Sermons

October 7, 2018

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Last weekend I went on the Seekers Silent Retreat, at Dayspring. Dayspring is 210 acres in Germantown that the Church of the Saviour purchased in the 1950s, the very early days of the church, so that they could have a place to go for renewal and healing in nature. Dayspring has woods and meadows, lakes and streams, all lovingly maintained now by members of Dayspring Church.

Saturday was a perfect fall day, sunny and crisp. Shortly after sunrise I was walking down the path from the Lodge to the Inn for breakfast, and suddenly I saw, ahead and a little to my left, two enormous spiderwebs, one behind the other, each suspended between a pair of trees. The rising sun’s rays illuminated the webs in all their delicate detail, and the sight was amazing. I stopped, and breathed thanks — for the beauty, for the spiders, for the surpise of it, and for joy.

September 30, 2018

Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

INTRODUCTION

Here at Seekers Church we’re in the middle of our annual season of recommitment. Today we will have the membership log available in the Skylight Room. It has the signatures of each person who has made their annual commitment to this community each year since 1976, when we began our life together as a separate family of faith. We will have the membership log available each Sunday until Recommitment Sunday on October 21^st.

Last week, Marjory reflected on the importance of our annual recommitment. She said:

“REcommitment was another surprise. Wasn’t a one-time commitment good enough? But after a while, I realized that yearly recommitment helps me stay conscious of how my relationship with God and this community has evolved over time.”

September 23, 2018

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

This is the season of REcommitment at Seekers, and so we might ask — What was the original commitment? Why yearly REcommitment?  How is that related to our gospel reading for today? And finally, what can WE do about that?

Let me start with commitment.

When Peter and I arrived here at Seekers in 1976, we had already read about Church of the Saviour in Elizabeth O’Connor’s book, Call to Commitment. We already knew that the church required serious preparation for membership, but we really had no concept of the degree of commitment required for the inner work that would continue to unfold over the years. What we didn’t know then was that joining the church was not the end of our preparation. It was just the beginning!

September 16, 2018

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Writing this sermon was quite challenging for me and I’ll explain why.  I knew where I wanted to start it.  I wanted to start it by talking about the lectionary readings for today.  I also knew where I wanted to end up.  I wanted to end up reminding you about the Down the Road project and encouraging you all to attend the third Sunday meeting we are holding after worship today.  But how was I going to get from point A (the readings)  to point B (the Down the Road project) through an orderly and compelling progression of ideas?  That was my problem.  This challenge was made additionally ….well … challenging…. by the fact that it was important to weave into the sermon the concept of commitment, or recommitment.  This is Recommitment Season at Seekers and members of my Mission Group, Learners and Teachers, typically preach during this season and talk about the topic of commitment to Seekers.

September 9, 2018

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

As Dave Lloyd mentioned last week, my mission group, Learners and Teachers, is filling the pulpit this month.  I’m not sure that I would have ever signed up to preach on my own, but here I am and here we are.    I’m not very comfortable with the term sermon or preaching for my time with you today, but I will share the word as I’ve heard it these past weeks.

Three of the four lectionary readings, including one we didn’t hear read this morning, talk about healing.  There’s a lot of different ways we could discuss healing.  The word “heal” is used throughout the Bible and is the English translation for at least four different Hebrew and Greek words.   Healing is used in several senses, to reference making whole or well, it’s used metaphorically for the restoration of the soul to spiritual health, the restoration of an afflicted land, and even the forgiveness of sin.   I’ve never really questioned the concept healing.  I mean, why wouldn’t someone want to be healed from whatever was wrong with them. But as I’ve prepared for today, I asked myself “Why does the Bible talk so much about healing?  Does it reflect what people need from their religion—a hope that their God is in control of nature?  Do I need a faith that promises healing?  And what does healing mean today, and here, at Seekers?”