FBC Wilmington Sermons

The Parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most important teachings in all the Bible. It has enormous implications for our lives. Together, all three characters experience something different around the table, and we need to hear about and from all three.

Jesus continues teaching to the tax collectors and sinners. He tells two incredible parables of sheep and coins getting lost and being found. 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 must learn to see when we were (or are) lost, to admit we are sinners, and to repent so we can be found.

While Jesus was eating with Pharisees, he noticed something odd. The Pharisees immediately chose the seats of honor. Jesus takes this moment to teach them all about true humility. This lesson still applies today.

While eating dinner at the house of a Pharisee, Jesus noticed a man with dropsy (a physical ailment). He turns to the Pharisees and says, “I can heal him, but it’s the Sabbath. Is it lawful for me to do it?” What happens next is something we all need to learn.

Self-control is the ability to harness your actions, your thoughts, and your feelings, knowing you represent Christ to others. People are going to see Christ through you. If you can’t control your tongue or actions, what, then, will people think about your Christ?

Jesus teaches us in the Beatitudes that gentleness doesn’t mean soft. It means nonviolent. And the more nonviolent we are, the more we look like Christ and live out of the Spirit. In this simple, yet profound beatitude, Jesus lifts up the humble, the lowly, and gentle above the rest.

"God’s hand has been on my life since the beginning . . . even before the beginning,” says Jeremiah. The truth for him is still true for us today. God’s faithfulness has been with us every day of our lives.

Goodness is seeing the best in someone or something. It’s choosing to live with moral excellence. And it’s a gift that comes from God and fruit of the spirit that we may most need to cultivate.

The prophet Micah tells us we are required to love kindness. This language is direct and important for us to grasp. We are to cherish how we treat the other. We are to be attentive and alert in how we engage our neighbor. We are to actively love being kind to everyone.

Habakkuk is fed up with waiting on God. The destruction of Israel and the sinfulness of other nations is too much to stay silent about . . . so Habakkuk laments. Through lamenting, he arrives on a firmer foundation, and by the start of the second chapter he is ready to stand on a watchtower and wait. It took lamenting, but he learned that strength rises when we wait upon the Lord.

We need peace. We need peace of mind, peace of spirit, and peace on earth. We can rightfully assume this peace will not be contrived of by human hands. We need the peace that surpasses understanding. We need the peace of God that comes with God-sized comfort even in the midst of our chaos.

Love is the greatest expression of God in the world. Paul gives us a timeless description and definition of what true love looks like in the world in 1 Corinthians 13.

This sermon will give an overview of the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5 and compare it to the fruit of the world. There are two lists in Galatians 5, but only one is birthed from a life lived in the Spirit.

Once you find Deep Joy, there’s a new set of rules in which we are more willing to live by that become quite helpful in our attempt at imitating Christ: “Let your gentleness be known to everyone. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your...

Paul’s words in Philippians 3 speak to why we must pursue joy: “Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us then who are mature be of the same mind; and if you think differently about anything...

Philippi was a military city in which many theologians believe Rome’s top officials retired. It was a perfectly nationalistic city that paid significant tribute to Caesar. This detail matters when you think of the dangerous proposition that Paul gives the Christians that they must live as Christ, denouncing Caesar and declaring Christ as Lord. So how will they be able to do such a thing? They humb...

How we operate in the world matters. How we associate with one another (like loving our neighbor) should be godly. Paul understands this reality and delivers an impassioned letter to his friends and church community in Philippi to remind them of what he already knows to be true: “If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and...

Like Matthew, Luke includes a fine commission, but his version is a bit different. The energy is the same, but the command is different. Instead of ‘go make disciples,’ Luke tells the world to preach repentance and forgiveness of sins. Becoming awakened (coming alive) to the importance and power of these two words . . . and helping others see it, too . . . is paramount for the church to move peopl...

Jesus meets disciples on his walk to Emmaus but disguises himself as a stranger. After an incredible dialogue we hear the disciples reflecting to one another, “Were our hearts not burning within us?” This line is the moment consciousness evolves for them, and their souls come alive. The storyline is one of the most well-known scenes in the gospels. Hearing it again through the lens of how we can c...

A lot of people call themselves Great Commission Christians. I get it. It’s the clearest, most direct understanding of Christian duty. Go make disciples. Baptize them. Go. Do it. It’s direct. Positive. Action-oriented. Most people come alive when they realize they have work to do. Well, that same is still needed today. It’s time for the church to come alive.

Jesus shows up in Galilee unexpectedly. The disciples are fishing and Jesus makes a charcoal fire awaiting their catch of fish. They catch nothing until Jesus calls out to them. What he says at that moment makes the disciples come alive and is truly (and theologically) profound. Jesus’ words have reverberating significance for us even today. If you want a sneak peek into what he says, it’s verse f...

Thomas has to touch Jesus before he believes. Thankfully, Jesus meets Thomas in his doubt, and we see Thomas's character unfold in a way that mimics all of our lives. His faith comes alive when he owns his doubt and is able to see and touch Jesus. It’s not far-fetched to say, “Thomas’ doubt leads him to a deeper form of faith.” Ours can too.

John 20 has five scenes. Five times the resurrected Jesus shows up unexpectedly and five times a person or group come alive in ways they have not before. Sitting with these stories you realize they all have different starting blocks which means Jesus comes to them in their own narratives based on their own circumstances. The same is true for us. Jesus meets us where we are, as we are, and offers u...