Knox Church Sermons

“Marley was dead…”  Those are the opening words of the old Charles Dickens play A Christmas Carol, the story that has been told and retold until “Scrooge” has become synonymous with a miserly, joyless person, and if you want to sound like a grumpy, joyless downer at Christmas, everyone knows you use Scrooge’s phrase, say it with me, you say:  “Bah Humbug.” In case you need a little refresher on the story itself:  Ebenezer Scrooge is an old businessman.  It’s Christmas Eve, and on this day seven years before, Scrooge buried his business partner and closest friend Jacob Marley, hence the play b...

Trust Me is the name of a brilliant short story written some decades ago by John Updike.  In a dozen or so pages, he weaves together several stories about Harold, who explores the mysteries of trust.  We meet 4 year old Harold at the edge of the swimming pool with his father’s arms outstretched; we follow him through a harrowing air travel experience with his first wife and a ski trip gone bad when he takes his girlfriend up the big chair lift too soon; and the story winds up with a confusing and funny anecdote about stumbling home from his s...

This morning’s sermon takes us to the city of Thessalonica on the shores of the Aegean Sea in Macedonia.  It is around 51CE. What drove my scripture choice today was the lectionary.  That’s the cycle of readings in the Presbyterian Church that gets us through the Bible every three years.  Most of the time in my preaching I follow these suggested readings somewhat loosely; but other times, to keep myself honest, I just close my eyes and point at one of the selected readings and choose it for Sunday; I hope this streers me to what God wants to talk...

Over the next four weeks we’re going to be in a sermon series about growing in your relationship with God.  This growth happens in different ways for different kinds of people, and we’re going to focus on prayer, mission, music, and community.  We hope that you’ll connect with at least one if not several of the stories we’ll study, and we’ll include a story from the congregation each week—you heard Jane’s this morning.  Today we’re talking about prayer. This morning’s Scripture Lesson is a parable that might be familiar to some of you.  It’s a story...

Today’s sermon is called Welcome Home. Craig Barnes is a retired pastor and President of Princeton Seminary, and the author of several books.  One of those books is called Searching for Home.  In that book, Barnes tells his own story of how “home” and “family” are complicated.  When Craig was a teenager, his own father walked out on the family in a haze of depression and never came back.  In spite of, or maybe because of his own messy story, Craig believes that ideas like home, fathers, and mothers, are an essential part of how we understand God. Even when those part...

For all of the reasons indicated in my introduction it seems like today is a good day to talk a bit about church and think about who we’ve been, who we are, and who we are becoming together here at Knox.  More and more these days, we seem to hear new members and visitors who say with joy:  “I didn’t know there was a church like this.”  Our sense of mission, music, inclusion, curious faith…is often at the root of these comments.  Knox is not entirely unique in these ways, but this is an unusually good place. It takes work...

Over the last several weeks we’ve been talking about prophets in these Sunday morning sermons:  Deborah, Jeremiah, Amos…Jana will continue the series later this month and today we come to Hosea. I like the book of Hosea.  When I first read Hosea, I was moved to discover that God cares about regular human struggles like raising children and getting your heart broken; Hosea talks about these things to show us just how much God understands us.  That’s what we’ll talk about today.  First though, let’s back up a bit… Like other prophets, Hosea is definitely interested in pu...

On these days when our members have been on their Civil Rights journey, I want to call your attention to a quotation that our travelers saw on a memorial in Montgomery, Alabama; it was one of Dr. King’s favorites:  “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream…”   It is a biblical quotation, originally from the Prophet Amos (5:24), whose story we will hear this morning. The Prophet Amos wasn’t born the “Prophet” Amos.  He was a regular guy; one of the most relatable people in the Bible.  He didn’t have a degree in religion; Amos was a lot more l...

Even before last night’s news about Iran, I have been thinking, praying, wrestling with the amount of violence in our daily news cycle. Today I will share with you a story from the Book of Judges that I hope will be helpful. The point is rather simple: that Christian can be realists with respect to all of the violence in the world; that we may have a variety of opinions about what political and military actions are best; but in the midst of it all the violence, we are called to be people who promote, work for, and speak in...

A big thanks to Beth Ehrsam for sharing a story this morning about how mission has been transformative in her life; and a big thanks is due to our Mission and Social Concerns Committee and its dedicated members who have prepared a Mission Fair for us today, highlighting the work of five of our Knox mission partners and the work they do to fight poverty. There’s a wonderful thing our Mission Committee does that you may have noticed before and I want to mention specifically:  they work hard to see that there are entry points to our church’s missi...

Some Sundays, we talk about church holidays:  Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, or Reign of Christ Sunday; days that most people don’t think about outside of church, and the biblical message we share that day.  We continue to observe them because, as some people go deeper in their Christian journey, marking these moments in the story of Jesus gives a rhythm to his life, death and resurrection—a rhythm that can give shape to our lives too. Then there are other holidays that don’t really have anything to do with Christianity but that always seem to come up in church.  There’s t...

Today’s sermon is called “Easter—Part 3.”  When it comes to sermon titles, I am dependably lazy and uncreative and this one is certainly proof of that, but it is also my way of making a point:  Most of us think of Easter as a day, and yes, that’s true.  But it is also meant to be a season, a journey, a daily commitment into a different way of thinking about and looking at the world, which is supposed to last longer than a day…  That interpretation is very consistent with how the story is told in the Bible, and its rather u...

It’s wonderful to be with you on this Easter morning, what’s not to love about this bright holiday in the height of springtime, new life all around us. I wonder if you’ve noticed, as I have, that the parts of Easter you can simply buy in a store keep growing and growing.  The Easter section at Kroger gets a bit bigger each year, with a more and more ways of packaging a peanut butter cup; the New York Times ran a story over the weekend about excessive Easter baskets; the picture was of three “Easter” baskets hung from the hand...

We should try never to take it for granted that everyone knows the stories we tell in church, so whether you are newer to Knox, or have been coming here all your life, let’s start by reminding each other that, but today’s story is one of the most important ones of our faith.  It is a story which ushers in this most important week in our faith.  Jesus rides into Jerusalem one week before Easter; we call it Palm Sunday because in some accounts, the people pull branches from the tree and wave them as he passes by; and we...

Over the past several weeks I’ve been away more than usual—particularly on Sundays—and have been doing a lot of things that give me a real sense of gratitude. I spent the first weekend in March in Chicago, preaching at a funeral for a friend and mentor I dearly loved. I spent part of the following week in Montreat, NC for a conference called The Porch Gathering—a time of storytelling and music, in beautiful surroundings, and I stayed with two great old friends. And last week, I was on vacation with my family, playing on the beach, enjoying...

During Lent I’m going to preach a few sermons on Stories Jesus Tells, and with each one I’m going to focus on an idea that is at the heart of Jesus’ ministry.  We’ll be talking about ideas like justice, mercy, sacrifice, love, and today we’re going to start with joy—not momentary happiness, or naïve fleeting pleasure, but the kind of deep joy we see in Jesus—the way his love emerges in the hardships of life. I have been thinking a lot about stories lately, and about storytelling.  It is kind of an obvious thing for a preac...

Today we’re going to talk about mountaintop spiritual experiences—and we’re also going to talk about everyday spiritual experiences, which are frankly a lot more common. Today’s scripture is a story that I found a bit strange and irrelevant for most of my life, but more recently I’ve started to see why it is a suggested reading for worship at least once a year.  It’s the story called the Transfiguration, and it comes up every year on the last Sunday before Lent begins. In the story, three disciples, Peter, James and John, go up to a mountain wi...

I imagine some of you have heard this old church joke.  One day in a Sunday School class the kids are gathered around listening to the pastor, and he’s describing something:  It’s big he says, and gray in color, it has four legs and tusks and a trunk.  The kids sit there looking confused until one bold little girl finally raises her hand and says, “Well, Pastor, it sounds an awful lot like an elephant, but I know the answer is supposed to be Jesus.” We chuckle, but there’s truth in the joke that is important for adults as wel...

Last Sunday, I went to a feast.  It wasn’t the best feast of my life or a perfect feast, but it was a very good one, and it got me thinking about this Sunday’s story. Many of you joined me for the feast, it was our visit to the Guru Nanak Society, the gathering place for the Cincinnati Sikh community.  We attended their weekly services and their community lunch afterwards.  Back in September, when Simran Jeet Singh preached here at Knox, Cincinnati Sikhs joined us for worship and for lunch, last week we were invited to their house of pray...

This is one of those weeks in the life of a preacher when you come with a sermon plan but the news of the day wants to take over.  This week we’ll inaugurate a new US President, on Martin Luther King Day; this week saw a tenuous breakthrough in the peace talks between Hamas and Israel, and progress but still fear in the California fires.  Closer to home, desperately cold temperatures will threaten lives this week and may make it harder for children to get meals and stay warm, and all of this is to say nothing of the pers...

I just love thinking about the Magi, the wise men, the kings—these icons of curious faith.  I admit, I’m going to wander around a bit in this morning’s sermon, because there’s just so much I could talk about; the magi themselves were wanderers too, so I hope that’s ok. What do we know about the characters in this morning’s story?  Centuries of tradition have built up around them.  According to the songs and paintings and lore, they are three kings of the Orient, perhaps by the names of Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar; we imagine them riding acr...

I wonder how many among you are, like me, feeling a bit hurried or overwhelmed on this Fourth Sunday of Advent, just days before Christmas.  This week of the year is synonymous with stress.  Perhaps you have presents left to buy, packing or cooking or cleaning to do, and with a few days left it just seems like too much.  Maybe its not the busyness, but one thing on your calendar that has you feeling anxious, a family gathering, a difficult relationship you know you will meet face-to-face this week.  Maybe its grief—this will be the first Christmas without him…or...

Good Morning.  Happy New Year to you!  I know you think I’m a month early, but I simply wish to remind you that in the church year, today is Day 1.  This is the first Sunday of Advent.  It probably sounds irrelevant or out of touch for me to remind you about the church year, but consider this.  Perhaps you are feeling a need for the kind of fresh start that comes with a new year; or perhaps you have found yourself dismayed at the commercialization of Christmas and want to know what can be done to restore its true meaning...

Thanksgiving is this week.  I wonder if you are feeling thankful; I wonder if some of you are feeling a bit stressed.  Perhaps you’re hosting a family gathering, anxious about someone you’re going to see, or not see, or worried about getting everything done in time.  Even the little things can be stressful.  I’m in charge of the turkey this year.  I’m not too worked up about it, but there’s a reason they have hotlines for this.  All of these little holiday stresses are reminders that this season can be difficult; and this is a season we should...

This week there was an election—perhaps you heard about it.  And as of today, a large part of the electorate is really pleased, an equally large part is really disappointed, and a significant group in the middle are indifferent, and had it gone the other way, those characterizations would have been much the same.  Throughout the fall, I have preached from this pulpit that we as Christian people are not to place our faith in politicians; just as in the days of the Old and New Testaments, the Bible cautions against putting our trust in earthly rulers; and the prop...

It can be overwhelming to think about the numerous, immense problems that confront us in each day in the news.  Foreign conflicts, global warming, electoral politics, poverty and gun violence, and the list goes on.  You can’t possibly do something about all of these problems; you might be able to do only a little about any of them, but how in the world do you choose which one?  And as overwhelming as it can be, it’s selfish and inhumane not to pay some attention. Sometimes, I’ll admit, I get overwhelmed, wondering what I’m supposed to say about all t...

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”  Those are the beginning words of today’s scripture lesson.  They are words foundational to a faithful life.  They were true long ago, they are true today, and they will be two weeks from now, after Election Day.  At that time, no matter the outcome, roughly 40% of the country will be very disappointed, and our work as peacemakers will be before us just as it is today.  And so the word for today is:  “The Lord is my...

I will admit to you that I found it difficult to write a sermon this week.  So many complicated and tragic events are taking place in our world.  I know you expect to be able to struggle and pray together about these things when we come to worship.  Here at church we should ask our big questions and plead our case before God.  And yet I am not an expert on many of the matters in the news these days, and often I feel inadequate to lead you in that questioning and praying. This week passed the anniversary of the trag...

Following that lengthy Stewardship video, I can imagine what some of you are thinking—you’ve already heard a sermon from me this morning!  Your Stewardship Committee felt strongly that you should hear a different kind of Stewardship message this year, and that you should hear it as we gather on Sunday.  Please share it as we post it online this week.  There is so much good ministry happening here.  We have been balancing our budget each year, but not in a way that is sustainable.  We hope you will reflect carefully on your contribution this year, and join us as we...