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.
Richard Brady: Plum Village Tears, Plum Village Joy
February 10, 2002
During the question and answer session, James told Thây that his brother and sister-in-law had committed suicide. Thây responded that each of us has the seed of suicide and the seed of joy. Which of these seeds sprouts depends upon which is watered. Thây went on to say that from what James had shared, it was clear that the seed of suicide had been watered in him. James was at risk. He needed to examine carefully his life choices (his home, his job, his friends) and change any elements that were not watering his seeds of joy.
Elisabeth Dearborn: Lamp Transmission / Plum Village Poems
February 03, 2002
The bell is at the center of life in the Vietnamese Zen tradition. It is the voice of the Buddha calling us to wholeness. It sounds in many ways at Plum Village, not only when the bell master invites it to awaken. When the chimes tinkle in the wind, when the phone rings, when someone accidentally hits a big pot with a spoon, when Shoshanna sings: each of these is a bell. When a bell sounds, the whole community falls into silence, breathes three times and says a little poem.
Pat Conover: Seeing a Great Light
January 27, 2002
Jesus the weak, born in questionable circumstances, hunted by King Herod as a threat, saved and given gifts by the Magi, refugee to Egypt, grows up in Galilee in a nowhere village, son of a construction laborer. Jesus is like Bilbo and Frodo, who from humble beginnings go on to accomplish great tasks. Matthew continues to weave magic and miracle around the life of Jesus and returns to the theme of darkness and light to make magic of the death of Jesus on the Cross in the 27th Chapter.
Mollie McMurray: Come and See
January 20, 2002
“Would you like to have some Medicine Power?” Frog asked. Medicine Power? Me? asked Little Mouse. “Yes, Yes! If it is possible.” “Then crouch as low as you can, and then jump as high as you are able! You will have your medicine!” Frog said. Little Mouse did as he was instructed. He crouched as low as he could and jumped. And when he did, his eyes saw the Sacred Mountain.
David Smock: Clash of Civilizations or Opportunity for Dialogue?
January 13, 2002
A devout West Bank Muslim sheikh and a devout Israeli Orthodox rabbi told me that they feel a greater rapport with each other than they do with secular Muslims, by the sheikh, and secular Jews, by the rabbi. In the middle of the conflicts, the chief rabbi of Israel and the chief Muslim sheik of the Palestinian Authority have been prepared to jointly declare a religious peace and ceasefire, but Israel’s Prime Minister thwarted them from doing so. This process, in which I have been a bit player, has been both exhilarating and profoundly frustrating, but it has demonstrated the power of shared religious conviction in rising above political conflict and demonstrating the “bruised reed” approach to promoting peace and righteousness.