Immanuel Church Wilmington Delaware

Luke 24:1-12 We continue the series "Making All Things New", by looking at meanings of the resurrection of Jesus: 1) We can receive a "do over", a new start to our life; 2) Rivers of living water can flow out of us through His Spirit; 3) We can be raised with Him today and forever; 4) His victory over death means nothing can separate us from God's love.

Matthew 21:1-16 We begin a new sermon series entitled "Making All Things New". On Palm Sunday, Pastor Dan addressed the events surrounding Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem, when the people proclaimed Him as king. Unfortunately, they didn't realize He was a different King than they expected.

Matthew 7:13-29 As Jesus concluded his Sermon on the Mount, he told us to beware of false prophets, whose motives are centered on themselves, and to examine our own motives as well. He then made it clear that our lives can flourish if we put into practice all that he had been teaching.

Matthew 7:1-12 Jesus addresses our tendency to judge the actions and motives of others. We are reminded that we all have sinned, and should not be so quick to judge. He offers a message of grace. We need to be grateful for the grace God offers to us for our sins, and be a people of humility and grace toward others.

Matthew 6:19-34 When we focus our lives on possessions, ambitions, and pleasure, we set ourselves up for anxiety when things don't develop as we would like. Jesus addresses this issue as he continues his sermon, and makes it clear that focusing on God and His ways will relieve stress and will lead to eternal provision.

Matthew 6:1-18 As Jesus continues to speak to the crowd, he addresses the motivations of our heart. When we give of our means, or pray and fast, do we do it for public approval, and make sure everyone knows what we're doing, or are we truly motivated to sincerely love God and love people, needing no public recognition?

Matthew 5:31-48 As Jesus continues His sermon on the mount, he addresses issues of divorce, oaths, revenge, and relationships, by promoting marriage, integrity, forgiveness and grace, all of which will lead to human flourishing.

Matthew 5:17-30 As Jesus continues His sermon on the mount, He makes it clear that He did not come to abolish the laws that God had previously laid down, but that they continue to have their purpose of revealing man's sinful nature. We all fall short. His purpose in coming was to be the one who could perfectly fulfill the Law, and eventually reunite us with God the Father.

Matthew 5:13-16 Pastor Dan continues the series on the Sermon on the Mount by examining the challenge from Jesus for His followers to be salt and light in this world. Even as salt and light penetrate and affect where they appear, we too should impact the world with the truth and message of the Gospel. May our words and deeds exemplify the life of Christ.

Matthew 5:1-12 Pastor Dan begins a series on The Sermon on the Mount by addressing the Beatitudes. Jesus presents the characteristics that lead to a flourishing life, including meekness, hunger for righteousness, mercy, purity, peacemaking, and more. As we humble ourselves before God and man, we will flourish.

This brief mid-week sermon guides us through some potential dangers that can arise during this unique season of Covid as we try to continue Christian community at Immanuel Church

James 1:1-4 The apostle James challenges the early church to understand that the trials in life develop spiritual maturity, if we persevere in faith. We can rejoice in God, because the testing of our faith becomes a means to grow in our understanding of God and His purposes. As we see Him move in each trial, we're better able to face the future.

2 Timothy 4:1-4 Paul's exhortation to Timothy applies to all of us. We should be ready at any time to minister God's Word. It's important to believe and live sound doctrine, so we don't get swept into deception and false doctrine. The basics of sound doctrine involve sacrifice, humility, and endurance.

Luke 9:20-36 Stephen begins by explaining the circumstances before the Transfiguration, then shows how the response of the disciples can be a lesson to all of us. When we set our minds on the things of man and not the ways of God, we can miss the fullness of the glory of Jesus. We need to listen, to see the bigger picture. 

Matthew 1:18-25; 2:13-23 Sometimes Joseph's role in the birth and early life of Jesus is overlooked. Elder Joel Porter shows the important lessons we can learn from him. As a righteous man, he wrestled with how to handle Mary's divine pregnancy, but once the angel explained it, he obeyed. As Joseph continued to discern and obey God's direction for their lives, so we too should learn to hear and ob...

Luke 2:1-21 On Christmas Eve, Pastor Dan spoke about sacredness. Sacred moments of life are gifts from God to show us His awesome presence. In the midst of a sinful world, they offer a glimpse of a new way of living. In the darkness of 2020, light can still be found. Will you allow the sacredness of this time to be a source of hope for 2021?

Matthew 2:1-12 In seeking to explain further the circumstances surrounding the journey that the Magi took to find baby Jesus, Pastor Dan explains it in modern day terms. Jesus was born in an unexpected place and worshipped first by unexpected people. Where are you searching for the Prince of Peace? Do you need to be redirected to where this humble and lowly Savior can be found? Also, are you gener...

Luke 2:21-39 This week we explore the hope of Anna and Simeon, two aged individuals who were faithfully devoted to the Lord. That devotion enabled them to recognize baby Jesus as the promised Messiah. Like them, we must always be embracing God's plan, and prepared to submit to His purposes, so we're ready for the new thing that he does in our lives.

Many of us will be struggling with Christmas season with fewer family and friends around our dinning room tables and in our living room.  How are we going to cope with the challenges ahead?  In this devotional, we take a quick look at Elijah's story as we discuss mental health and the incarnation, and we look ahead to the next episode when we will look at the need to develop life-giving habits wit...

Today we are going to talk about isolation and Advent.  Since we are in this pandemic, and since isolation has been more of a part of lives than perhaps we would have liked in 2020, I figured that an Advent devotional that deals exactly with this topic would be helpful.  Most of our family Christmases will be smaller as our Thanksgiving already was.  I am anticipating the sadness of that time to r...

Luke 1:26-56 When Mary came to Elizabeth, she shared in song her hope and joy in knowing she would bear the Son of God. She prophetically declared that God would give grace to the humble, working mightily through ordinary people, and God fulfilling all the prophecies through the weak. We too should pursue humility, seeing that simple things have great value.

Luke 1:5-24, 57-80 We begin our Christmas series looking at the life of Zechariah. He and Elizabeth received a miracle from God in the birth of their son, John. We see his struggle with believing it initially, but his faith later in the fulfillment of God's promises. His son would become the prophetic forerunner to the promised Messiah, Jesus, the hope of the world.

Mark 4:1-20 God works in His people through the Word, Jesus Christ, by His Spirit. In this parable, we see 3 ways that the Word can be robbed from us, and a 4th way it can take root and bear fruit. We learn how we should respond to the Word that God sows in us, as well as what we should expect when the Word is sown deep in our life.

1 Peter 1:3-9 The message of the resurrection is more than just a message. It is our living hope, because the church is supernaturally equipped with an ability to live the resurrection life:  a life of love, of generosity, of meekness, of humility, as we share the Good News of Jesus Christ. As a result, our attachments should be to Him, not to people, ideas, or things.

Lamentations 5 As we conclude the study of Lamentations, we see the author recounting again the tragedies that befell the Hebrew people. Yet, as he made clear earlier, they had hope in God's faithfulness to His promises. We must remember that God's story is forever. Our story makes sense if we see it interwoven with His story. Don't get overwhelmed with the moment, but allow the past to give hope...