Knox Church Sermons

Today’s Scripture lesson included a verse some of you may have heard before; I learned it first in a youth group song:  “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”  Another translation says it this way:  Psalm 119: 105:  “By your words I can see where I’m going.” (Psalm […]

Today in worship we celebrate the 20th Anniversary of David Annett’s ministry at Knox.  Twenty years of Knox Youth Group, Fresh Spirit worship, technical support, Presbytery service, hospital visits, teaching, preaching; 20 years of being a good minister, friend, colleague, and companion.  Dave is 44 years old, the same age as me; in fact, our […]

The parable found in Luke 16:1-13, often entitled by interpreters as “The Parable of the Dishonest Manager,” has confounded and challenged interpreters, hearers, and readers for, perhaps, centuries. In the categories of parables, it’s what theologian and Jesus scholar John Dominic Crossan categorizes as a “challenge parable,” which are meant to lead us to “probe […]

It’s September and school is back in session.  From my office window here at Knox, I get to watch the kids arriving at preschool.  New Velcro shoes, tiny backpack with a water bottle and a snack.  Most of them are joyful and excited.  Some have that trembling lower lip.  And of course, there are the screamers—they mostly end up in […]

I mentioned Elaine Pagels earlier in this sermon series.  She’s one of the most important biblical scholars of the last century.  She’s also written a recent memoir called Why Religion.  In it, she seeks to reconcile her Knowledge of the Bible and religion with the grief and loss in her life, including the shocking deaths of a young child […]

Last week in the latest sermon in our current series, “Understanding the Bible”, Adam introduced us to the Newer Testament as we considered the gospels – “gospel” meaning “good news”. The gospels tell the story of Jesus whom Christians confess to be the Savior. As theologian William Placher reminds us, Jesus’ name was likely something […]

This is Understanding the Bible, Part 6.  Parts 1-5 are available on our website and our podcast and you can catch up anytime.  This week we turn to the New Testament. The story I’ve chosen as our focus for today is The Parable of the Prodigal Son.  It’s one of the greatest stories ever told, and certainly one […]

This is Part 5 of our Understanding the Bible series.  You can catch up on Parts 1-4 by visiting our website or signing up for our podcast.  In the first four lessons, we’ve followed a theme that is woven throughout the Bible:  God creates a covenant with humankind, the covenant is broken when the people stray from God’s […]

When I was in High School, my choir teacher was very fond of a specific joke that he loved to tell to all the new incoming students. With apologies to my paraphrasing of his comedic talents, it went something like this. “There once was a man who died and ascended to the pearly gates of […]

This is the fourth sermon in the Understanding the Bible series.  Throughout, I’ve tried to be honest about the limitations of this rapid journey through the Bible.  Today, I will probably do the greatest injustice to Scripture as we cover about 1300 years of history and several hundred pages in the average Bible…in about 15 minutes.  In most […]

This is Part 3 of our Understanding the Bible series.  In Part 1, I introduced an idea of understanding the Bible through a foundational story:  the Creation of a Covenant between God and the world, the breaking of that Covenant, and the repair and restoration of that Covenant—a story we see spring up again and again.  […]

Today, admittedly quickly and simply, I will tell the story of the Exodus.  Parts of it will be familiar to some of you:  you’ll hear about crossing the Red Sea, wandering in the wilderness, manna from heaven and water from a rock, commandments given by God on Mount Sinai and a golden calf made down in the […]

Today we begin a journey of Understanding the Bible.  In seven lessons or about 100 minutes, I’ll be teaching through the Bible from start to finish.  We’ll look for common ideas that can give you some orientation as you navigate this ancient, massive, sacred text.  There are many ways to teach the Bible.  The way I will offer is […]

The prophet Elijah is known as one of the great prophets of the people of Israel, called by God to speak God’s words to the

In the 8th century BCE, a young man named Isaiah was living in Jerusalem.  He lived during the reign of four different kings:  Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.  These

Today is Pentecost in the church; I just read you the story of Pentecost from the Book of Acts.  This is one of a handful of

“During the year 1957, I experienced, by the grace of God, a spiritual awakening which was to lead me to a richer, fuller, more productive

The Falling Spirit Our passage begins in the middle of a story. The apostle Peter is giving a sermon and he is suddenly interrupted by

Before beginning the sermon this morning, I want to tell you about an important project underway at Knox, which actually goes along with the theme