Seattle Mennonite Church Sermons

Conference Pastor, Eric Massanari, calls us to examine how we define what it means to be human and how that affects our interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount. If we are by definition fundamentally fallen and flawed, the call of the Sermon seems impossible. What if we view humanity as potentially redeemed by Christ? That leaves the Sermon as a call for the redeemed, for a chosen portion of humanity. But, who are we humans if we ...

Jesus taught in the Sermon the Mount that God loves completely, and that we ought also love completely. What does that mean in a culture of pervasive and rising Christian Nationalism? Along with our Menno kin across the conference, we have pledged ourselves to “Christian Discipleship” in the midst of Christian Nationalism. We are meant to follow Jesus, to love completely, to cause no harm. We are meant to resist, disrup...

 …And Paul is the original Brandi Carlile?? Okay, that’s maybe a step too far. Nonetheless, go along for this wild ride in which Pastor Megan explores why specificity matters (to Bad Bunny and to God), and how staying gentle might indeed be the most powerful thing we can do (a la Brandi and, remarkably, Paul).

Sermon begins right away.

Scripture: Acts 2:1-21; Philippians 4:4-7 

Resources:

• BibleWorm podcast: E...

Paul writes an affectionate letter to the community at Philippi, making clear the strong relational bonds they share. He thanks God every time he thinks of them, and he calls them partners in God’s grace and preaching the gospel. But what on earth does preaching the gospel mean for Jesus, for Paul, and for us 2000 years later?! Jesus’ sense of God’s good news was most certainly shaped by the songs of his mama and ...

Paul is a complicated character, to say the absolute least. We get a whole range of behaviors from Paul in just this one story: from a callous disregard of one, to intimate concern for another, to a courageous act in solidarity with a whole oppressed group as he was released from prison. Through it all, the Way of Jesus is liberating love for self, other, and all. And thank God for Paul’s sake (and our own!), the work of rede...

The disciples are afraid and lock themselves into a room. When Jesus appears and speaks peace to them, Thomas is not there. Thomas must be either fearless, or brave (feels fear, but has left the locked room anyway). After speaking peace into their fear, Jesus assures the gathered disciples that he sends them in the same manner as God the Parent has sent him. According to John’s gospel, God the Parent sends Jesus into the worl...

Pilate’s sign, posted on Jesus’ cross, proves a source of consternation for the Jewish leaders. They exhort him to edit its message, but he definitively cuts off any hope of debate: “What I’ve written, I’ve written.” In a variety of settings, signs may be meant to delight and connect, to inspire or provoke, to teach or to impact the behavior of the sign-reader. At the site of Jesus’ executi...

Both the cruelty and wondrousness of humans transcends time and space. As we read this terrible story (with great care!), it’s imperative that we remember both of these things are true. May we remain eyes wide open about the complete betrayal of “We have no king but the emperor” both then and now. May we receive the miraculous gift of kinship with all who reserve allegiance for God alone; a God who is (liberating)...

Our culture has a way of focusing on individuals and privileging individual insight. In this sermon Melissa reflects on the ways that Truth is found in community. In a time when truth is increasingly under siege, how do we find our way to understanding the world in a truthful way? By building community while avoiding single stories, challenging our own ideas, and widening our experiences. Sometimes we fix the world by being in it, ...

Not all is as MEH as it first appears when John embarks on the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Palm fronds and an ancient plea turned praise adorn the political street theatre of Jesus astride a baby donkey. It calls to mind the Singing Resistance happening in Minneapolis - St. Paul in these days and weeks (and increasingly: months). When things get spicier for Jesus in the Jerusalem week ahead (which spans a full HALF ...

It’s another fraught healing story, so we say a few quiet parts out loud, e.g. OF COURSE SIN DOESN’T CAUSE DISABILITY! And then we notice a few key moments from the story of the man whose sight is restored by Jesus’ mud. First: Jesus seeks out those who are cast out. Second: Establishment folks, observing and overhearing, wonder if they’ve gotten a few things wrong. As ones who seek to follow Jesus AND as re...

When the systems of the Empire fail, we may follow our impulse to reform them; to make them more just. But our salvation will never ultimately come from the systems of Empire. We may (and must!) also follow the lead from Jesus: to notice those who have been abandoned for 38 long years, to engage those beloveds, and to seek and offer healing from an altogether different source.

Sermon begins at minute marker 2:28

John 4.46-5.18

Resourc...

Nicodemus seeks Jesus under cover of dark, and Jesus challenges Nicodemus to follow an Empire-defying Way in the light of day. When we step away from complicity with a violent and death-dealing Empire, when we emerge from the shadows of fear, when we embrace and embody God’s lifegiving love for the whole darn world, we will find life abundant and eternal. And we will find that we are not alone. May it be so.

Sermon beings at m...

One of the best known quotes about preaching has been attributed to theologian, Karl Barth. Preachers must preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. What to do when the newspaper seems to get heavier and heavier with every passing day? As the U.S. seems to descend further and further into a lawless, violent police state, terrorizing and killing its own citizens, ripping apart its families, and wreaking genoc...

God’s singular Word became human and dwelled among us, so that we might also become more fully human and dwell among God’s beloveds. In other words, so that we might love and be loved. With special gratitude this week to Drs. Amy Robertson and Robert Williamson, Jr. (Amy & Bobby!) for their inspiring conversation on the BibleWorm podcast about temporary structures like tabernacles and human flesh that allow God to d...

Is there anything more lifeless than a valley full of dried bones? From the skeletal ruins of life that used to be, a collage of hope for the start of Advent. Because here’s the thing about hope: it makes the most sense and is the most powerful in the face of the hopeless.

Sermon begins at minute marker 2:41

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Resources:

• Hamlet and Horatio come upon two gravediggers who identify a skull as having belonged to Yor...