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.
“Am I Enough? Through God’s Grace I am Enough” by Michele Frome
March 5, 2017 
First Sunday of Lent
Today is the first Sunday in Lent, the season leading up to Easter when we are invited to engage in self-examination and repentance. This morning, I am going to share some of my self-examination with you.
If you go to a Speakers Meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, you’ll probably hear two recovering alcoholics speak for 20-30 minutes each, telling the story of their life. Their assignment is to tell us “what it was like, what happened, and what it’s like now.” Often, it seems to me that they spend 90% of their time talking about their active alcoholism – the “what is was like” part — & only about 10% on their recovery. In my impatience, I get frustrated that they spend most of their time on the Problem, rather than the Solution.
I really like today’s scripture readings, because they give us both the Problem and the Solution.
“From Despair to Active Hope” by Kolya Braun-Greiner
February 26, 2017
Transfiguration
Scripture: Exodus 24:12-18, Matthew 17:1-9, 2 Peter 1;16-21
Exodus, Matthew and 2 Peter – Holy mountains, mystical clouds, and prophets show up in all of our scriptures today. I confess, I love symbolism so I look for what may be the deeper meanings of these elements? Richard Rohr invites us to read the bible as rich with metaphor. Mountains are not only physical places, but also a place of spiritual enlightenment or revelation. In our common speech we refer to the “Mountain top experience” of awe or inspiration.
Clouds are a representation of the Holy Spirit or shekinah (feminine spirit of God) in which the wisdom of God may be heard just as Moses entered the cloud on the mountain to hear God’s message.
What about this “transfiguration”? – a mysterious event that boggles the scientific mind. Borrowing from the late biblical genius, Marcus Borg, regarding these stories of miraculous occurrences, said, they may not have really happened, but they are still true. Some native traditions hold the possibility of “shape-shifting” one’s body into the shape of an animal, but for Jesus this transformation is more than a physical one. It is a kind of spiritual metamorphosis. Jesus is infused with light or perhaps the light already within him is made more magnified!
“Courage in a Dark time” by Pat Conover
February 19, 2017
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany
With the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States we have moved into a dark and dangerous moment for the world. Trump’s victory was legitimate. I read his campaign and the first month of his actions as a threat to justice and peace within the United States and around the world. It is unclear to me how long this dark moment will last, and unclear how much damage is likely to be done.
It is time to pay attention to our fears. For example, I share Paul Krugman’s fear that Trump is hoping to provoke a terrorist attack by Muslims as an excuse for starting a big anti-Muslim crusade as a path to increasing his popularity. The example of George W. Bush lying about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and starting a war is a threatening example. The political result of Bush’s lies and actions was that his favorability ratings shot up to 90 percent after he began his presidency with a low favorability rating after losing the popular vote and gaining the presidency with a Supreme Court ruling over hanging chads in Florida. Trump’s defensiveness about his favorability ratings tells us how much he cares about them.
“Street Sense” by Street Sense
February 12, 2017
Sixth Sunday after Epiphany
Street Sense offered the word this Sunday. Street Sense elevates voices on poverty issues and creates economic opportunities for people experiencing homelessness. With support from Roy Barber and Leslie Jacobson, a group of Street Sense vendors told their stories in song and spoken word. Street Sense is also a biweekly newspaper sold on the street by the vendors as a means of support.
“Who Is Watching a Protest Rally” by John Morris
February 5, 2017
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
The information desk at Terminal B at National Airport was surrounded by police officers. No one else, really – you would have thought they were preparing a law enforcement rally rather than providing security for a protest against Trump’s anti-refugee and -immigration orders. But this was at 5:30, a half hour before the scheduled start time of the rally. Since we were early, Katie and I walked a few hundred yards down the concourse to get a vegan hot dog at Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Ben’s was crowded with police too. They seemed to be from a variety of jurisdictions: state, TSA, county. All of them were large, bulked up with weapons. Katie found their presence deeply upsetting. It was the country we now lived in, she said: authority mobilized against the people. I couldn’t disagree, but to me the individual cops seemed as puzzled as we were about exactly why all of us were here. What is supposed to be the point of a “protest rally”? What is the danger? Who is watching?