Sermon and Worship Resources

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1 John 3:1-7

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

Lately, I've been thinking that I'd rather not be referred to as a Christian. I don't always like being put in the same category with the kinds of people who like to call themselves Christians. I'm referring to the ones who will put out a directory of businesses that are identified as Christian businesses so all the Christians can do business with each other. There's something about that that just...

2. Doing Christ’s Work

Ephesians 1:15-23

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

My mom's hands were never idle. She was always doing some kind of needlework or craft. She would go from painting Christmas ornaments to crocheting an afghan to knitting baby booties to embroidering a pillowcase. She did it all. Whenever we sat down to watch television together, I was always amazed that she could pay attention to the program and count stitches at the same time. When I was a young...

3. Eternal Life Is Now

1 John 5:9-13

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

Imagine describing what music is like to someone who has never heard a sound. How would you do it? It would be so far from the realm of their experience that you would have nothing to go on really. That's like describing heaven to someone who has only known life here on earth. Now, we know that not one of us has ever been there. But suppose a few of us could pay a visit to heaven just to check it...

4. Genuine Hope

Romans 4:13-25

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

The season is upon us once again. Around this time every year we can expect the annual cycle to bring us to this special season when we are intentional about carving out extra time in our lives for that which is most important to us. It's not like other times of the year. Instead, during this season, for many of us, our thoughts and our conversations take a distinctively different focus. Of course...

5. God’s Great High Priest

Hebrews 5:5-10

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

Redeemer, Word made flesh, Messiah, Savior, Son of God, Prince of Peace, Christ, Good Shepherd. There are many different terms that are used in the New Testament to describe who Jesus was. When you start to look at all these terms a couple of things become clear. First of all, Jesus was not a one-dimensional person and secondly, there are many ways of interpreting who he was and what he was all ab...

6. How Do We Make Sense of This?

Romans 8:35-39, Hebrews 10:1-39

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

Good Friday is a hard day. It's depressing and it's confusing. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? How do we make sense of this? Christians have struggled with understanding the meaning of the cross ever since the very beginning and the struggle has continued through the centuries. We can see that from reading today's passage from Hebrews if we stop to consider the passage in its larger contex...

7. I Love You, Too

1 John 4:7-21

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

When someone says, "I love you," the natural reply is, "I love you, too." If you're in a loving relationship with someone, you expect those words in response. Our passage from 1 John today tells us that this is the kind of relationship God has with us. It's not just about saying the words, though. We heard John telling us last week: "Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in trut...

8. It’s about Grace

Ephesians 2:1-10

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

When Bill Clinton was running for president, there was a phrase that drove his political campaign. It was invoked repeatedly so that no one in the campaign would lose sight of the core issue at stake. Do you remember what it was? "It's about the economy, stupid." Lest anyone get sidetracked on unrelated issues, the reminder was ever before them: "It's about the economy, stupid." As Christians who...

9. Love in Action

1 John 3:16-24

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

Love one another. It sounds so simple, doesn't it? Of course, if you've ever really tried it, you know that this love stuff is incredibly hard. I guess that's why Jesus made such a big deal out of it, because he knows how hard it for us. Love one another. It's his big commandment. In the gospel of John we hear Jesus saying it in as many ways as he possibly can. But he does more than just say it. H...

10. Loving God

1 John 5:1-6

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

Are you in love with God? In 1 John, the author has a lot to say about the love of God and the way that love changes our lives. We love because God first loved us. God's love fills us to overflowing so that it flows through us to other people. Annie Dillard said that we catch grace like a man filling a cup underneath a waterfall.1 That's the way we receive God's love. But there can be a problem fo...

11. Nocturnal Christians?

1 John 1:1—2:2

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

When I was in college, they used to show movies in a lecture hall that was tiered at a deep angle down to the front of the room. As soon as you entered the door from the rear, you had to go down an aisle of very steep stairs. I remember arriving late once, after the movie had already begun. As I tried to find a place to sit, it was so dark in the room that I nearly wiped out trying to negotiate th...

12. On The Night When He Was Betrayed

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

Have you ever been betrayed by one of your closest friends? After opening yourself up and becoming vulnerable to another person, to have them abuse the trust you placed in them and stab you in the back can cause more pain than if that person had beaten you to a pulp. If a person who claims to love you turns around and hurts you deeply, you probably do what most of us do in that situation — you hur...

13. The Season of Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:11--6:2

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

Ash Wednesday is the day when we enter into an annual pilgrimage that takes us from the grave that none of us can escape to the surprising gift of an empty tomb that changes everything. No doubt some of you may have already entered into some sort of Lenten discipline, like increasing your Bible reading or, God forbid ... giving up chocolate. Before we travel too far on our Lenten journey, let's lo...

14. The Story That Shapes Us

Philippians 2:5-11

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

Note: This sermon is intended to be presented before the reading of the Passion narrative as a way to prepare the listeners by reflecting on its significance. Imagine a Friday night and you're caught in heavy traffic. It's bumper to bumper and you're late. You're in the right hand lane on the freeway and all the cars come to a stop. You look into your rearview mirror and notice that, a long way b...

15. The Unbelievable Truth

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

I remember my first experience with death. I was only six years old, which was a long time ago, but I remember it. I remember a room filled with people who were all talking above me as if I wasn't there. I remember the stifling smell of flowers and the horrifying sound of my grandmother wailing. Most of all, I remember the body in the box. It didn't look real. It was like the people in the wax mus...

16. The Width and Depth of God’s Grace

Romans 6:3-5, 1 Peter 3:18-22

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the number one wilderness boxing event of all time. In this corner, the self-avowed ruler of the world, known for his cunning and deception, the embodiment of all evil, Satan! And in this corner, the recently baptized carpenter turned preacher, God's own beloved Son, Jesus! Every year we begin the season of Lent by hearing the story of how Jesus dukes it out with ...

17. The Wisdom of The Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18-25

Sermon

Nancy Kraft

There are some people who have the gift of persuasion. If you've ever seen the Music Man, it's a gift that Professor Hill had as he sold musical instruments to all the kids in town by convincing everyone that they could make beautiful music by just thinking the notes. He was what you'd call a smooth talker, which is a valuable skill for a salesperson. There are also other professions where it help...

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