Sermons

July 2, 2017

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Scripture: Jeremiah 28:5-9

 There is a lot of prophesying going on these days. Turn on the TV or the radio or read Facebook or your email, and people will tell you that the current President will or won’t be impeached; there will or won’t be widespread destruction from climate change; there will or won’t be war with North Korea or Russia or some other country; millions will or will not lose their access to health care; this or that bill will or won’t be enacted by Congress; this or that law will or will not be struck down by the Supreme Court; and on and on and on. Some mornings when I read the newspaper there are more articles about what might happen than any actual news about what has already happened.

 Who should we believe? Whose voices should we listen to? How do we know who is a false prophet, and who is speaking the true Word of God?

June 25, 2017

Third 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 twelve 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.

June 18, 2018

Second Sunday after Pentecost

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise to God, all the Earth.

Worship the Holy One with gladness;
come into her presence with singing.

Know that the Holy One is God.
It is she that made us, and we are hers;
we are her people, and the sheep of her pasture.

Enter her gates with thanksgiving, and her courts with praise.
Give thanks to her, bless her name.

For the Holy One is good;
her love endures forever, and her faithfulness to all generations.

 

Katie:
Some of you know that John and I have been making joyful noise—that is, music—together for many years, and we recently wrapped up our seventh album, which we call The Last Giraffe. Though our music is out in the world, for sale and streaming, and we sell a song or an album here and there, I guess it is mostly a labor of love. We funded a portion of this new CD with a Growing Edge grant. We are grateful for the support and want to share a couple of songs and a taste of their genesis with you. Thanks also to Jesse for joining us on one today and for workshopping these songs in the songwriters group we are all part of.

To me the key phrase of psalm 100 is right at the beginning: “all the Earth.”

June 11, 2018

Trinity Sunday (First Sunday after Pentecost)

I hope, in this sermon,

• to give a bit more detail to a peace and justice prayer I provided some weeks ago.
• to connect to the Hebrew scriptures in a way that may be meaningful for others.
• to give a bit more voice to how I have found my way into the Eyes to See mission group.

I won’t be explicitly referencing Trinity concepts, although for some that is the central view of the Lectionary readings for today.

I won’t be focusing on gender views of the Trinity but do recommend you read Deborah’s sermon from three years ago. Working with the same texts, Deborah worked with our gender perceptions of God and you may want to reacquaint yourself with that sermon and its relevance today. And, if you haven’t thought about doing this before, you can find years of sermons on the Seekers website. Because we follow the lectionary readings that repeat every three years, you can read a number of sermons inspired by these texts.

June 4, 2017

Day of Pentecost

There is something about Pentecost that intrigues me.

Our story begins with the disciples locked in a room. Liturgically, they have been there since last Sunday after they saw Jesus ascend into heaven. Historically, all we know is that when the day of Pentecost came they were together in one room. Pentecost or the Festival of Weeks celebrates the first fruits of the harvest. It is also a time to celebrate the giving of the Torah on Mt Sinai. The name, Pentecost, is Greek and is derived from the counting of days from Passover- a total of 50 days. This was a big holiday and Jerusalem was filled with Jews from all over the known world, who had come to Temple, bringing the first fruits of their harvests.

The story continues with the sound of wind and the tongues of fire and then the disciples began to speak in other languages. I want to point out here that it wasn’t the sound of rushing wind or the light of the tongues of fire that brought people to where the disciples were staying. No, it was the sound of them speaking! The Bible says:
At this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

But then come the skeptics. “Oh no,” they sneer, “These men are just drunk.” But Peter rebuffs them and says, “Come on guys, it is only 9:00 in the morning. We aren’t drunk.” And then he explains that this is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel, when God would pour out his spirit on men and women. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

I have preached several times on Pentecost now. I am not sure how that came about, but maybe the fact that I am an interpreter and translator had something to do with my either being asked or volunteering.