Cape Elizabeth Church of the Nazarene - Weekly Sermon Podcast

“People of Grace: The Reach of Grace”
Text: Ephesians 2:8-10
We officially start our “People of Grace” series by examining the second chapter of Ephesians. This passage, which may be the most often quoted portion of Paul’s letter, addresses sin and our desire to draw close to God by removing our separation from Him. It shows us that the grace of God interesects us at the darkest moments and the grace of God is extended to everyone.

This sermon series is inspired by “A People of Grace” by Sam Barber, available from the Foundry Publishing.

“People of Grace: Surprised by Grace”
Text: Matthew 15:21-28
Pastor Tim introduces a new series called “A People of Grace,” which is designed to complement the church’s book study on Sam Barber’s book of the same name. In this first sermon, we examine what initially appears to be the least grace-filled passage in the Gospels. Jesus’ first words towards the woman asking for her daughter to be made well are a reflection of the Jewish peoples’ attitude towards the Canaanites, but He inhabits them just long enough to show that He has called His believers out of that judgement. This passage is a reminder that we cannot contain God’s grace, and that we can be surprised by where God’s grace is willing to go.

“Finding Jesus Among Us”
Text: John 5:1-15
Today we hear an encouraging word from the Gospel of John, where Jesus healed a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. After the healing, He could not be found, slipping into and being among the crowd. Pastor Tim reminds us that Jesus is not found in repetitive, anecdotal moments. Sometimes, Jesus shows us a glimpse of His eternal plan in this world and other times, we find Him shouldering himself in between two thieves to be with us precisely where we are in the suffering and dying moments of life, telling us that God is with us and His promise and hope continues in the resurrection.

“Jesus’s Invitation: ‘Be the Grown-ups!'”
Text: Matthew 5:43-48
We are pleased to welcome back former CECN pastor Rev. Dr. Jeff Barker as our guest preacher. He brings us a message from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus’s call to perfection – “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” – comes after He describes how His disciples are to look like; they are to be mature. This call to “be the grown-ups” finds its fufillment within the context within all of our relationships through acts of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation.

Text: John 14:15-24
Pastor Kim Richardson joins us this week while Pastor Tim is on vacation. Today’s passage from John is about obedience. When we know what God expects and we obey what He is asking us to do, it is a demonstration of our love to Jesus. As we love Jesus, He makes Himself known to us. As a result, if we want to know Jesus better, we should do what He asks us to.

Sermon Text: 2 Peter 3:1-18
Having finished our recent sermon series on the Old Testament minor prophets, we turn to a passage from the book of 2 Peter that has also been read as a prophetic word. Peter tells his audience to not listen to a world that suggests that God is not interested in how they live their lives and what they do. Instead, Peter emphasizes how God has not forgotten His promise to restore the world with righteousness, and His patience allows people to repent and grow in their faith.

Text: Haggai 2:1-9
We continue our series on the minor prophets by studying the second book of Haggai. In Haggai, we find encouraging words to the people of Israel while they prepare to return to the Promised Land. Haggai shows us that God’s grace meets us where the trials of life are.

“God Greater than Our Adversary”
Nahum 1:1-11
Continuing our series on the minor prophets, we look at Nahum’s prophecy for the city of Nineveh. Taking place after the events recorded in the book of Jonah, Nahum’s harsh words of judgement are for those who continue to abuse power and take advantage of God’s grace. For those who come from a position of having nothing, this passage is a word of hope and liberation, serving as a reminder that God is a source of strength wherever there has been hardness or trouble.

Text: Obadiah 1:1-21
We continue our study of the minor prophets by looking at the book of Obadiah. This short book contains harsh words to the nation of Edom, criticizing them for their battles with the people of Israel, with whom they had a common heritage. Yet these harsh words are a reminder for us as well – we should never look at another group of people and mock them for how different they are from us, or for when hard times come their way. To judge our neighbor as being unworthy of grace is instead putting us in a position to miss out on God’s grace. Obadiah reminds the nations that the call to love our neighbor from Deuteronomy is one that transgresses borders are boundaries. It’s not for just people like us; its for all the people in the world.

“Speaking Truth into Danger”
Amos 7:7-17
We continue our sermon series on the minor prophets; ones we may not read from often but who nevertheless remind their people of the call that God has placed on their lives. This week’s passage from Amos is a hard prophetic word of judgement coming down against the people of Israel. While we can read this looking towards the grace that might break through such a judgmental proclamation, we must realize that there is truth behind tough words. Each of us is called by God’s Holy Spirit to speak God’s grace and truth among those who we are with. Even when it is hard to speak that truth, we must do so not judgmentally, but in a way that invites others to receive the grace of God.