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.
“Holding Up the Bigger Story” by Marjory Zoet Bankson
December 28, 2014
Christmastide
Text: Luke 2:22-40
….Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him….”This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed — and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”
….At that moment Anna came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
In our text for today, two elders stand at the gateway of a new liturgical year. Anna and Simeon make this brief appearance – and they are never seen again. So why did Luke include these two unknown elders in his account of Jesus’ birth?
As I have pondered this text for the past few weeks, three things began to stand out:
A Seekers Christmas Pageant
December 21, 2014 The Fourth Sunday of Advent With the help and guidance of Marcia, John, and Roy, (and some technical assistance from Glen) the children brought the Christmas story to life with drama, costumes, and song. The worship space was arranged as if for theater-in-the-round, and the entire congregation became part of the pageant as the various characters in the story walked around and among us. All the children participated, even those who were just visiting for the day.
A Service in the Style of Taize for Advent, 2014
December 14, 2014 The Third Sunday in Advent Several times each year, Seekers Church takes time out from its regular preaching schedule for a service of chant, prayer and reflection modeled on the worship of the Taizé Community in France. This Sunday was one such time. Repeating the chants together until they die away into the silence provides rest for our world-weary spirits as well as an opportunity for individual reflection on our faith journeys. As we joined in spirit with the monks at Taizé, we were nourished by their faithfulness as well as by their music.
“Beginning the Jesus Story” by Pat Conover
December 7, 2014
The Second Sunday of Advent
The first part of this sermon is about Christmas and the second part is about beginning the story of Jesus.
This is a bookend sermon to my sermon in which I spoke about how Easter screws up the story about what is most spiritually important concerning the death of Jesus. Taken together, Christmas and Easter, as the biggest events of the Christian year, completely skip Jesus as a grown adult who embodied, led, taught, and healed. It was grown up Jesus who gathered close followers, who pointed to the salvation importance of recognizing the Holy Spirit in our lives and relationships.
“A Sermon for Advent” by Muriel S. Lipp
November 30, 2014
The First Sunday of Advent
I was moved to stand here today mostly by the Isaiah Scripture, particularly that phrase, “Thou art the Potter—I am the clay.” Since it’s the first Sunday in Advent, I wondered how that thought portrayed the birth of Jesus. We know that Isaiah predicted the birth of The Messiah several times, saying, “Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son ,” and once he even confessed his own doubts: “Shall a woman bear a child without pain?…Who has heard of anything like this?” Like Isaiah, those are my thoughts too, but since am the clay, I’m not yet fully formed.