Cape Elizabeth Church of the Nazarene - Weekly Sermon Podcast

“Getting to Know God: Revelation”
Text: Matthew 28:16-20

In this final week of the “Getting to Know God” series, we see how all of the previous methods point to God revealing himself in a very clear way in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus instructs His followers to “go and make disciples” so that others may also get to be engaged in the ways and means by which we can come to know God.

“Getting to Know God: Experience”
Text: Acts 2:1-21
This Pentecost Sunday we remember that after receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples were able to share the story of Jesus to those who were unable to hear it before – many of them from countries who were against the people of God. Through our own experiences, God also equips us to share what He is doing in our lives to those around us.

“Getting to Know God: Reason”
Text: Acts 17:16-34

This week, our sermon series about getting to know God looks at the use of reason. It is not the means by which we get to God, but is the tool by which we interpret how God has been revealing himself through Scripture. God calls us to engage in our way of thinking so that we, as Paul says, “fumble about for him and find him,” sometimes in miraculous and wonderful ways that often surprise us.

“Getting to Know God: Scripture”
Text: 1 Peter 1:12-21
Today we continue our series of “Getting to Know God” by looking at the role of scripture. The scriptures contain words of those who saw firsthand how God acted in their lives. Peter argues that all scriptures point us to Jesus, and that His Spirit wants to continue speaking to us today through these words.

Getting to Know God: Tradition
Text: Mark 7:1-23
We begin a new five week sermon series entitled “Getting to Know God,” where we will be looking at ways in which we might find practices to grow in our faith and come to understand who God is. In this week’s scripture lesson, Jesus critiques tradition for the sake of tradition and says that who we are is defined by practicing who we are. Patterns from within that open ourselves up to want God wants to do and help us live holy lives are the ones to be exercised in our world.

Text: John 10:1-10
Old Testament prophets frequently employ the imagery of shepherds when speaking about the rulers of the land who are entrusted with the lives of those around them. Today’s passage has Jesus using similar imagery when He calls Himself the gate; He is saying that the way to knowing God and being right with God is found through Him – His way, His life, and His truth.

“Luke 24:13-35”
We continue celebrating the resurrection with the story of Jesus interacting with Cleopas and the other traveler on the road to Emmaus. After recognizing Jesus through the breaking of bread, they acknowledged that they felt something “burning” while talking with Him on the road. We are also invited to look for the presence of Jesus in the moments of our lives where we face the uncertainty of tomorrow.

Text: John 20:19-31
In today’s passage, Jesus appears to His disciples in the midst of their fear and He brings words of peace to them. Jesus empowers the Church with the Holy Spirit to live faithfully in a world in which they are afraid, where the powers that be are adverse to the way of God. We can also be faithful in the midst of just such a world.

“Our Easter Message”
Text: Acts 10:34-43
This Easter Sunday, we celebrate the new birth and freedom from sin that comes from the resurrection of Jesus. Peter reminds us that even after the resurrection, Jesus remained one of us and that God’s grace reaches precisely to where we are.

Text: Psalm 118
On Palm Sunday, we celebrate and honor Christ as King, our deliverer, and our Messiah. Psalm 118 is quoted in all four Gospels during Jesus’ Triumphal Entry and Jesus embodies the hope of deliverance from the cries of the psalmist, the Jewish people, and us today.