FBC Wilmington Sermons

The Kingdom of Heaven is growing and producing good wheat. Unfortunately, weeds sprout up in the middle of the good growth. Should you cut it out? According to Jesus, “No. You should not.” Let the weeds and wheat grow together. They will be separated in the harvest. Similarly, people in the Kingdom of God will also do so.

Could you sell everything you own? I could only if what I was buying in return was worth it. Jesus offers us an image of the Kingdom that he believes is worth it. He says the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl that is so mesmerizing it enraptures us to sell everything we have to buy it.

Kingdom of Heaven is like a Mustard Seed | Matthew 13:31-32 | Rev. Jayne Davis A mustard seed starts small and seemingly insignificant, but it grows like wildfire. According to Jesus, the Kingdom of Heaven starts similarly. It was insignificant at first, but now it has caught fire across the globe, and our actions help spread it.

Walk Humbly | Micah 6:8 | Dr. Jim Baldwin Christians do not get to be the morality police walking around “doing justice” and “framing what is loving” or “deserving of mercy.” A third element must be baked into the pie: Walking Humbly. Micah is referring to the long stretch of a life of faith. We are to be humble people. And this stance needs to be how we move through life.

Christians who take scripture and spirituality seriously must love kindness (also translated mercy). It’s an imperative from God that we lead with love, we incorporate kindness, we generate forgiveness. It is required by God. -Rev. Barrett Owen

You can’t read the Old Testament without bumping into the word justice. It’s everywhere. But what is it? What does it mean to “do justice”? What kind of justice is scripture promoting, and why is it required by God? -Rev. Barrett Owen

Pentecost is the ultimate testimony. It is all our testimonies. It is the time in history where God looses the Holy Spirit upon the world. Everything now is infused with God, and everything now has access to the Divine. It is the way in which we are tethered to the Divine Realm. -Rev. Barrett Owen

June 1 | Acts 10:39-47 | Peter’s Testimony: Baptized by the Holy Spirit Peter’s inner and outer change lead him to new theological depths. The concept of baptism is changed for him and his awareness of what gift God gives humanity and how to receive it: Being baptized by the Holy Spirit. The same is still true for us.

May 25 | Acts 10:24-38 | Peter’s Outer Change Because of Peter’s inner change, his faith now takes him to new heights and new territories. Peter’s engagement with Cornelius cannot be overlooked. For the first time, Peter realizes God’s love extends beyond the Israelites and into any and all people. This outer change is because of an inner change in Peter’s testimony.

May 18 | Acts 10:1-16 | Peter’s Inner Change Peter’s dream is a game-changing moment for scripture. It moves the theological needle in a way that most other chapters aren’t able to because it holds such a powerful engagement between Peter and God. Not only does Peter engage God in a dream, but God’s profound declaration changes his inner world forevermore. It has the power to change ours too.

May 11 | Acts 9:7-20 | Paul’s Shock Point The spiritual depth in this section of scripture cannot be overlooked. Paul’s eyes are made new. He is “born again.” This encounter is a shock point in Paul’s spiritual life showing us that we all need to pay close attention to those “no going back” moments. They matter to our testimony and push our faith forward. Because of this moment, nothing for him st...

May 4 | Acts 9:1-9 | Paul’s Life Before Christ Before Christ, Paul struggled. As a matter of fact, he persecuted Christians and was seeking out a life to harm and hurt. Even though there’s not much to redeem in these six verses, they will help anchor us a we also look beyond this text to other moments of Paul’s faith experience. It should not be lost on us that if God can take Paul to further God’...

April 27 | John 20:19-31 | Sorrow Mingles with Love The story of Doubting Thomas is worth studying. It starts with sorrow. Thomas misses the big moment of when Jesus resurrects. His doubts are fueled by sorrow. Yet it is in his sorrow that he finds love. This pattern is still true today. It is in the midst of our sorrow that God’s love appears.

April 20 | Easter Sunday | John 20:1-18 | Love Mingles with Sorrow In life, pain is inevitable. Sorrow is part of the deal. To be human is to suffer, but humanity and life are also meant for us to love. When we experience “no greater love than this,” when we experience Divine Love, it is life changing. Unfortunately, though, as Mary knows, it also leads to sorrow. To love something deeply will ine...

April 13 | Palm Sunday | Luke 19:28-40 | Sorrow and Love Meet Palm Sunday shines light on the sins hiding in the dark. The Temple is being run by sins in the dark. Herod is being controlled by sins in the dark. Rome functions sinfully and in dark, sinister ways. The Pharisees have hidden, private agendas. And it is Palm Sunday that the darkness comes face to face with light. On Palm Sunday, sorrow...

April 6 | John 12:1-8 | Mary’s Centering Prayer Mary anoints Jesus’ feet. She declares in this act that his death will have purpose and meaning. The whole story is like a centering prayer for us to reflect on the power and majesty of Christ’s death. There is so much in this story that still matters today.

March 30 | Luke 15:1-3,11b-32 | Centering Case Study Part II The Parable of the Prodigal Son is the Best case study in the Bible for comparing living from the center vs. the circumference and then returning from the circumference to live in the center. So much about life and feeling the depth and pain of the human struggle is on full display in this parable. It is no wonder it stands as perhaps th...

In Luke 15, Jesus introduces three parables that deserve our attention. The first two are the Lost Sheep and Coin. Together these parables help us see that no matter how hard we try to avoid it, sin is part of the deal. We will lose our way. We will find our way to the circumference. We must learn to see when we were (or are) lost, admit we have missed the mark, and repent so we can be found.

March 16 | Luke 13:31-35 | Centering from Others Others are looking to trap and kill Jesus. But Jesus rightly demonstrates how we can live out of the center of our lives and not be swayed by what others say or think of us. It may be easy for Jesus, but it’s not for us. We have a lot to learn in centering ourselves from others.

March 9 | Luke 4:1-13 | Centering from Sin Jesus is tempted in the wilderness by Satan. How he confronts his temptations is a Masterclass in centering ourselves. We have a lot to learn from Jesus here.

March 2 | Luke 9:28-36 | Homecoming The story of the Transfiguration is out of this world, but at the same time, it is a blessing of how Jesus is making for humanity a new home. The Transfiguration reminds us of all that Jesus is more than human, and his work on this earth is more than simple. He is bringing all of us “home.”

February 23 | Luke 6:27-36 | Homework Just like in Matthew, Jesus rattles off his “But I say to you” phrases. He touches on how we are to love our enemies and be merciful. We are not supposed to judge, and we are always to forgive. The lessons in this text prove that we have some serious homework to do.

February 16 | Luke 6:17-26 | Homesick Jesus heals everyone up and down the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had diseases and unclean spirits, and Jesus healed them all. After he healed them, he spoke what is essentially Luke’s version of the Beatitudes, and what we see is that part of Jesus’ healing and teaching is that he has come to help heal and bless the homesick.

February 9 | Luke 5:1-11 | Homemaking Jesus calls his disciples to a life that leaves their temporary home to help go and build a new one. There is so much in this text: A great teaching moment, a great catch of fish, great doubt, and a great line, “now you will fish for people.” Studying this test will help us see that we make our home by walking and following Jesus.

February 2 | Luke 4:21-30 | Hometown What Jesus does in the synagogue is too much. The people cannot handle it. It is so off-putting they riot against Jesus to hurl him off a cliff which leads Jesus to declare, “No prophet is accepted in a prophet’s hometown.” This scripture is the underbelly of what it looks like to refuse to think deeply about the theology of home.