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; } [Our service this Sunday was memorial for our friend, member and Steward, Vince Shepherd. Below is a biography of Vince followed by Trish Nemore’s eulogy.] Vincent Juarez Shepherd was born September 20, 1957, in Chicago, Illinois, where he remained as a young adult, working at Bankers Life and Casualty. He moved to San Diego, California, in the early 2000s, then came to Washington, DC. Here Vince worked as a cook at Charlie’s Place, a feeding program for the homeless out of Saint Margaret’s church in DC, then in the kitchen of the Hebrew Home in Rockville, Maryland. He was a lover of music, films, photography, professional sports, and cooking. Vincent was open to new ideas when he learned vegetarian cooking after he was asked to cook for this church’s adult education classes. He was so devoted to his own mission group that he became a church Steward when previous Stewards moved away and the group was in danger of losing its mission group status. Known for his dapper appearance, Vince had a keen eye for quality goods at yard sales and secondhand stores. After retirement, he volunteered at Charlie‘s Place. When I signed up to preach this Sunday, I had a sermon in mind that didn’t connect directly with any of the readings. I was pretty sure I knew what I wanted to say, and so I didn’t start to think about it until maybe a week ago. That was when I discovered that my original topic no longer interested me, and I didn’t have anything worth saying about it. Up to that point, I hadn’t even read the lectionary. So when I did, I found the passage from Judges, concerning some ancient quarrels that I had no stake in; the passage from Thessalonians, whose author has the rather sweet belief that drunks only get drunk at night; and . . . THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS. Today I’d like to talk with you about Holiness. I know this may conjure up all kinds of memories and perspectives. But it’s a concept that’s been bouncing around in my brain for a while now. And then it bounced really hard when, several weeks ago, John Morris shared of his dislike and maybe embarrassment of the word “Christian.” Before we get it into that I’d like to draw your attention to a poem. It’s a poem speaking of her frustrations of reducing God to fit into a particular framework and ideology and challenging a soul to experience the Divine in all aspects of life. I invite you to see which phrase jumps out at you as I read this out loud. Text: Matthew 5:1-12 Today we celebrate all the saints who have gone before us – people who have shown us the way to be truly human – living God’s intention for human life. I say that because the root word for salvation is salvus, which means wholeness or completeness. Saints are people who were truly alive! Juicy! Compassionate and connected to something larger than themselves! Have you known any saints? As Christians, we honor Jesus as the primary example of God’s intention for human life, but in each generation, there have been people who show us the way, guide us toward wholeness, and make a significant contribution to being a living, breathing Body of Christ in every generation. When I signed up to preach today, I did not check what the lectionary passages were. I simply had been struck by a message that I needed to share and this was the first Sunday that was open. Frankly, I am not sure I would have had the gall on my own to pick the Sunday with the Greatest Commandment and the Second Like it. Yet, the message that has been in my heart fits. I will confess I will be holding up a challenge which I do not always follow myself. Not through lack of effort, but that my energy and focus and will do not always align with the commandment. I do not always love God with my full heart and mind and strength. I get tired. My heart is full with sorrow and grief. And at the end of the day my emotional and physical strength have been spent. Certainly I don’t always love my neighbor as much as I love myself. Sometimes that gets cut short because I don’t love myself. When I am in one of those moods, where I look in the mirror and think I am just fat and lazy and privileged, it is hard to think loving thoughts towards myself. Thinking of loving thoughts of others? Where is love supposed to come from when it isn’t inside me?Memorial Service for Vincent Juarez Shepherd
November 26, 2023
Vincent Juarez Shepherd – Biography
“Wailing and Gnashing and the One-Talent Guy” by John Morris
Twenty-fifth Sunday After Pentecost
November 19, 2023
“Jesus, A Holy Man with Crazy Ideas” by Kevin Barwick
Twenty-fourth Sunday After Pentecost
November 12, 2023
“For All the Saints” by Margery Zoet Bankson
Twenty-third Sunday After Pentecost
November, 5, 2023
“Love Your Neighbor as a Cure for Loneliness” by Margreata Silverstone
Twenty-second Sunday After Pentecost
October 29, 2023