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 Call and Future of Seekers: A Day of Prayer and Conversation
Jeanne Marcus
May 18, 2025
Fifth Sunday of Easter
I’d like to share a moment I had a few weeks ago: it was a perfect D.C. spring morning– the day was fresh and bright and tangy, and the trees were just budding out with that fleeting glow of new spring green.
I had parked in the Takoma Metro lot, and was walking through the grassy space between the bus stops and our corner here. The streets and sidewalks had their uniquely Sunday morning emptiness and quiet. And there ahead and off to my right a little, was the brick and glass of our building, with its iconic metallic signage: Seekers Church. Something about the angle of the sun caught the storefront in a way that looked like a blessing.
In that particular moment, it seemed as if I had somehow bracketed all that I believe I know about the church and the community behind the glass window, as if I didn’t have any idea about the actual life that happens here.
Listening for the Word of God
Deborah Sokolove Yakushiji
May 11, 2025
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Outside, it’s Mothers’ Day. In here, it is the 4th Sunday of Easter, so this is not a Mothers’ Day sermon. It is an invitation to listen for the Word of God.
When I am serving as liturgist, I often invite us to listen for the Word of God as it comes to us in scripture. Sometimes, someone asks me why we continue to read passages that refer to situations that no longer apply or that seem to contradict what we understand as God’s desire for peace, love, and justice for all. Why, they ask, do we say “The Word of God” at the end of the Gospel reading, when one or more of the readings for the day are offensive to our current sensibilities?
Indeed, why do we read scripture aloud every Sunday? What is different about hearing these stories during worship in the midst of the congregation than when we read them silently to ourselves during our quiet times or at some other part of the day? How can we hear the Word of God in passages that confuse or offend us? Why don’t we just skip that parts that are problematic?
A Time of Meditation and Prayer
Elizabeth Gelfeld
May 4, 2025
Third Sunday of Easter
As many Seekers were on Silent Retreat at Dayspring this weekend, the sermon time for the regular worship service was devoted to silent prayer and meditation.
The liturgist began with a version of the breath prayer that Cynthia Dahlin led during her sermon on March 9, 2025.
Opening:
Take a breath. Now take a deeper breath.
After the Resurrection: What’s Next?
Peter Bankson
April 27, 2025
Second Sunday of Easter
INTRODUCTION
Last Sunday, on Easter morning, John Hassell reminded us that the Resurrection doesn’t involve Jesus alone, but rather all of us:
We aren’t passive observers or spectators – rather we, Adam and Eve, are participants in the Resurrection. We’re rising up out of death into the aura surrounding Jesus as Jesus steps out of the tomb.
In these chaotic times, when our lives are being disrupted every day in so many different ways it’s a real challenge to find much hope in the idea that we’re rising up like Jesus – WITH JESUS! The conundrum of being raised WITH Jesus has really pushed me around during this chaotic Lent, and particularly during the past week.
- Resurrection is a surprise recovery of awareness;
- The risen Christ calls us to new, fresh action built on stable core values;
- Kindness can be a rudder guiding us through chaos toward an unknown future.
Resurrecting Easter
John Hassell
April 20, 2025
Easter Sunday
Good morning, Seekers. Happy Easter to each of you. To quote from Paul’s letter to the Colossians, “You have been raised with Christ!”
Preparing this sermon for me was like visiting a new country. Many of you have heard dozens of Easter sermons, but this time, at least for me it has been similar to stepping into a completely different world.
I would like to present to you, how I discovered in this new country, a new vision of Easter, of the Resurrection, or as our spiritual cousins who are from the Eastern Orthodox Christian heritage call “Anastasis” the Greek word for the Resurrection.