The John Knox Presbyterian Church Podcast

"On the Verge of Love"

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 God’s people. As Jesus continues toward the cross— with all the misunderstanding, betrayal, and suffering that accompanies that journey — we are invited to release our desire for “Easter without the cross” and rediscover a love that does not flee, but moves straight into the brokenness to redeem, restore, and make all things new.

Thank you for listening and for supporting the ministry of John Knox Presbyterian Church Seattle. To learn more about our life together and ministry, visit www.johnknox.church.

"On the Verge of Hope"

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. This message calls us to become “prisoners of hope,” trusting that even in quiet and unexpected ways, God is still at work, drawing us toward restoration and new life.

Thank you for listening and for supporting the ministry of John Knox Presbyterian Church Seattle. To learn more about our life together and ministry, visit www.johnknox.church.

"On the Verge of Renewal"

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 exposes what is truly going on beneath the surface of our lives. Yet Joel’s message is ultimately one of hope — because the God who calls us to “rend our hearts” is also the God who promises to restore what has been lost. Even now, through the mercy revealed in Jesus Christ, we discover that what looks like the end may be the beginning of something new.

Thank you for listening and for supporting the ministry of John Knox Presbyterian Church Seattle. To learn more about our life together and ministry, visit www.johnknox.church.

"On the Verge of Mercy"

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 the center of the message is the rich Hebrew word hesed — steadfast, covenant love — and the invitation to embody that same mercy in a world that desperately needs it, because as the song says, “we could use a little mercy now.”

Thank you for listening and for supporting the ministry of John Knox Presbyterian Church Seattle. To learn more about our life together and ministry, visit www.johnknox.church.

"On the Verge of Justice"

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 are neglected. Through Amos’ bold words, we are reminded that justice is rooted in God’s character and flows through lives marked by mercy, humility, and action. Though ultimate justice awaits Christ’s return, we live on the verge of it now whenever we act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

Thank you for listening and for supporting the ministry of John Knox Presbyterian Church Seattle. To learn more about our life together and ministry, visit www.johnknox.church.

“On the Verge of Return”

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 explores how we still manufacture modern idols and trust our own “horses.” Yet Hosea’s final word is not judgment but invitation: “Return.” Even more astonishing, God gives us the words to come home. In a season of confession and renewal, we stand on the verge — not of defeat, but of mercy — and are invited to return to the love that has been pursuing us all along.

Thank you for listening and for supporting the ministry of John Knox Presbyterian Church Seattle. To learn more about our life together and ministry, visit www.johnknox.church.

"More Than Desire"

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 but redemption — to move from grasping to communion and to discover in God’s love what it truly means to be fully alive.

Thank you for listening and for supporting the ministry of John Knox Presbyterian Church Seattle. To learn more about our life together and ministry, visit www.johnknox.church.

"Hungry For More"

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, but presence.

Thank you for listening and for supporting the ministry of John Knox Presbyterian Church Seattle. To learn more about our life together and ministry, visit www.johnknox.church.

"More Than Enough"

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. Yet the gospel does not leave us there. In Christ, grace interrupts our anxious striving, gratitude loosens our hold, and generosity becomes the pathway to life that is truly alive—life rich toward God and open to the world.

Thank you for listening and for supporting the ministry of John Knox Presbyterian Church Seattle. To learn more about our life together and ministry, visit www.johnknox.church.

"Wake Up”

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 exhortation in Romans 12 then offers a vivid alternative: a life marked by genuine love, zeal, generosity, and hope. This message calls listeners to live awake and rooted — to choose participation over paralysis and to step into the joy of a life fully alive.

Thank you for listening and for supporting the ministry of John Knox Presbyterian Church Seattle. To learn more about our life together and ministry, visit www.johnknox.church.