The Light of Hope
Sermon Series

In the gospel of John, the theme of light is one of the many ideas that can be traced throughout its message: light that gives life; light that provides direction; light that heals and transforms, and even brings judgment! But light is never meant to be understood as photons traveling through physical space and time, but a uniquely divine-human person who came from heaven to earth. That person is the reason we celebrate Christmas at all.

This Advent season, “The Light of Hope” will examine how Jesus Christ is that true light who has come into the world. Each message connects the imagery of light to the hope of Advent, preparing hearts for the arrival of the Messiah, both in his incarnation and his promised return.

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
The Divine Light
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  • The Divine Light

    The Divine Light

    Nov 30, 2025 • 49:09

    Advent declares that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the true and ultimate Light of the world, who has stepped into the darkness of our ignorance, sin, and captivity to give us life and set us free! Series: The Light of Hope Speaker: Sean Scribner Scripture: John 1:1-14

  • The Guiding Light

    The Guiding Light

    Dec 7, 2025 • 39:41

    Jesus claimed to be the Light of the World. His exclusive person and teachings alone can reveal the truth of God in a saving way, but his offer to receive light that leads to life is extended to all. Series: The Light of Hope Speaker: Sean Scribner Scripture: John 8:12-20

  • The Power of Light

    The Power of Light

    Dec 14, 2025 • 00:42:34

    The miraculous restorative healings of Jesus served a greater purpose than merely removing illness and providing sight. They served to point to the true identity and mission of the Son of God who came to restore spiritual sight and heal us from all sin. Series: The Light of Hope Speaker:…

  • The Discomfort of Light

    The Discomfort of Light

    Dec 21, 2025 • 00:36:01

    The message of the light of Christmas brings tidings of comfort and joy for all who humble themselves in repentance and faith. But the same light that reveals can also blind, and our experience of it rests upon our response to it. Series: The Light of Hope Speaker: Sean Scribner…

Spend & Be Spent
Sermon Series

In the early days of the Methodist movement, John Wesley provided his “helpers” (lay preachers who traveled around to preach and spread the movement) a list of 12 rules to follow. Among those rules, Wesley said this: “You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work.”

Nothing to do but save souls. Imagine the difference it would make if Christians were so focused in their passions and efforts?

For our final sermon series of the church calendar, we will dive into the church’s one holy mission “to save as many souls as you can; to bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance, and with all your power to build them up in that holiness without which they cannot see the Lord.” This mission comes from the very heart of God himself—the God who loves his world, enters into his world, and calls his people to join him in mission.

Wesley’s charge to his helpers is essentially God’s charge to all who follow Him.

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
The Father's Sending Love
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  • The Father's Sending Love

    The Father's Sending Love

    Oct 26, 2025 • 51:18

    God has given the greatest gift that he has to offer. He has sent his one and only Son into the world, not to condemn it, but to save it. He was not compelled to do this because the world was so lovely, but because of his own loving nature.…

  • The Son's Incarnational Step

    The Son's Incarnational Step

    Nov 2, 2025 • 40:11

    The Apostle Paul instructs the church to have the mind, or attitude, of Christ. As we seek to be the people of mission we are called to be, this means adopting and cultivating the attitude of Christ toward the world and follow him in his sentness to it, in love.…

  • The Spirit’s Empowering Presence

    The Spirit’s Empowering Presence

    Nov 9, 2025 • 43:23

    Jesus never asked his disciples to go and be witnesses in the world in their own power. Instead he commanded them to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon them. He is the power for all Christian mission. Series: Spend & Be Spent Speaker: Sean Scribner…

  • The Church’s Great Co-mission

    The Church’s Great Co-mission

    Nov 16, 2025 • 51:00

    Armed with the Good News of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, the church is called to engage the world in mission, empowered by the authority and presence of Christ himself. Series: Spend & Be Spent Speaker: Sean Scribner Scripture: Matthew 28: 16-20

  • The Lord of the Harvest

    The Lord of the Harvest

    Nov 23, 2025 • 42:53

    The Lord of the Harvest is looking for workers who will join him in his compassion for and ministry to the world. His harvest is not made up of wheat or barley, but of the souls of people in the world he loves. We are not called to reap the…

Rhythms
Sermon Series

“As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” (Genesis 8:22)

God is a God of order. Hardwired into his creation can be found natural rhythms—day and night, seasons, and cycles of work and rest—all reflections of His wisdom and care. These rhythms are not arbitrary but purposeful, offering a framework for living in alignment with God’s design, resulting in a life of peace and purpose in a chaotic world.

But all too often our lives are harassed and harried, governed by what has been called a “pathological busyness.” Apathy, anxiety, depression become the norm, while peace, joy, and rest seem unattainable, or reserved for a select few—the order of creation seeming as distant to our lives as stars in the night sky. Surely the God of planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night has more for our lives than this.

Rhythms is a sermon series devoted to encouraging believers who are caught up in the craziness of life to discover a better way by looking to Jesus. He shows us what a life of balance and wholeness looks like, one that is in perfect alignment with the heart and purposes of the Father. In him there is hope for breaking out of the status quo and entering into the abundant life he has prepared for us all.

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Worship
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  • Worship

    Worship

    Aug 31, 2025 • 46:44

    David’s experience of worship in the wilderness shows how turning to God in worship provides strength and abundance amidst life’s challenges. Drawing from Jesus’ teachings in John 4, it highlights worship as a lifestyle of offering one’s whole self to God through the Holy Spirit, not just in song but…

  • Worship (Revisited)

    Worship (Revisited)

    Sep 7, 2025 • 40:41

    Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman reveals true worship as the foundational rhythm for a fulfilling life, addressing her pursuit of satisfaction through relationships. It underscores how misguided beliefs, practices, and priorities—like the Samaritans’ syncretism or the Jews’ legalism—obstruct authentic, Christ-centered, Spirit-led worship rooted in biblical truth. By offering her…

  • Word and Whisper

    Word and Whisper

    Sep 14, 2025 • 44:42

    Essential to the Christian life is the rhythm of engaging with God’s word and listening for His voice to find healing and direction. The busyness and distractions of modern life, such as smartphones, stand in contrast to Jesus’ practice of retreating to solitude for communion with the Father, underscoring the…

  • Wonder

    Wonder

    Sep 21, 2025 • 44:45

    The wonder one experiences while beholding the beauty in creation or the revelation in worship has the power to point them to divine truths. Attention to God’s presence and activity make awareness possible, leading to worship. Series: Rhythms Speaker: Sean Scribner Scripture: Psalm 63:2-3

  • Walk

    Walk

    Sep 28, 2025 • 45:46

    The invitation from Jesus is to come and be yoked to him, walking with him in every area of life. All of yourself, with all of him, everywhere you go, forever. Series: Rhythms Speaker: Sean Scribner Scripture: Psalm 63:1-8

Revival 2025
News, Sermon Series

Join us for our 2025 spring revival with Dr. Bill and Diane Ury, May 18-21. 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!

About Our Speakers

Bill and Diane Ury have been married since 1984, and have enjoyed a life of ministry together.

Bill is a 1978 graduate of Asbury University. He studied at the Institute for Holy Land Studies in Jerusalem and has an MDiv from Asbury Theological Seminary. He holds an MPhil and PhD in Systematic and Historical Theology from Drew University. Bill taught Historical and Systematic Theology at Wesley Biblical Seminary for 23 years. His podcast is The Hour of Holiness. Bill has authored several articles and books, including Trinitarian Personhood: Investigating the Implications of a Relational Definition, The Bearer, and Christology as Theology.

Diane is a 1983 graduate of Asbury University with a BA in Sociology, and holds an MA in Theology from Wesley Biblical Seminary. She has written several articles, and is the editor of Holy Love: Essays in Honor of Dr. M. William Ury. Together, Diane and Bill authored Conversations About Holiness. Diane loves theology, is a teacher, preacher, mentor, and a women’s lives advocate.

Both Bill and Diane are ordained elders in the Evangelical Methodist Church, have pastored together, and have spent decades discipling men and women. They are fully committed to the historic bases and contemporary expressions of consensual orthodox Christianity and the Wesleyan Holiness tradition. Their personal desire is to incorporate sound, rigorous Christian theological thinking with pastoral care, spiritual formation, and true compassion.

After over two decades of serving The Salvation Army, in 2017 they joined National Headquarters and accepted the role of National Ambassadors for Holiness. They reside in North Carolina and are soldiers with the Raleigh International Corps. The Urys have four married children, JoAnna, Maddi, Meredith, and Seth. Their ten grandchildren are their constant joy.

Revival Sermons Playlist
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Thirsting: Recoding Holiness
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  • Thirsting: Recoding Holiness

    Thirsting: Recoding Holiness

    May 18, 2025 • 37:40

    Seeing the face of God, being transformed by the Lord’s holiness. Putting aside all idols. The encounter that Moses had with the Lord. Sermon #1 of the EMC’s 2025 Spring Revival. Series: 2025 Spring Revival Speaker: Bill Ury Scripture: Exodus 34:1-7, 29-35

  • Why Are We Thirsty?

    Why Are We Thirsty?

    May 18, 2025 • 44:51

    Sermon #2 of the EMC’s 2025 Spring Revival. Series: 2025 Spring Revival Speaker: Diane Ury Scripture: Genesis 1

  • Quenching: We Need Blood and Fire

    Quenching: We Need Blood and Fire

    May 19, 2025 • 47:00

    Sermon #3 of the EMC’s 2025 Spring Revival. Series: 2025 Spring Revival Speaker: Bill Ury Scripture: I Thess. 5: 12-24

  • His Healing Touch

    His Healing Touch

    May 20, 2025 • 48:27

    Sermon #4 of the EMC’s 2025 Spring Revival. Series: 2025 Spring Revival Speaker: Diane Ury Scripture: Psalm 103

  • Overflowing: Releasing Holiness in a Real World

    Overflowing: Releasing Holiness in a Real World

    May 21, 2025 • 43:58

    Sermon #5 of the EMC’s 2025 Spring Revival. Series: 2025 Spring Revival Speaker: Bill Ury Scripture: Ezek. 47:3-9; John 7:37-39

Schedule of Events
Sunday, May 18
9:00 am Joint Sunday school in the chapel with Bill and Diane
10:15 am Revival worship service
5:30 pm All church potluck. EMC will provide the meat and drinks. Please bring sides and desserts to share.
6:30 pm Evening revival service
Monday, May 19
6:30 pm Evening revival service
Tuesday, May 20
6:30 pm Evening revival & healing service in the chapel
Wednesday, May 21
5:30 pm All-church meal with (Firehouse or Jersey Mike’s) in the Friendship Suite. $5/person or $15/family max for sub, chips, and tea.
6:30 pm Evening revival service
Jesus Appearing
Sermon Series

The scriptures present the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead as a real, unique, and historical event. Nothing in all of human history has impacted and transformed so many billions of lives, yet the original eyewitness accounts reveal just how truly unexpected and unbelievable it was.

“Jesus Appearing” is an Eastertide sermon series that examines the resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples in the Gospel of John. Together we will see the resurrection as the start of something altogether new in the world, what it means to live life in light of it, and how Jesus alone supplies our every need.

Series Playlist

Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Elizabeth City EMC Podcast
Don't Cling to Me!
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  • Don't Cling to Me!

    Don't Cling to Me!

    Apr 27, 2025 • 47:57

    In the already but not yet of Jesus’ movement from the grave to the sky, he presented himself to the eyes, ears, and heart of Mary Magdalene. The risen Jesus still calls people by name and invites them to let go of their own expectations and join him in his…

  • Why Are You Still Here?

    Why Are You Still Here?

    May 4, 2025 • 46:40

    The church cannot be guilty of hiding its confession behind lock and key. There are too many people who need to hear a clear defense of the facts of the resurrection, but they also need Spirit-filled Christian lives to be the interpretive lens through which to understand it. Series: Jesus…

  • A Miraculous Meal

    A Miraculous Meal

    May 11, 2025 • 55:22

    It is a life-transforming experience to learn once and for all that Jesus doesn’t prepare the feast—Jesus is the feast. Only those who dine on him by faith will be satisfied. Series: Jesus Appearing Speaker: Sean Scribner Scripture: John 21:1-14

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