37

    Speaker: Jeff Wortman Series: Building Blocks of Life Scripture: I Corinthians 1:30

  • Redemption

    Redemption

    Jul 16, 2023 • 39:45

    Speaker: Richard Meservey Series: Building Blocks of Life Scripture: I Corinthians 1:30

Foretaste
Sermon Series

“We have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory.” (Romans 8:23, NLT)

The Christian life is filled with many hardships and challenges. The Apostle Paul speaks of its “sufferings and glory,” that is, what is faced today but also what is hoped for tomorrow.

God has given his Spirit to those who belong to his Son. The Spirit helps us in our weakness, gives us freedom, direction, and life. He is the firstfruit, a taste, of the inheritance that awaits those who long for the salvation that has begun to be brought to completion.

Foretaste is a sermon series devoted to the exploration of life in the Holy Spirit as presented in Romans 8. God has provided everything needed for his children to persevere. He leads, he empowers, he assures.

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
The Groans of God
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  • The Groans of God

    The Groans of God

    May 28, 2023 • 44:10

    God longs for the glorious day of consummation along with creation and the church. He has given us his Son and his Spirit to associate with our sufferings, intercede on our behalf, and help us in our weakness. Be eager, but be patient. Glory is coming. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Foretaste…

  • Life in the Spirit, Part 1

    Life in the Spirit, Part 1

    Jun 4, 2023 • 39:24

    Is the Bible’s expected norm for the Christian experience the “man” of Romans 7 or the life in the Spirit of Romans 8? Good theology and exegesis would say the latter, for if we belong to Christ Jesus there is “now” no condemnation “and” the Spirit gives us power over…

  • Life in the Spirit, Part 2

    Life in the Spirit, Part 2

    Jun 11, 2023 • 50:55

    A life of holiness is one that is empowered by the indwelling presence of God, that crucifies the flesh and its sinful deeds, and assures the mutual belonging of the Father and his children. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Foretaste Scripture: Romans 8:9-17a

  • The Steadfast Love of God

    The Steadfast Love of God

    Jun 18, 2023 • 39:51

    The New Testament does not offer any sort of mechanical, automatic, inevitable perseverance, but there is keeping power in the love and grace of God that is more than sufficient to bring us through, from beginning to end. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Foretaste Scripture: Romans 8:28-39

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