Sermons

July 12, 2020

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Good morning, Seekers!  As Peter said, my name is Amy Moffitt, and I am both honored and terrified by the opportunity to preach today at Seekers.  As I think most of you know, I visited Seekers once years ago, but I hadn’t been back and wasn’t a part of this community until life circumstances –most notably the global pandemic—had me looking for a community of faith online.  I’ve really enjoyed worshipping with you all, and I count this experience as one of the surprising silver linings of this season.

Since I put it out there that I have a degree from Wesley Seminary, I want to caveat that my emphasis was in pastoral counseling and that I’ve never taken a preaching class.  As for my exegetical approach, I’d like to dignify it by calling it midrash, but essentially it’s just me struggling with and reacting to scripture.  If I am a theologian of any sort, it’s probably more in the school of Woody Allen than Wesley.

Peter mentioned that I put Presby-Cathlo-Episcopa-Mennonite under “denomination” on my seminary application.  Like many of you, my faith journey has taken me down many different paths and exposed me to different kinds of people, different faiths, different perspectives.  I know, as do you all, that there is more than one way to approach any given scripture, and that some of those ways do harm.  I also know that there are ways of doing church that bring an incredible amount of harm, and there are ways of doing church that end up feeling not much like “church” at all.

July 5, 2020

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Here is the first part of today’s verses from Paul’s epistle to the church in Rome as paraphrased in The Message[i]:

7^15-16-What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So, if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.

^17-20But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

^21-23It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

That describes me pretty well. If you’re honest, doesn’t that describe you too? And all our human institutions:  families, friends, and neighbors; our churches and schools, our businesses, banks, and hospitals; our governments at all levels? Something has gone wrong deep within us and gets the better of us every time.

June 28, 2020

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Good morning everyone!  My mission group knows that Zoom meetings have been challenging to me—Sitting on a chair for two hours without the walk into the sanctuary, the standing for hymns and all of the distractions of many faces makes me less attentive than I should be.  But in honor of this technology that allows us to be together, I will make an effort to talk slowly in case one of us has one of those glitches that slows word transmission.  I also have found that switching on Speaker View in the upper right of your Zoom Screen, and even switching off your own video, is what helps me concentrate on Sunday mornings and if you want to do that, I won’t be offended.  But come back for the reflection time so we can see your face!

The Shocking Story of the Near-Sacrifice of Isaac

When you heard today’s lectionary or read the complete selection on line, which one stuck in your head?  Was it Psalm 13:  “How long, O Lord?  Will you forget me forever?  How long will you hide your face from me?”

I doubt it.  It was that Abraham and Isaac story.   I had only heard the kid’s version of this story for much of my life.  A man was trying so hard to listen to God, that he was willing to offer up his own son in sacrifice to God.  At age 34, I started seminary at Virginia Theological Seminary.  I had two young children, and Julia was on the way.  My first impression of reading this story in depth in seminary was:  “What kind of father would take his son up a mountain to sacrifice him?  A monster?  A sadist?  Someone mentally ill?”  I saw the act in my mind’s eye as in Rembrandt’s famous painting of Abraham’s Sacrifice.

June 21, 2020

Third Sunday after Pentecost

[The following is a transcript from the recorded sermon]

Good morning, everyone. I’ll be glad when this is over. I have to say right now, but I want to start off. You know what Jesus said? Jesus said, “You can’t hate people and love God at the same time.” I believe that is absolutely true. And so right now, can everyone just kind of take a moment of silence so that everyone can lower their expectations of me today, because it is what it is.

I believe that my good friend, Father Michael, said to me, “Every congregation remembers one thing that you said during your sermon. You’ve done your job.” And I believe that is true. And so today, hopefully, I must say a number of things that you guys will remember.

I’m going to start off with something a little bit quirky, something I got off the Internet. I didn’t see it myself, but it did happen. And it was on a game show, “The Wheel of Fortune.” And I’m sure at some point time everyone has watched the game “Wheel of Fortune” where you put letters on the board. You win lots of money. And so the category was “occupation.” And so that’s the category. Here was the answer. The answer to the public puzzle was “clam digger.” You can see all the letters on the screen here. But when the final contestant got the board, there was one letter missing.

June 14, 2020

Second Sunday after Pentecost

Jesus is my Savior. I’ll talk some theology this morning, but what matters most to me is my relationship with Jesus. Like Paul and the gospel writers I do not have any direct memories of Jesus and am dependent on what his close followers and then the authors thought was important.

I’m going to help you get to know Jesus a little better, but first I’m going to stop talking for a a moment so that you can think about some questions. What would you like to be saved for? What would you like to be saved from? Is Jesus your Savior? Do you feel like you know who Jesus was and why he could matter so much to you?  What about Jesus turns you off? What might turn you on to Jesus?