Sermons

How To Lose Without Losing Heart Robert P. Hoch July 5, 2020 First & Franklin Presbyterian Church Baltimore MD 21201   First Reading Romans 7:15-25a 15I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 16Now if I do what I do not…

Chain Reactions  Robert P. Hoch  First & Franklin Presbyterian Church Baltimore, MD 21201  June 28, 2020   Matthew 10:40-42 “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in…

  Song of the Sparrow Robert P. Hoch June 21, 2020 First & Franklin Presbyterian Church Baltimore, MD 21201   Romans 6:1b-11 1bShould we continue in sin in order that grace may abound?2By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?3Do you not know that all of us who…

What the Trinity Tells Us about the Value of Humans Rev. Stephen Hollaway Trinity Sunday June 7, 2020             It is a fearful thing to be asked to preach in a crisis. You may well wonder if it is relevant to talk about the Trinity on a day like this. If I was in a…

I Can’t Breathe — Come Holy Spirit!  Phyllis Felton & Rob Hoch Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church and First & Franklin Presbyterian Church Phyllis speaks all bold font May 31, 2020   Acts 2:1-21 John 20:19-23             Maybe Zoom feels like it has helped us . . . or maybe it feels like a desperate measure…

Curtain-Twitching Robert P. Hoch May 24, 2020   John 17:1-11 One of the bonuses of being married to a Brit is that you learn folksy expressions that you would never know about otherwise. One of my favorites is “curtain-twitching.” You almost guess the meaning by how you might be caught by your neighbor, and they…

I Will Not Leave You Orphans Robert Hoch May 17, 2020 John 14:15-21   Jesus says, Because I live, you also will live. This idea of the living Jesus is really important in John, perhaps more important to John than the other gospel writers. Raymond Brown points out that in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, you…

Farewell Conversations Robert Hoch May 10, 2020 John 14:1-1 It’s probably universal the way children interrogate their parents before they leave the house: We’re going out for a little while, say the parents. Where are you going? Can we come? Just out on a little errand, no, we won’t be gone long. Who is looking…

An Open Door Robert P. Hoch First & Franklin Presbyterian Church Baltimore MD 21201 May 3, 2020 Acts 2:42-47 42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44All who believed were together…

A Dubious Gift Robert Hoch First & Franklin Presbyterian Church Baltimore MD 21201 April 26, 2019 First Reading Acts 2:14a, 36-41 14aBut Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them [14b-35 cut from the lectionary] 36“Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord…

Passing from Death to Life Robert P. Hoch First & Franklin Presbyterian Church Baltimore, MD 21201 Easter Sunday April 12, 2020 Matthew 28:1-10 1After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2And suddenly there was a great earthquake; for an…