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.

“Thanksgiving Eve Reflection” by Amy Moffitt

November 25, 2020

So, I’ve kept a gratitude journal off and on for years.  I’m sure you’re aware of what a gratitude journal is, but if you’re not or you need a refresher, a gratitude journal is a book in which you write at least three things every night that you’re grateful for.  I think Oprah recommended it at some point, and I’ve seen lots of articles from the various mindfulness and Buddhisty type email newsletters that I subscribe to about the benefits of keeping such a journal.  There’s a whole non-profit devoted to promoting gratitude practice that I also follow, and I’m pretty sure it’s not the only organization devoted to promoting the benefits of gratitude.  A daily gratitude practice is a very basic, very healthy habit that benefits one emotionally and spiritually.  And this year, it has absolutely not worked for me. 

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“Seeing with Eyes of the Heart” by Kolya Braun-Greiner

November 22, 2020

Reign of Christ Sunday

May the eyes of your heart be enlightened! This is an opening prayer of the letter to the community in Ephesus. The latter part of this verse – knowing the hope to which God has called you – I will address in a few moments. My own heart leapt for joy when I discovered that this passage, one of my favorites, was one of the lectionary readings for this Sunday, a day I chose (or it chose me) before I knew what the lectionary was going to be. Verse 18, the focus of this sermon, was the scripture upon which I printed cards for the Christian youth as a blessing for their journey when they graduated from the program with Interfaith Youth for Climate Justice, where I served as a mentor. It expressed my fervent prayer that their eyes would be enlightened to know the hope they are called to heal God’s Creation.

The “eyes of your heart”….  What does that mean?!

At the outset, please forgive this sermon being less exegetical in the traditional academic sense than I am accustomed to being.  Suffice it to say this passage is known variously as a “thanksgiving prayer” was addressed to a community that has been tossed about by many conflicts internally and externally.  I enter this scripture as a portal or as a window into a way of being in these turbulent times in which we find ourselves.

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The Thanksgiving Address: Greetings to the Natural World

November 15, 2020

This morning, a group of Seekers who were part of the book study of Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, read the traditional Thanksgiving Address of the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations or Iroquois) people. Kimmerer notes that these “Words that Come Before All Else” are spoken at the beginning of the school day, as well as at other ceremonial and governmental gatherings.

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1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 by Carla Works

November 8, 2020

Carla Works, Professor of New Testament at Wesley Theological Seminary, was our guest preacher. She spoke about the apostle Paul’s relationship with what she referred to as “First Church Thessalonika” and the hope that they–and we–have in Christ. The text of this sermon is not yet available.

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“Beatitudes” by Cynthia Dahlin

November 1, 2020

All Saints Day

Today is All Saints Day.   This is the day that Seekers take time to honor those who have died during the year, and sometimes, we install new tiles on the Seekers Memory Wall in honor of loved ones who have passed on in this past year or in years past, but for whom we want a place of remembrance.

When I was at Seekers a couple of weeks ago for the Black Lives Matter demonstration, I took a picture of the tiles on the wall, which is on the back stairway between the lower floor and sanctuary floor, to remind us of the names that are there, and of the many spaces left for those of us who will be remembered in the future.  We are not adding a tile this year. but I am asking Deborah to slowly show the current wall so that we can hold a moment of silence for those we have honored and still remember.    If there is someone you are thinking of today, I invite you to put their name in the chat box so we can hold all of these people we loved in prayer.

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