Seattle Mennonite Church Sermons

Rex Rempel auctioned off a sermon on the topic of bid-winner's choosing to support our youth traveling to Orlando for the Mennonite Church USA gathering. Pete Lagerwey won the bid and set him up with two stories from Matthew of God naming Jesus "My Beloved" (baptism and transfiguration), as well as the story of Abraham and Isaac from Genesis, and some Isaiah for good measure. Listen...

Pastor Megan reflects on packing for a 7-day backpacking trip, Isaiah's prophetic encouragement to eat what is good and delight in rich foods, the life (and imminent death) of one of our own SMC saints, and our tendency to overpack for meeting God.

The reign of the loving God sneaks in and gets in the way and grows and is a nuisance. But it’s so sweet!

A rich time of storytelling about God’s heart for the refugee, foreigner, and immigrant! We heard from our own Caitlin and Zach, as well as Caitlin's co-worker Alex. We were treated to stories about the epic state-crossing biking fundraiser known as Sea-Tri-Kan, as well as the work World Relief is doing in our community to empower all of us to welcome the stranger in our midst. You can watch...

Pastor Megan shares some stories and initial reflections from her time at the biennial gathering of Mennonite Church USA in Orlando, July 4-8.

Pastor Amy reflects on our interdependence in this weekend of celebrating July 4th and the nation telling us how independent we should be.

Pastor Megan reflects on the compassion Jesus has for the "helpless, harassed, oppressed, and discarded" crowds of his day as well as our day. What compassion is stirring and rising from deep within you; sending you to proclaim the good news of the Compassionate One come near?

Remembering the childhood enchantment of lying under a quilt in its frame while her grandmother quilted, Pastor Megan reflects on the magic of forever binding together three disparate pieces into a single whole. Jesus, breathing the Holy Spirit into his fearful disciples, forever bound them into a Spirit-breathed, Christ-centered community. A sermon for our annual Pentecost Covenanting Sunday.

"Wait. Do it actively and with intention and expect the Holy Spirit to show up. Worship. Refocus on loving and being loved by God. Witness. Tell the story of Jesus. Enact the story of Jesus. Be the body of Christ. He left in order that we could be."

Jesus said that the sheep know the shepherd's voice. Pastor Megan reflects on her experience as a farmhand on a Swiss dairy farm - calling cows in from pasture who knew the voice of their actual farmer - and wonders how we might discern the voice of God from the many other voices that surround us.

Pastor Amy explores the place between disappointment and hope with the disciples who encounter the risen Jesus on the road and at the table.

Pastor Megan reflects on the untimely and violent death of dart-throwing, prankster peacemaker MJ Sharp, Mary Magdalene weeping at the tomb of Jesus on that first Easter Sunday morning, and proximity that leads to proclamation.

An undomesticated look at the Palm Processional and just how funny, just how serious, and just how dangerous it was for Jesus to ride a baby donkey into the eastern gate of Jerusalem while Pontius Pilate was riding a stallion into the western gate. Which procession will we join?

Pastor Megan interviews Sarah Sommers from Christian Peacemaker Teams, asking her to reflect on the actively nonviolent way of Jesus as it connects with the gospel story of encountering Martha and Mary in the their grief, and calling Lazarus from the tomb.

Pastor Megan tells the story of the man born blind who has a healing encounter with Jesus and then tense encounters with some would-be prosecutors in John 9, and reflects on her own experience with a prosecuting attorney after having been arrested at Raytheon, third largest defense contractor in the U.S.

Pastor Jonathan reflects on Jesus encountering the woman at the well and offering her living water. What harsh stories do we tell about ourselves and what self-judgments do we hold onto? How might Jesus receive us and invite us to receive the transformative power of living water?

Nicodemus comes to Jesus under cover of night. Pastor Megan preaches the third Sunday of Lent

Jesus is tempted in the wilderness and then attended to by angels. Pastor Megan preaches the first Sunday of Lent.

Pastor Megan preaches the final sermon in our 4-week "A Place We Love" series, all about Watershed Discipleship. Having moved from learning to knowing to loving, we conclude with "protecting," making links with the story of the Transfiguration.

Pastor Megan reflects on how we come to know our waters as our neighbors and, as such, to love them as ourselves. The third Sunday in our Watershed Discipleship worship series “A Place We Love.”

The first in our worship series "A Place We Love," Pastor Megan reflects on where we find hope and nourishment in gloomy times, and how disconnection from our watersheds and bioregions may contribute to that gloom.

Pastor Megan tells the story of her week: listening to her favorite of Martin Luther King Jr.'s speeches, "A Time to Break Silence" delivered at Riverside Church, listening to a public reading of King's powerful Letter from a Birmingham Jail addressed to white clergy, pondering Matthew's take on the beginning of Jesus' public ministry - beginning with the jailing of J...

In her final sermon before being sent with our blessing into her sabbatical, Pastor Amy reflects on the Epiphany story of the magi, power and kingship, and remembering the future of who Jesus will be.

Pastor Megan preaches on the fourth and final Sunday of our Advent "Revolutionary Songs" worship series. She reflects on overhearing someone else's good news - both biblical and contemporary exiles - and joining our voices with Revolutionary Mama Maria's song (Magnificat - Luke 1.46-55), singing ourselves home to God's irresistible shalom vision.

Pastor Megan preaches the second Sunday of Advent, reflecting on hot fires, bouncy anvils, and - of course - revolutionary songs.