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.
Margreta Silverstone: Invitation and Attitude for an Unexpected Life
July 07, 2002 The people we will be with will be poor. They have a life expectancy much less than mine. They will have had less formal education than I will. I will be in areas where I may be at risk of violence. All of these things could lead me to both fear for my safety and think of myself as being better. I know and choose an attitude of openness to what I will see of beauty, to what I will learn of purity, and what I will experience of humility. Like Paul, I only pray for God’s grace to keep me focused on these things.
Kate Cudlipp: Born To Do This
June 30, 2002 I do not believe we can define “call” clearly and finally. I think it is one of those concepts so intimately connected to God’s movement in our lives that to tie it to a strict definition would be blasphemy. One thing we can say is that call is about how we are present and active in the world; call is about doing.
Jeanne Marcus: Man against Father
June 23, 2002 This is shocking in two ways: the first is Jesus’ willingness to be in judgment against the family, which we are used to thinking about as one important structure of an ethical Christian life. The other is Jesus’ choice of the image of a sword in naming the challenge he is bringing, when we usually think of Jesus as living a message of non-violence. The usual explanation of this hard saying is that Jesus is commenting on the inevitability of dissension between people when the time comes for individuals either to claim faith in him, or to dismiss him. I have come to a better explanation of this passage.
Marjory Zoet Bankson: Wanted: a Few Good Men
June 16, 2002
A couple of weeks ago, I led a retreat for the staff and volunteers at Christ House. I brought my potter’s wheel to share the image of remaking a clay pot when the first one failed. At the end, I asked them to take a fresh piece of soft clay and go out into the field with to listen to God. When we came back, one man said, “the soft clay is like me now. I grew up thinking I just had one chance and by the time I was 8 years old, I had blown it. I lived on the streets and fought all the time. But, when I came to Christ House, I was just overcome by love. Everybody just loved me until I could believe in forgiveness. Now I am a counselor, helping other guys heal from addictions. God said to me that I’ve got to ‘stay soft.’ ”
Jane Engle and Ken Burton: What Am I to Do With You
June 09, 2002
Ken and I were married here April 27. We want to share with you some of our thoughts that went into the ceremony and some words from the ceremony. But today, unlike then, we would like to frame what we have to say by the lections–specifically, the alternate Hebrew scripture from Hosea 6 and Matthew 9. Mysteriously, these scriptures say what it is that we want to say.