Seattle Mennonite Church Sermons

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 religious establishment fo...

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

Resour...

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 minute ...

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 dwell in a pa...

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 Yorick, ...

This weird and fantastical vision is a story of the reality of forces of destruction and death, the bravery of creating and giving life in the midst of those forces, and the desire of God that life be protected and lifegivers nourished. This weird and fantastical vision is a story of resistance, because dragons are real. We are called to midwife the Beloved Community, dragons be damned!

Sermon begins at minute marker 1:30

Revelation ...

Lessons in discipleship through the writing of icons. Pastor Tyler shares stories from the years he spent painting a 20’ mosaic of the famous 6th century icon, Christ the Pantocrator, alongside artist and pastor, Rick McPeak.

Sermon starts at minute marker 3:03

Colossians 3.1-17

Resources:

• Poem: Sarah Kinsel, “You are like trees planted by streams of water,” Drawing Near: A Devotional Journey with Art, Poetry & Reflection, ed. ...

Folks from our congregation who went to the Anabaptism 500 day-long event in Zurich, Switzerland tell histories, stories, experiences and places with us. Jonas & Laura Beachy brought us the historical backdrop to our 500 year anniversary. Nancy Chupp brought us thoughts on "Who Are These People" from today, back to the 70's, and back to the 1500s. She reflects on the lack of women's stories and how she didn&...

Through the ancient prophet Isaiah, God speaks to a people in exile: You are precious, you are honored, I love you. Through contemporary Anabaptist prophets of art and poetry (see credits below!), we too hear God’s voice reminding us that we are precious, honored, and loved. We name clearly the bodies that are particularly targeted with assault and violence in our country and world: trans bodies, Black bodies, Indigenous bodies, an...

Reflections on the poetry of Lamentations, the scrap metal tears of artist Indira Urrutia Zúñiga, and the mysterious rise of Nickleback’s unpopularity.

Sermon begins at minute marker 5:44

Lamentations 1.1-2, 20-22

Resources:

• Poem: Lament by Ruth Ann Myers Kulp
• Art: Jerusalem's Suffering by Lisa Obirek
• See this article Knitting with Tears, about Indira Urrutia Zúñiga's scrap metal tears. 
• Image:  detail from Lisa Obirek, “Jer...

What if God still dreams? What if that’s the truest, surest thing we can say and know: God is still dreaming? What if we devote ourselves, collectively, with dreaming beyond the probable, beyond the ‘realistic’, beyond even the possible? What if - even now - God’s shalom dream for all of creation is somehow, strangely, mysteriously coming true?

Sermon begins at minute marker 4:56

Isaiah 11.1-2, 6-9

Resources:

• Poem: Todd Davis, “Fis...

What if God still dreams? What if that’s the truest, surest thing we can say and know: God is still dreaming? What if we devote ourselves, collectively, with dreaming beyond the probable, beyond the ‘realistic’, beyond even the possible? What if - even now - God’s shalom dream for all of creation is somehow, strangely, mysteriously coming true?

Sermon begins at minute marker 4:56

Scripture: Isaiah 11.1-2, 6-9

Resources:

• Poem: Todd ...

Join Janet Berg as she reflects on this week's visionary scripture from Ezekiel and on Ann Hostetler's poem responding to it. Janet examines how Divine Images live in our questions and exist in the space between two people.

Ezekiel 1.1-14

Sermon begins at minute marker 5:07

Resources:

• Poem: Divine Images by Ann Hostetler
• Image: Ezekiel's First Vision by Matthew Regier
• Hymn 663 - I Am That Great and Fiery Force.    Text...

In which an Ebenezer appears in this sermon’s starring role. An Ebenezer is a stone erected in remembrance of a person or an experience or a place where something special happened. In 1 Samuel, the Hebrew people set up an Ebenezer to memorialize their experience of God’s presence with them as they were victorious in battle against enemies. And when a preacher reflects on a poet’s reflection on this memorial stone she wonders her wa...

When fearful, powerful rulers order death, may we all reach for the tools handed to us from our courageous, life-bringing foremothers in the faith: Shiphrah and Puah. “Learn them: Shif-rah. Pu-ah. Praise! Let them again be household names!” Their tools are: disobedience and cunning. May we disobey anything and anyONE who fails to honor God, who is LIFE.

Sermon begins at minute marker 

Scripture:  Exodus 1.15-21

Resources:

• Carmen Su...

We are gathered back in for singing and praying, formation and feasting. We kick off our artful fall worship with a Psalm; a very good place to start. And we receive from Psalmist, artist, poet, and preacher a blessing for the place of our gathering which is also the place of God’s dreaming.

Sermon starts at minute marker 2:24

Scripture: Psalm 1:1-3

Resources:

• Sarah Kinsel, “You are like trees planted by streams of water,” Drawing ...

In the Bible? Praise is nearly always political. Certainly in the book of Revelation where crying out “Salvation belongs to our God” is a direct affront to the Emporer of Rome who claims salvation comes soley through him and his “Pax Romana”. And a post script to our series on Revelation and Resistance: Thanks be to God for artists like John of Patmos (and countless others across time and space!) who buoy communities seeking to be ...