Sermons

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.

Deborah Sokolove: Authority, Commitment, and the Body of Christ

May 16, 1999

For Seekers, any level of commitment to a serious spiritual journey is a positive step, and people can remain indefinitely without becoming a core member. Individuals are encouraged to move towards core membership, but participation, and even some forms of leadership in the community doesn’t hinge on it. There are proposals to change terminology — “steward” or “deacon” have been mentioned for the core group, so that “member” would mean what it does in most churches.

 

Martha Phillips: Barren Women

May 09, 1999

We can relate the theme of the barren women to that of the land. God promised the Israelites descendants, but he also promised them the land. These women were the “Mothers of Nations.” Like the infertility of the matriarchs, Israel inherited a desert land. Some of the land was barren but much of it lay dormant like these women, waiting for the right conditions to become fruitful. The birth process and the fruitfulness of the land are analogous.

 

Deborah Sokolove: Christ is Risen: Now What, Indeed?

April 25, 1999

There are many places of pain, of grief, of untimely death, of torture, of starvation, of war. Today our eyes are focused on Kosovo and Colorado; yesterday it was elsewhere, and tomorrow, another tragic situation waits. Because there is so much sorrow, traditional liturgies include the Kyrie Elieson, “Lord, have mercy.” The Reformed churches in The Netherlands introduce the Kyrie with: “Let us call on the Lord for mercy, mindful of a world in need, and let us praise the Holy Name, for God’s mercy is without end.” Nothing I say can add anything to this ancient prayer for our salvation, and the salvation of the world.

 

Dan Phillips: Contradictions

April 18, 1999 I’m not sure how I feel about a God that laughs. I really want God to have emotions. But I am worried about this laughing God. I both want, and don’t want, the “Word of the Lord” to come to Dan the son of Dan. I want the touch of the Divine, but I don’t want the directions. I want the lessons, only without the boat, and the fish, or whatever. And I want to see foreign cities without wearing a sandwich board that says, “The End is coming.” I want God’s love without her laughter.  

Kevin L. Ogle: Sexuality, Shame, and Resurrection Faith

April 11, 1999

I volunteered to preach to formally “come out” as a member of the Spirit and Sexuality Mission Group. Not that I’ve been keeping my participation a secret, but I’m aware that I haven’t much advertised it either. I want to confess that I’m merely what I assume I appear to be — a married heterosexual male. I started exploring with the Group to deepen my participation in Seekers at a time when work and parenting obligations made deeper connection difficult.