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.
“Hope and Hopelessness” by David Novello
December 12, 2010
Advent 3
It has been remarkable that, as I have thought about and worked on this sermon these past two weeks, words about hope and optimism seem to be popping up everywhere – appearing in all kinds of places. There was a “quote of the day” last week from the web site gratefulness.org. And Ken Stailey circulated an email about a quote on hope by Eric Hoffer that a friend posted on his Facebook wall. And then Jill Joseph sent another email – this one to our mission group – noting that in the preparation for the sermon she gave last week, she read that the words “hope” and “hop” are believed to have a common origin, as hope implies some inner leaping with anticipated joy. Such synchronicity!
“Second Week of Advent: Being Disconcerted by John the Baptist” by Jill Joseph
December 5, 2010
Advent 2
So now it is Saturday noon, and I can focus on preparing this homily, at last.
Focus. I need to focus, I need to forget…….
I need to forget that I’m tired, distracted, agitated, and confused.
This is the second week of Advent, my favorite liturgical season, pregnant with expectation and hope and lovely music and candlelight. I can think of no more wonderful task than being asked to provide an Advent sermon.
“Boundary Waters: an Advent Sermon” by Kate Amoss
November 28, 2010
Advent 1
I love Advent. I love the candles, the stillness, and the quiet hush of anticipation. Once again I am irrationally hopeful. I expect magic and miracles. The Prince of Peace will be born again. I know in my heart that life and possibility dwell in midst of death. The contradictions of the world are not too much for me – not during Advent. Nature – – like Mary — is pregnant as she slows down and takes a nap. The buds for spring are already set even as the last brown leaves drift down from the empty branches. And as in our hymn today, “The Rose,” the seed is already planted that will in the spring become the rose. Much is hidden during Advent.
“God is Blue” by Pat Conover
November 14, 2010
Salvation is about experiencing God and experiencing ourselves in relationship to God. It is the experience itself that grounds salvation. Understanding and appreciating the experience of God, understanding and appreciating our relationship with God, builds on the direct experience of God and guides us into thankfulness for our lives, for our human relationships, and for the world we live in. We build with constructions of concepts and language to help us understand and communicate with each other about our experiences of God. We construct images to help us appreciate and communicate about our experiences of God.
“For All the Saints” by Marjory Bankson
November 7, 2010
Who are these saints, whose pictures grace the altar table today? I see no famous people. No world-class martyrs. Or pop heroes either. Just a lot of ordinary faces — most lined with care and experience. Most have a twinkle in the eye suggesting a kind of life-force that we loved in them — or felt from them.
Here at Seekers, we don’t have a list to read of those who have died this year. In fact, nobody has died out of our fellowship — and that’s usually when we designate somebody a “saint” — after they’re gone. Since we have no new names to add to our memory wall in the back stairwell, I want to take this occasion to encourage you to write your own piece for our memory book (indicate book on the altar). Here at Seekers, we’d like you to describe who you are in your own words for the next generation. And add a picture too.