Sermons

Seekers recognizes that any member of the community may be called upon by God to give us the Word. Our Guidelines for Preaching help us prepare sermons. This section collects for study and reflection drafts of sermons that happen to have been prepared in electronic form. The most recent sermon is on the top of the page.

“Who, What and Why?” by Marjory Banknson

Marjory Bankson

September 12, 2021

“Who do YOU say that I am?” When Jesus asked that question of his disciples, I suspect there was dead silence as they shifted from what others said — to their own wondering: Who was he indeed! Then, as usual, Peter blurted out his answer for all of them: “You are the Messiah.”

Quickly, Jesus warned them not to tell anyone. Why? Because he was shredding their traditional understanding of “Messiah.” In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus is quite clear that he is NOT the triumphal Messiah that his disciples have been hoping for. He is NOT there to restore Israel or free them from Roman rule.…

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“Will You Be the Light? An Invitation to Love” by Teresa Ramsey

Teresa Ramsey

September 5, 2021

Good morning, Seeker’s family. I am again humbled by the opportunity to share what I have been hearing in prayer, primarily about transformation and love, love being our present theme.  For several Sundays now you have heard some mighty fine sermons on love. I hope you are ready to hear one more.  Let us start with a prayer:

Beloved, your children have gathered today seeking a closer connection with you and each other.  Please open our hearts and still our intellects that we may receive all that you offer. Amen.

As I have shared before, I was raised in the traditional Catholic church and carefully instructed in the reward/punishment/achievement system. …

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“How Shall We Love” by Brenda Seat

Brenda Seat

August 29, 2021

Our reflection piece for this season has a couple of phrases that have really worked on me each Sunday as they are read:

“It is about being willing to have our heart become deeper as we move beyond the surface layers of our assumptions, prejudices and habits in order to truly see and receive what – and who – is before us. It is about being willing to have our heart continually shattered and remade as we take in not only the brokenness of the world but the beauty of it….” (Jan Richardson, “Blessing That Meets You in Love,” The Painted Prayerbook, https://paintedprayerbook.com/2016/01/25/blessing-that-meets-you-in-love/

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“Loving in a Time of Chaos: Put on the Whole Amor of God” by Peter Bankson

Peter Bankson

August 22, 2021

Last Sunday, Rebecca Wheaton offered us an exciting, fresh path into our worship theme for this season, “How Shall We Love?” She held up the image of ton glen meditation as a model of loving in the way Jesus taught: breathing  in the pain and suffering of others and breathing out love and compassion to help meet their needs. I could sense a deep resonance with this image during our time of reflection after the Word.

Sunday afternoon, when I returned to my own preparation for this reflection, I knew I needed to engage what I had just heard.…

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“Expanding on Love: The Practice of Giving and Receiving” by Rebecca Wheaton

Rebecca Wheaton

August 15, 2021

May the reflections of my heart and the meditations of my soul be acceptable to this community and to the Holy Spirit. Thank you to Seekers for honoring and respecting that everyone here has an important role to play and voice to share. Please know that my relationship with Christ is very much alive in me. I came to Seekers Church from a Presbyterian-Methodist-Quaker and ultimately Tibetan Buddhist background. I always felt that Buddhism answered many questions and posed new horizons not met through previous Christian education. In addition to my devotion for the Buddha as a teacher, I have always felt that his teachings brought me closer to Jesus.…

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