Seekers recognizes that any member of the community may be called upon by God to give us the Word, and thus we have an open pulpit with a different preacher each week. Sermons preached at Seekers, as well as sermons preached by Seekers at other churches or events, are posted here, beginning with the most recent.
Click here for an archive of our sermons.
Feel free to use what is helpful from these sermons. We only ask that when substantial portions are abstracted or used in a written work, please credit Seekers Church and the author, and cite the URL.
The Thanksgiving Address: Greetings to the Natural World
November 15, 2020
This morning, a group of Seekers who were part of the book study of Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, read the traditional Thanksgiving Address of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations or Iroquois) people. Kimmerer notes that these “Words that Come Before All Else” are spoken at the beginning of the school day, as well as at other ceremonial and governmental gatherings.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 by Carla Works
November 8, 2020
Carla Works, Professor of New Testament at Wesley Theological Seminary, was our guest preacher. She spoke about the apostle Paul’s relationship with what she referred to as “First Church Thessalonika” and the hope that they–and we–have in Christ. The text of this sermon is not yet available.
“Beatitudes” by Cynthia Dahlin
November 1, 2020
All Saints Day
Today is All Saints Day. This is the day that Seekers take time to honor those who have died during the year, and sometimes, we install new tiles on the Seekers Memory Wall in honor of loved ones who have passed on in this past year or in years past, but for whom we want a place of remembrance.
When I was at Seekers a couple of weeks ago for the Black Lives Matter demonstration, I took a picture of the tiles on the wall, which is on the back stairway between the lower floor and sanctuary floor, to remind us of the names that are there, and of the many spaces left for those of us who will be remembered in the future. We are not adding a tile this year. but I am asking Deborah to slowly show the current wall so that we can hold a moment of silence for those we have honored and still remember. If there is someone you are thinking of today, I invite you to put their name in the chat box so we can hold all of these people we loved in prayer.
“Finding Our Way to Salvation” by Pat Conover
October 25, 2020
Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost
Being in this together has been a popular phrase for Seekers for many months. Contacting Ken and then repeating the commitment statement last week as a member or a steward is a signal to yourself and the rest of us that you feel you are inside Seekers or want to move inside Seekers.
Being inside Seekers is not like joining an organization. To be inside Seekers as a community is about growing into bonds of love and caring, of finding and taking on your callings within Seekers, of entering the ongoing transformational conversations in Seekers. Being inside is not static, is not a status. Being in community is about heart to heart openness and active involvement.
Because Seekers is not a doctrinal or credal church, right belief is not a ticket to being inside. Instead, seeking the truth together, speaking and otherwise imaging the truth together, supports growing into transformational active truth. It is my understanding that the referential key for getting to the inside of our transformational conversation is searching and responding to the inspiration of Jesus as our Savior, not just my personal Savior. We are saved in the shaping of our relationships with each other. Being saved in community is about being saved together.
“Called to Joyful Commitment” by Deborah Sokolove
October 18, 2020
Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
In case you’ve somehow missed all the announcements we’ve been making and had no idea what we were doing a few minutes ago when Dave, Erica, and Judy lead us in the commitment statements for children, Members, and Stewards—today is Recommitment Sunday. We’ve had a long series of sermons about commitment, in which Peter, Michele, Elizabeth, John, Marjory, and Dave each gave us a different view of what commitment at Seekers Church means to them.
So here I am, standing at the virtual pulpit, wrapping up this sermon series and this season with a call to joyful commitment.
Today’s reading from Exodus follows immediately after the story of the golden calf. He’s been in conversation with God, but it’s not clear who is more upset about the people’s faithlessness—Moses or God. While God thunders vengeance, Moses melts down the idol and makes the people drink the dregs, and then tells the Levites to kill all those who bowed down to the false god. Then Moses goes away from the camp to sit in the Tent of Meeting, where God’s presence hovers like a pillar of cloud at the doorway.
When God tells Moses to take the people on towards the promised land of milk and honey, Moses complains to God that he doesn’t know who will help him lead the people. God replies that the very presence of the divine will be with him, but Moses asks for a sign. And then, when God promises to do exactly as Moses asks, Moses asks for more, saying “ok, but show me your glory.” It seems that no matter what God offers, Moses keeps asking for something else. Finally, out of patience, God says, I will show my grace to whom I will show my grace, and I will show my compassion to whom I will show my compassion, but nobody—not even you—gets to see my face. Now, go stand on that rock over there, and when I’m about to pass by, I’ll put you into a hole in the rock and put my hand over the top until the only part of me you can see is my back.