Sermon Series

“‘Lord, help!’ they cried in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness as he brought them safely into harbor!” — Psalm 107:28-30 (NLT)

Life is full of storms. Atmospheric disturbances that disrupt our lives and entangle us in tumult and hardship. In many, we fall victim to forces beyond our control. In others, we risk capsizing under the consequences of our own decisions. In all, God can be found, offering the safe harbors of his presence and peace.

You and I are in the midst of a “stormy” season. But the Lord is a refuge amidst the tempest! He commands the gales into stillness. He marches resolutely atop the breakers. He sovereignly incorporates the storms into his good and perfect plans. For all who cry for help, he saves them from their distress. Maybe he will calm the storm around us. But more likely he will calm the storm within us. And he will keep us and hold us fast through it all.

Safe Harbors is a sermon series offering hope in the midst of the storm.

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast

The Haven of Salvation

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<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="hysuX24Puz"><a href="https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/sermon-series/06/08/safe-harbors/">Safe Harbors</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/sermon-series/06/08/safe-harbors/embed/#?secret=hysuX24Puz" width="500" height="350" title="&#8220;Safe Harbors&#8221; &#8212; Elizabeth City EMC" data-secret="hysuX24Puz" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js </script>

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  The Haven of Salvation

  Jun 14, 2020 • 37:18

  The people of God remember the great things the Lord has done, look to Jesus for help in every time of trouble, and praise him before one another and throughout all the world in both word and deed. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Safe Harbors Scripture: Psalm 107

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  The Port of His Peace

  Jun 21, 2020 • 46:49

  The sleeping man in the back of the boat is the only one capable of calming our storms and bringing peace to our lives. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Safe Harbors Scripture: Mark 4:35-41

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  The Palisade of His Presence

  Jun 28, 2020 • 39:01

  The God who feeds his people and stills the storms and walks on water and steps into our troubles still watches over and offers himself to you today. Note: We apologize for the poor audio quality. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Safe Harbors Scripture: Mark 6:45-52

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  The Mooring of Faith

  Jul 5, 2020 • 33:14

  God uses the troubles and hardships of life to perfect our hearts. Burning away the dross. Strengthening and purifying our faith like gold. Remaking us from the inside out with the stuff that does not sink, but rises and overcomes to the very end. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: Safe Harbors Scripture:…

We are hounded by bad news all the time and its effects are obvious: anger, anxiety, and fear dominate many lives on a steady diet of bad news.

While a diet of bad news is a problem, perhaps a more insidious problem facing the church is the undermining of our proclamation of good news. We have been charged to spread the greatest of all news—the salvation brought through the works of Jesus, yet in many of our minds this news has been twisted into something that’s not really gospel at all. It’s almost good news and produces almost Christians.

In this series, we are going to explore subtle mistruths about the gospel that seem so close to the truth but set us on a trajectory away from God.

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Elizabeth City EMC Podcast

Not Quite Good Enough

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<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="M2IzgScGYN"><a href="https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/sermon-series/04/13/almost-good-news/">Almost Good News</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/sermon-series/04/13/almost-good-news/embed/#?secret=M2IzgScGYN" width="500" height="350" title="&#8220;Almost Good News&#8221; &#8212; Elizabeth City EMC" data-secret="M2IzgScGYN" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js </script>

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  Not Quite Good Enough

  Apr 19, 2020 • 38:52

  As people, we are seriously flawed. In many ways we reject truth, do evil, and worship wrongly. While this is bad news, it also reassures us that if God will save, it won’t be on the basis of our moral merit. The lowest of sinners and greatest of saints all…

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  Having an Advantage but Not Better Off

  Apr 26, 2020 • 40:46

  God has a solution to the problem of sin.

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  On Thin Ice

  May 3, 2020 • 25:52

  We often believe that while we may be forgiven by grace through faith, we enter the Kingdom on thin ice. When we behave well, we think God must like us, but when we blow it, we feel God must dislike us. We are encouraged then to allow our sin to…

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  Invictus

  May 10, 2020 • 31:14

  Since we are made right in God’s sight by faith, we may wonder if the gospel changes us at all. As we read in Romans, we see the nature of faith going beyond mental assent to facts to identification and allegiance to Jesus. This changes our core selves so we…

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  Life in the Spirit

  May 17, 2020 • 32:26

  The Gospel of grace does not leave us under the power of sin but ushers God’s people into a life in the Spirit, marked by power and victory over sin. We are then encouraged to pursue holiness and hate sin, through the Spirit’s power. Speaker: Aaron Meservey Series: Almost Good News…

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  How the Gospel Transforms Community

  May 24, 2020 • 31:26

  We are not meant to live an exaggerated form of Christian individualism – a “Jesus-and-me” mentality. God did not call us into salvation in isolation but in community. Romans 12:3-18 shows us that as Christians, we are called to live out our faith in a Gospel community of service and…

“The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.” — I Corinthians 1:18

You see them everywhere you go. Adorning the tops of steeples; dangling from bracelets, necklaces, and earrings; in clusters of three alongside the interstate—the Christian cross is as recognizable as it is ubiquitous. But what does it mean?

In a time such as ours where “truth” is divorced from facts and consigned to the whims of an individual or moment, there seem to be as many descriptions of the cross’ meaning as there are people who offer them. From the average Joe to the Hollywood elite, everyone has an opinion of what the cross means to them. For the Christian, however, neither the meaning nor importance of the cross find their origin in the opinions of the individual, but in the heart of God himself.

“The Meaning of the Cross” is a series of sermons for the 2020 Lenten season that dive into what the cross really means. Why was it important to Jesus? What does it say about the nature of God or his purposes for all time? Was the cross really necessary, and, if so, why?

If you seek to know the answers to these questions by drawing upon the wisdom of the world, this series of sermons is not for you. But if you seek to understand the world based upon the answers to these questions, then join us for the six Sundays leading up to Easter and discover why the cross is not only central to history and theology, but to all reality.

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Elizabeth City EMC Podcast

The Foolishness of the Cross

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<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="kmaS6gF0gd"><a href="https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/sermon-series/02/24/the-meaning-of-the-cross/">The Meaning of the Cross</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/sermon-series/02/24/the-meaning-of-the-cross/embed/#?secret=kmaS6gF0gd" width="500" height="350" title="&#8220;The Meaning of the Cross&#8221; &#8212; Elizabeth City EMC" data-secret="kmaS6gF0gd" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js </script>

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  The Foolishness of the Cross

  Mar 1, 2020 • 34:04

  God has made Christ to be wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. So come to him boldly, but on bended knee. Humble yourself before the Lord and the foolishness of his cross, that you may enter his presence in repentance and faith. The message of the cross beckons us to seek…

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  The Centrality of the Cross

  Mar 8, 2020 • 41:32

  Why do Christians cling to the “old rugged cross”? Because it was central to the very mind and mission of Jesus himself. He was not a helpless victim, but an all-powerful, self-giving savior who freely determined to do his Father’s whole will for his life, no matter the cost. Speaker:…

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  The Necessity of the Cross

  Mar 15, 2020 • 38:10

  The cross demands we hold fast to the biblical revelation of the living God who is disgusted and angered by evil, but it convinces us that his merciful search for a way to forgive, cleanse, and accept evildoers would come in a way that is equally expressive of every dimension…

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  The Scandal of the Cross

  Mar 22, 2020 • 35:37

  You and I as sinners are co-conspirators with the persons responsible for handing Jesus over to die. Though our sin sent him to the cross, it was also his love that took him to the cross. We must see the cross as both something done by us and something done…

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  The Certainty of the Cross

  Mar 29, 2020 • 46:04

  God is holy love, who poured out his love on us through the pouring out of his wrath upon himself. Because of the cross, we can be certain that when the day of judgement comes and all that is opposed to him is condemned we will certainly be saved through…

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  The Celebration of the Cross

  Apr 5, 2020 • 35:49

  If you have given your life to Jesus, he has freed you from all sin. Make every effort, therefore, by the inner working of his Spirit’s power, to remove the “yeast” from your heart, that you might fully enter into the joy and celebration of the Passover feast. Speaker: Sean…

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  Living Hope

  Apr 12, 2020 • 53:27

  Because of Christ, who rose victoriously from the grave, Christians have a living hope that is more real, true, and glorious than anything the world has to offer. No matter how difficult this life can be, God’s power is greater and he will hold us fast. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: The…

In the beginning, God had a plan—a plan to create what did not already exist and fill it with his glory. Central to the divine enterprise were people created to look and act like God. They were to be managers of his property, administrators of his purposes, and inheritors of his portion. As such, their lives would only be fruitful and fulfilling when ordered rightly.

But in its first generation, all of mankind’s relationships became wrecked. Friends became enemies. Work became toil. Order was displaced by disorder and paradise was lost.

God’s Economy is a sermon series on biblical stewardship that explores how life works best according to God’s design. It endeavors to recast a vision of life as rightly related to God, creation, and other people, and illuminates how a rightly ordered heart views time, talents, and treasures from an eternal perspective.

God’s purposes have not been arrested nor suspended. He is still sovereign; he is still in control; he still has purposes toward which his providence is directed. What remains is whether we will be willing participants with him by bringing all of life into submission under his gracious rule and acknowledging that we are not our own but belong to Christ, who gave himself up for us.

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Elizabeth City EMC Podcast

Ordered Relationships

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<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="Z4pNiEouxw"><a href="https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/sermon-series/01/06/gods-economy/">God&#8217;s Economy</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/sermon-series/01/06/gods-economy/embed/#?secret=Z4pNiEouxw" width="500" height="350" title="&#8220;God&#8217;s Economy&#8221; &#8212; Elizabeth City EMC" data-secret="Z4pNiEouxw" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js </script>

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  Ordered Relationships

  Jan 12, 2020 • 40:17

  Biblical stewardship teaches us that whether it is what God entrusts to us, or withholds from us, in all things he desires that we might come to know him, enjoy him, and entrust all of our lives to him. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: God’s Economy Scripture: Genesis 1:26-31

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  Ordered Affections

  Jan 19, 2020 • 34:24

  The design of God for humanity—the very purpose of our existence and how we share, enjoy, and multiply his goodness in the world—can be found in the command to love God with all that we are. This is the aim of his grace through Christ in the Spirit: To reorder…

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  Ordered Commodities

  Jan 26, 2020 • 46:11

  God has created us for right relationships: with himself and with others. He has designed our hearts to be restless until they find their rest in him. Therefore, we must use every resource and opportunity we have in this life to bring us into a fellowship that will last forever.…

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  Ordered Work

  Feb 2, 2020 • 46:19

  The church, as the embodiment of God’s life and work in the world, is to be both enjoyed and shared. Each member has a part to play in joining God in his worldwide redemptive movement. Will we faithfully do that which God himself has assigned us to do? Speaker: Sean…

Israel and Judah had been enjoying a time of peace and prosperity they had not known since the time of Solomon. What appeared to be God’s approval and blessing, however, concealed a dark truth about the way things really were, a truth that would soon be revealed by the invading Assyrian empire.

You see, the people of God were lost in darkness, having forsaken God and debased themselves with unworthy lovers in the form of other gods. A people once defined by an exclusive love relationship with the one true God had become a people marked by idolatry, unfaithfulness, and oppression. This road of apostasy had led them to their own destruction.

Who would save them from their oppressors? Who would rescue them, not just from exile to foreign lands but from the wickedness of their adulterous hearts? The word of God as spoken through the prophet Isaiah revealed the answer: It would be none other than God himself who would be their salvation.

Isaiah’s prophetic word is applicable to the situations of people in every time and place. His message of a Light to illuminate the way for those who walk in darkness always results in joy for any who look to the mighty hand of the One able to save. Like exiles sensing the looming shadow of death; like captives awaiting deliverance; like runaways and rebels longing for reconciliation, we yearn for that Light to appear. With him comes the salvation we most desperately need, but could never expect—the salvation that comes When God Arrives.

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Elizabeth City EMC Podcast

Light Arrives

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<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="YUfBVfftVk"><a href="https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/sermon-series/11/13/when-god-arrives/">When God Arrives</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/sermon-series/11/13/when-god-arrives/embed/#?secret=YUfBVfftVk" width="500" height="350" title="&#8220;When God Arrives&#8221; &#8212; Elizabeth City EMC" data-secret="YUfBVfftVk" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(d,l){"use strict";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&"undefined"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),c=new RegExp("^https?:$","i"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display="none";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):"link"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute("src")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener("message",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute("data-secret"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+="#?secret="+t,e.setAttribute("data-secret",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:t},"*")},!1)))}(window,document); //# sourceURL=https://www.ecityemc.org/resources/wp-includes/js/wp-embed.min.js </script>

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  Light Arrives

  Dec 1, 2019 • 27:26

  The prophet Isaiah, living in a time of darkness, could look ahead and know with certainty that God’s light again would shine. Now on this side of history, all who find themselves today in darkness can see the light of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Speaker: Sean Scribner…

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  Joy Arrives

  Dec 8, 2019 • 36:01

  In the midst of darkness—whether self-inflicted or imposed—the people of God reach for a song. Not in naive denial, as if our pain and troubles weren’t real, but as an act of defiance. We choose to rejoice in the face of hardship and suffering because no matter how hard life…

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  Might Arrives

  Dec 15, 2019 • 31:03

  At Advent, we await the arrival of an unlikely warrior to carry out an unconventional strategy. No darkness is too dark for his light to shine. No yoke or burden is too heavy for him to lift. No oppressor’s rod is too mighty for him to shatter. He has done…

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  A Son Arrives

  Dec 22, 2019 • 46:32

  God has come to us in the Son–his personal presence to comfort us and give us strength to make it through. In the rush of the season, don’t miss him. Advent is an invitation to perceive. Christmas calls us to look again. Speaker: Sean Scribner Series: When God Arrives Scripture: Isaiah…