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.
“Do Not Worry and Stay Alert” by Elizabeth Gelfeld
August 11, 2019
The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
Saint Maximilian Kolbe was a Polish priest who provided shelter for thousands of Jews in his friary and was an active voice against the Nazi violence. He was arrested by the German Gestapo and imprisoned at Auschwitz. When a fellow prisoner escaped from the camp, the Nazis selected ten other prisoners to be killed in reprisal. As they were lined up to die, one began to cry, “My wife! My children! I will never see them again!” At this, Maximilian stepped forward and asked to die in his place. His request was granted, and he led the other men in song and prayer as they awaited their deaths. Maximilian had also lived in Japan and founded a monastery on the outskirts of Nagasaki. Four years after his martyrdom, on August 9, 1945, the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, but his monastery miraculously survived. Maximilian’s feast day, when Christians around the world celebrate his life and sainthood as a hero of thechurch, falls one week [on August 14th] after Nagasaki Day. Each year, we spend the week reflecting on the best and the worst that human beings are capable of. [footnote 1]
Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts together find favor in your heart, O my Beloved, my strength and my joy!
The gospel we read in Luke today is part of a passage that, in the New International Version, has the heading “Do Not Worry.” Right before today’s reading, Jesus tells his followers to consider the ravens, how God feeds them, and the lilies, how God clothes them. And Jesus says, in Verse 29, Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; … But seek the kin-dom of God, and these things will be given to you as well.
“Recognize Your Rank and Use it for All” by Ron Kraybill
August 4, 2019
The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
The Bible readings for today give us a compelling vision for what we could be:
- the Jewish prophet tells us that the Holy One is, ultimately, about compassion, warmth, and tenderness, and brings the people of Israel home, regardless to their sins.
- Jesus says that material prosperity and success are not the purpose of existence.
- Paul calls us to a new humanity where the old divisions fall away.
We long to be that new humanity. Yet we all know how fleeting are the moments when we experience oneness with others.So what blocks us from being that which we long to be?
“50th Anniversary of Apollo Moon Landing and Memories of My Father: What Will the Church be in 100 Years” by Cynthia Dahlin
July 28, 2019
The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Good Morning. It’s the middle of summer, lots of us on vacation, so this sermon is taking advantage of the summer mood—it will be a little off beat.
How many of you remember the night 50 years ago when Armstrong walked on the moon? Do you remember the mood of the country? Anything was possible. The future would be so wonderful and different. I went to Disney World 30 years ago, and I still remember the futuristic scenes of flying space cars and people movers everywhere. Now, when you use your imagination, what do you think the world will be like 50 years from now? What about 100 years from now? I have put index cards on the seats—if you have a pen, take one minute to write down your initial impression—just key adjectives or main ideas you think of. I will give you one minute.
“Doing What is Right: Civil Rights and Civil Responsibilities” by Peter Bankson
July 21, 2019
The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
We seem to be living through some pretty tough times. The ever-deepening drama downtown is raising the volume of fear and anger at many levels. From the interpersonal to the international, we’re learning to expect disrespect. It hurts!
Anne Lamott reminds us in our reflection for this season that “hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.” It feels to me like we’re in a dark night of the soul. Some days it’s a real challenge to “wait and watch and work” in the dark. And living with 100-degree days doesn’t help!
“Borderless Love of My Neighbor” by David Lloyd
July 14, 2019
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
At the outset I want to mention several sources that helped open up this familiar gospel story for me. One is The Jewish Annotated New Testament, second edition, co-edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler,[i] using their notes and an essay in it, “The Concept of Neighbor in Jewish and Christian Ethics,” by Michael Fagenblat.[ii] The second is Through Peasant Eyes[iii] by Kenneth E. Bailey, a renowned scholar of Middle East cultures, entitled “The Good Samaritan.” And, of course I did peek at the article “Samaritans” in Wikipedia!
The gospels of Matthew and Mark contain short passages in which an expert in the Torah, the text of the Five Books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy) and the rabbinical interpretation and commentary on it, asks Jesus which commandment in the Torah is the greatest. Jesus responds, “Love the Most High God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and strength. That’s the first and greatest commandment and the second is like it, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The brevity of the anecdotes has led many Christians to believe — erroneously — that Jesus issued a new commandment.