The John Knox Presbyterian Church Podcast

Rev. Jimmy McPherson - Jonah 2:1-10   On Easter morning, we step into the strange, subversive story of Book of Jonah and discover it’s not just about a prophet and a fish — it’s about mercy we resist and grace we cannot escape. Connecting Jonah’s descent into the deep with Matthew 12, this sermon proclaims the resurrection of Jesus as the ultimate “sign of Jonah” — God entering death itself to bri...

Rev. Jimmy McPherson - John 13:1-17, 31b-35 In this Maundy Thursday homily based on readings from John 13 we enter the unsettling and beautiful moment when Jesus kneels to wash his disciples’ feet, revealing both the depth of his saving love and the shape of the life he calls us to share. What begins as confusion becomes clarity: this act points to the cross, where Christ fully cleanses and claims...

Rev. Jimmy McPherson - Zephaniah 3:14-20   Palm Sunday is marked by the tension of a cheering crowd longing for victory as Jesus rides in on a donkey, revealing a kingship marked by humility, sorrow, and costly love. Drawing on Zephaniah’s turn from judgment to joy, this message moves from a world unraveling under injustice to the startling vision of a God who delights, rejoices, and sings over Go...

Rev. Jimmy McPherson - Zechariah 9:9-12 In this sermon on Zechariah 9:9–12, we explore what it means to wait for God when expectations go unmet and hope feels uncertain. Through the prophet’s surprising vision of a humble king, alongside stories of disappointment, longing, and resilient faith we are invited to see that God’s hope often arrives differently than we imagine, yet no less powerfully. T...

Rev. Jimmy McPherson - Joel 2:12-32 In Joel’s day, a devastating locust swarm stripped the land bare and left the future uncertain. It looked like the end. But through the prophet, God speaks a surprising word: what appears to be the end may actually be the verge of renewal. In this sermon, we explore Joel’s warning about short-sighted living, superficial repentance, and the “Day of the Lord” that...

Rev. Jimmy McPherson - Micah 6:6-8 In this sermon from Micah 6:6–8 in the On the Verge series, we explore the prophet’s call “to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” Speaking into a world where religious activity continued while justice and mercy were neglected, Micah reminds God’s people that what God desires is not more ritual, but lives shaped by faithful love. At th...

Marc Gronholz - Amos 5:18-24 In this message from Amos 5, we explore what it means to stand “on the verge of justice” in a world filled with competing definitions of fairness and righteousness. While Israel longed for the “Day of the Lord” as judgment on their enemies, Amos delivers a sobering warning: God’s justice begins with his own people, especially when worship is empty and the vulnerable ar...

Rev. Jimmy McPherson - Hosea 14:1-9 We love a comeback story — until it slips away at the last second. In this Lenten message, On the Verge of Return, we turn to Hosea 14 and discover that Israel’s greatest failure wasn’t on a field but in the heart: “you have stumbled because of your iniquity.” Through vivid imagery of broken covenant, misplaced trust, and relentless divine love, this sermon expl...

Rev. Jimmy McPherson - 2 Samuel 11:1–5; 1 Corinthians 13:1–13 This sermon contrasts lust and love through David’s abuse of power in 2 Samuel 11 and Paul’s vision of the “more excellent way” in 1 Corinthians 13. It names how desire untethered from love leads to objectification and fracture, while Christ’s self-giving love reorders our hearts and restores dignity. The invitation is not repression bu...

Rev. Jimmy McPherson - Proverbs 23:19–21 ; Galatians 5:16–25 In “Hungry for More”, we explore how in-ordinate consumption — of food, entertainment, distraction, or escape — can quietly leave us absent. The hollow promise of “eat, drink, and be merry” is confronted by the even stronger promise we hear in Scripture’s deeper invitation: not less life, but more. Not denial, but freedom. Not numbing, b...

Rev. Jimmy McPherson - Luke 12:13–21 ; 2 Corinthians 9:6–15 In a culture that equates success with accumulation, this sermon names avarice for what it is: not just a love of money, but a way of life that hollows us out. Drawing on Jesus’ parable of the rich fool and Paul’s vision of joyful generosity, More Than Enough explores how greed trains our fears, tightens our grip, and reshapes our hearts....

Rev. Jimmy McPherson - Matthew 25:14–30 ; Romans 12:9–13 “Wake Up” reframes sloth not as simple laziness but as acedia — a quiet spiritual indifference that scatters our attention and tempts us to disengage from God, others, and our own vocation. Through Jesus’ parable of the talents, it exposes the danger of burying what has been entrusted to us out of fear, distraction, or resignation. Paul’s ex...

Rev. Jimmy McPherson -   Matthew 5:21–26 ; Ephesians 4:25–32 “Breaking the Cycle” names anger as an ancient, powerful force that quietly corrodes relationships long before it erupts into visible harm. Drawing on Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 and Paul’s counsel in Ephesians 4, it explores how anger, when nursed and justified, fractures community, distorts worship, and disconnects us from one another. Y...

Rev. Jimmy McPherson - Genesis 4:1–9; Philippians 4:10–13 “The Green-Eyed Lie” names envy as more than harmless comparison — it is a destructive force willing to harm both others and ourselves, vividly illustrated in the story of Cain and Abel. Drawing on voices from Scripture and contemporary reflection, we learn how envy thrives on comparison, scarcity, and wounded self-worth, quietly corroding...

Rev. Jimmy McPherson - Luke 18:9–14; Philippians 2:5–11 “The Empty Throne” names pride as the quiet, corrosive force that elevates the self, erodes community, and subtly pushes God aside. Through Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector and Paul’s hymn to Christ’s self-emptying love in Philippians 2, we see a contrast between self-justification with humility rooted in grace. Pride is n...

Guest Preacher Marc Gronholz - Isaiah 63:7-9

Reverend Jimmy McPherson - Isaiah 7:10-16

Reverend Jimmy McPherson - Isaiah 35:1-10

Reverend Jimmy McPherson - Isaiah 11:1-10

Reverend Jimmy McPherson - Isaiah 2:1-5

Guest Preacher Luke Frank, Seattle UGM - Matthew 25:34-40; Luke 10:29-37

Guest Preacher the Reverend Jeffrey Keuss - Hosea 2:14-20

Reverend Jimmy McPherson - Haggai 1:15b-2:9

Reverend Jimmy McPherson - Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4

Guest Preacher Zach Daoust - 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18