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.
.wp-show-posts-columns#wpsp-4136 {margin-left: -2em; }.wp-show-posts-columns#wpsp-4136 .wp-show-posts-inner {margin: 0 0 2em 2em; } As most of you know, I am engaged in clinical pastoral education – this is basically on-the-job training to become a chaplain, a person who provides pastoral care. At the end of this month, I’ll be eligible to seek certification as a clinical chaplain. I’m indebted many people at Seekers Church for helping to make this happen, but especially to the Mission Support Group for providing me with financial support from the Growing Edge Fund. Thank you, all, for your ongoing support. Part of my clinical work has been at the Hebrew Home, a large Jewish nursing home in Rockville. As part of my training there, I was required to plan and lead a group activity. One of the Christian residents there urged me to lead a Christian Bible Study class. Well, I’m no Bible scholar, but I didn’t have a better idea for a group activity, so I started a Bible Study class in January 2015, intending to do it for 4 months. Well, I’m still doing it. When Ken asked me a few weeks ago to preach today I almost said “no” because I wasn’t sure I would be able to prepare a sermon in time. I usually give myself more advance time than a few weeks so that I can read and think and let things ferment in there for a while before I start writing. But when I saw what the gospel reading was for today I knew I had to say yes. It is one of my very favorite stories and one I often think of as a metaphor for my life. People often talk about this story in a “glass half empty” way. Peter tried to walk on water and failed because he didn’t have enough faith. I don’t think of it that way at all. I think of it as a “glass half full” story, or, actually, more of a “glass three-quarters-full” story. Matthew 14:13-21 I want to start with a little disclaimer. In this sermon I mostly talk about very difficult things in Haiti, but I want to be clear that Haiti is also a place of incredible joy – majestic mountains and beautiful beaches, the music of the creole language, luscious pineapple and little tangy bananas that have ruined all other bananas for me, brilliant blue skies and starry nights and thunderous rain storms, strong and generous friends, not to mention winter temperatures in the 80s – there are a thousand reasons I love Haiti. I’m sensitive to the fact that Haiti gets a pretty bad rap, so during coffee hour I’d be happy to show pictures and talk more about my life in Haiti, as well as SOIL’s work, which Seekers helps support. So: “Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand.” It’s a story we know well: huge audience, just a handful of provisions, fretting disciples, Jesus’ blessing, and *Presto!* there’s a fat and happy crowd with plenty of leftovers for the disciples. Whether you believe the crowd contributed to the bounty or whether the truly miraculous happened that day, it’s a gentle rebuke to those of us who, like the disciples, only see scarcity where God sees abundance. To those of us who worry that there are not enough resources to go around, God invites us to share anyway and trust that we will still be okay. 1 Kings 3:5-12 We’ve been hearing a lot of seed stories from the bible this past month. Some testimonials during recent worship gatherings at Seekers also seemed like seeds of faith stories, holding potent and unexpected outcomes. Last week Larry shared his faith journey from what sounded like a narrow faith, then through a long dry spell to an inclusive faith here at Seekers. It illustrates that God does not give up on us. Larry’s “seeds of faith” story inspired me to share a similar experience I had when as a teenager coming from an “unchurched” nuclear family, a high school friend introduced me to the “4 Spiritual Laws” created by the Campus Crusade for Christ. I felt yearning to believe, and a kind of warm security seemed to be available. I was intrigued but dubious, so my friend invited me to go with her to a Christian “rally” with Josh McDowell as the speaker. A little helpful background about me – I’ve been fascinated by evolution since I was in 5th grade when I asked my librarian mother “What is the study of how things evolved?” She said paleontology, so I made a bee-line for the library and poured over the Time-Life book on Evolution for my 5th grade report on Trilobites. Sometime I’ll show you my Trilobite fossils, the first creation having eyes to see, 500 million years ago. Back to Josh McDowell – he was preaching on a run, when suddenly he began to talk about evolution. My ears perked up and when he said “The earth is only 5,000 years old and the bible proves it,” well then my interest this sort of Christianity died on the vine right there. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 Larry helped us reflect on the importance of weeds, as suggested in Jesus parable. He reminded us that, in a corn field, wheat is considered a weed. Larry suggested that in our lives and our community we need to let the “weeds” grow with the intended planting until both are ready for the harvest. The full text of this sermon is not available.“Beyond the ‘Bondage of Self'” by Michele Frome
August 20, 2017
Eleventh Sunday After Pentecost
“Walking on Water” by Jacqie Wallen
August 13, 2017
Tenth Sunday After Pentecost
“Getting Out of the Boat” by Erica Lloyd
August 6, 2017
Ninth Sunday After Pentecost
“Waiting Abundantly” by Kolya Braun-Greiner
July 30, 2017
Eighth Sunday After Pentecost
Psalm 119:129-136
Romans 8:26-39
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52“Weeds” by Larry Rawlings
July 23, 2017
Seventh Sunday After Pentecost