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.
“Radical Rest for Active Souls” by Kolya Braun-Greiner
July 22, 2018
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
When I reflected on the themes expressed in the scriptures for today I confess that I felt disgruntled and mystified, “What the heck am I going to preach about?” I entertained a conclusion that I’d chosen the wrong week. Have you ever felt that way? So I let it sit and simmer for a week and came back to them. I then applied the practice of lectio divina with the question: What words or phrases shimmer? Then I found that there within the first verses of Psalm 23, the phrase “still waters” and “restores sour souls” did indeed shimmer for me. Then I struggled with “Oh dear God, the 23rd Psalm is so tired, I can’t find a way to preach about that.” But sometimes the “tired” scriptures have a new or deeper meaning to be revealed to us. Is it actually “tired” or rather, “tried and true”?
New Story Leadership – 2018
July 15, 2018
Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
New Story Leadership is an organization that brings together Israeli and Palestinian young adults to work, live, and share their stories with one another and with faith communities. Participants in this summer’s program spoke at Seekers this morning during the time of sharing the Word. Two speakers from among the ten participants, one Israeli and one Palestinian, shared their experiences of growing up in the midst of the long-standing conflict. Each is committed to an ongoing project in support of peaceful sharing of the land they all call home.
“Our Weakness is God’s Strength” by M
July 8, 2018
The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
As a long time member of Seekers Church, I have become accustomed to the lectionary reading cycle. I had familiarity with the lectionary cycle from my previous church experience, but not from my growing up. When the readings repeat every three years, there is comfort in the rhythm. As I am not the same person that I was three years ago and the world is not the same experience as it was three years ago, there is opportunity for new insights.
It was fun to see what Seekers was addressing on these three year cycles. In 2015 around this time in cycle, Muriel brought the word and focused more on the structures of home and a group of Seekers were sharing about their experience in Guatemala. Six years ago, New Story Leadership shared their experience in building relationships between Palestinians and Israelis. Nine years ago, Marjory used these texts to speak about Seekers sense of being and really used the Mark 6 passage as the focal point. All of which was a relief to review as my focus is not on these.
“Three Thoughts on Healing from Three Stories on Healing” by Erica Lloyd
July 1, 2018
The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
When I stood in this spot last summer, I shared the story of being broken down by the loss and suffering I had witnessed over the last 4 years living in Haiti. I preached about Jesus feeding the 5,000 even as he grieved the loss of John the Baptist, and I held onto that story as a beacon of hope as I navigated the somewhat foreign and often surprising process of healing.
My experience of healing was not one single thing – I started counseling, I read books about the problem of suffering, I learned to pray for healing in new ways with a group from my church in Haiti, and I studied scripture passages like the Gospel reading for today. And through all of these different experiences, I learned a few things about healing that I want to share with you this morning.
First, I came to see healing as an act of war.
“Human Beings Lonely Without God” by John Morris
June 24, 2018
The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
I’m going to take the theme of “Telling the Story” and relate it to some of my journey as a Christian and a writer. I hope that you’ll be able to relate it to your own story-telling too, because I’ve never met a person who wasn’t, at heart, a story-teller. That seems to be how human beings are made. Certainly our Gospel reading this morning is a great story, and you can just imagine with what zeal and amazement the disciples must have told it to Jesus’ followers. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” And like so many good stories, this one points to something beyond the particulars of what happened. It means something, and is worth pondering and reconsidering.
Most of you know that I write fiction and poetry, and here I am, a grateful member of Seekers Church – yet I would be guarded, even reluctant, in describing my work as “Christian fiction” or “Christian poetry.” Do you want to read some really bad poetry? Google “Christian Poetry.” There is something about an earnest desire to evangelize that appears to frazzle every bit of artistry and even good taste that a writer possesses. I have tried hard not to be that kind of writer, and that kind of evangelist. Still, though . . . I think an alert reader would be able to look at my stuff and have a pretty good guess that the writer must be a Christian of a certain type.