What do you think?
Rate this book
A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.
Warner Books, in conjunction with Intellectual Properties Management, Inc., presents an extraordinary collection of sermons by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.-many never before published-along with introductions an documentary of the world's leading ministers & theologians.
1 pages, Audio CD
First published January 1, 1998
85 people are currently reading
545 people want to read
About the author
Clayborne Carson
94 books50 followersClayborne Carson is professor of history at Stanford University, and director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. Since 1985 he has directed the Martin Luther King Papers Project, a long-term project to edit and publish the papers of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
February 6, 2017
As I read “A Knock at Midnight,” a collection of Dr. King’s sermons,I felt as if he was speaking to us now in 2017, and not in the 1950s and 1960s. Dr. King was a preacher first and foremost, but he actively engaged with the social issues of his time: Jim Crow, racism, poverty, Vietnam war. America and the world was experiencing deep upheaval when Dr. King preached these sermons, and he didn’t shy away from speaking to the social issues of his time with a gospel lens.
The things people of King’s time were experiencing - technology upending their ways of life, threat of war, and increasing progressivism that threatens the older order - parallel what Americans are feeling today. In the 1960s, those changes fueled racism, and today they continue to fuel racism, xenophobia, and anti-Islamic sentiment today. People in King’s time called for turning inward and taking care of our own first. He reminded them that the prosperity of the United States is inextricably bound up in the prosperity of the world. And that the prosperity of well-of white Americans and middle class black folks was tied up with the prosperity of poor black mothers in the inner city.
The things people of King’s time were experiencing - technology upending their ways of life, threat of war, and increasing progressivism that threatens the older order - parallel what Americans are feeling today. In the 1960s, those changes fueled racism, and today they continue to fuel racism, xenophobia, and anti-Islamic sentiment today. People in King’s time called for turning inward and taking care of our own first. He reminded them that the prosperity of the United States is inextricably bound up in the prosperity of the world. And that the prosperity of well-of white Americans and middle class black folks was tied up with the prosperity of poor black mothers in the inner city.
August 16, 2017
"Love is the only way!"
January 10, 2022
This is a book not to speed read but to mull over and digest. There are golden nuggets throughout this book from MLK and others he quoted. I particularly liked this one - That within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good. When we come to see this, we take a different attitude towards individuals.
February 11, 2025
Reading this made me long for a leader to rise up, and made me want to be a better person.
September 20, 2014
Dr. King was a profound thinker except when it came to religion. I should out myself as one of the formerly religious who has little tolerance for dogma. Do not give me claims based on faith. I want facts and when facts do not exist to support a conclusion, give me the logic that does.
This book prints sermons, note, SERMONS, from throughout Dr. King’s too short career. As the afterword says, one can see his religious beliefs evolve, or I think I can, because god references become fewer, King uses the word “moral” less often, and the assertion that scripture must be obeyed is infrequent in the later sermons.
These later sermons still have too much god-blubber, but they share more content with his secular speeches. If this is part of Dr. King’s evolution, he evolved in the right direction. The logic that diminishing one person diminishes all, his comments against the war on Viet Nam on the basis of limiting resources to help people at home, and his talk about poverty resonate persuasively. Besides, I have to love anybody who quotes Shakespeare and Schopenhauer in successive sentences. Dr. King is not afraid to show his prodigious learning, but his references always seem apt, never self-impressed.
I wish he had simply spoken about issues in America without the silly beginning to one sermon that quotes conventional Hollywood wisdom as if it were gospel truth. Dr. King bases his entire message on that idea: talk about an appeal to a false authority. I want Dr. King to be better than that, but he was not. I’m going to have to live with that and with the fact that I shall never accomplish a fraction of what he accomplished.
I recommend the audio version of this book in which you hear Dr. King giving the sermons, complete with comments from the parishioners. This is the ideal way to experience them, if you cannot use a time machine to be there yourself. The “Amen”s and other mutterings are part of the experience, and I value them. One auditor especially amused me. He said, “I know,” every few sentences. You have to wonder what he was doing there, if he knew it all already.
For all their flaws, these sermons are worth your time.
This book prints sermons, note, SERMONS, from throughout Dr. King’s too short career. As the afterword says, one can see his religious beliefs evolve, or I think I can, because god references become fewer, King uses the word “moral” less often, and the assertion that scripture must be obeyed is infrequent in the later sermons.
These later sermons still have too much god-blubber, but they share more content with his secular speeches. If this is part of Dr. King’s evolution, he evolved in the right direction. The logic that diminishing one person diminishes all, his comments against the war on Viet Nam on the basis of limiting resources to help people at home, and his talk about poverty resonate persuasively. Besides, I have to love anybody who quotes Shakespeare and Schopenhauer in successive sentences. Dr. King is not afraid to show his prodigious learning, but his references always seem apt, never self-impressed.
I wish he had simply spoken about issues in America without the silly beginning to one sermon that quotes conventional Hollywood wisdom as if it were gospel truth. Dr. King bases his entire message on that idea: talk about an appeal to a false authority. I want Dr. King to be better than that, but he was not. I’m going to have to live with that and with the fact that I shall never accomplish a fraction of what he accomplished.
I recommend the audio version of this book in which you hear Dr. King giving the sermons, complete with comments from the parishioners. This is the ideal way to experience them, if you cannot use a time machine to be there yourself. The “Amen”s and other mutterings are part of the experience, and I value them. One auditor especially amused me. He said, “I know,” every few sentences. You have to wonder what he was doing there, if he knew it all already.
For all their flaws, these sermons are worth your time.
February 7, 2009
What a shame to lose such a smart man. Dr. King was able to take really deep concepts and make them accessable (not a 2nd grade word -- not sure of the spelling). Nevertheless, this is not a book to read in one sitting. I had to stop after each sermon and think about what he was saying, and how it applies to today and to my life. I read this book, not listened to the audio version. It would be awesome to listen to the recorded versions from which the trascripts were made.
The one drawback of the book is that the recordings were interrupted. The loss of even on word of Dr. King's sermons is a loss that humanity should grieve.
The one drawback of the book is that the recordings were interrupted. The loss of even on word of Dr. King's sermons is a loss that humanity should grieve.
October 3, 2009
This is a CD of some sermons. Makes you think about just how great of a preacher he was in addition to the popular speeches. Interesting to listen to how most of the issues he is speaking on are just as relevant today.
June 25, 2007
perhaps one of the best purchases i've ever made -- need to get the CD version (i have audio). if anyone needs proof that mlk jr. was prophetic, listen.
September 4, 2008
True emissary of the Lord
Read
June 29, 2009King was truly an amazing man with a heart that has so much to teach. His politcally and spiritually relevant messages of his time are applicable today.
August 25, 2013
Great book. This is not a book to read in one sitting. I had to stop after each sermon and think about what he was saying, and how it applies to today and to my life.
December 30, 2013
I have read this collection of sermons each year since my senior seminar course at Christian Theological Seminary with Dr. Rufus Burrows, Jr.
February 19, 2022
I did the audiobook version of this and was amazed and pleasantly surprised to find that it was a series of King's actual voice and sermons and not someone else reading them. Each one of the sermons had an introduction by another minister (often someone who knew King). It was fascinating to see how his civil rights work backed up his sermons and vice versa.
There are some issues with some of the recordings (understandable because they are old and in some cases, the recording equipment probably was not the best) but I think some of this was also due to how it was transferred from a physical to digital format because the conclusion (done by a professional narrator in 1998) also had the same issue (almost as if a record were at the end and starting to skip). There were a couple of recordings that had gaps, I think most of the time brief, but still, you can't help wondering what was said in those intervals. That would probably be a plus to reading rather than listening because they likely could fill in any gaps from various notes.
Actually being able to listen to King speak far outweighs any shortcomings and I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to know more about King or the causes he cared so much about.
There are some issues with some of the recordings (understandable because they are old and in some cases, the recording equipment probably was not the best) but I think some of this was also due to how it was transferred from a physical to digital format because the conclusion (done by a professional narrator in 1998) also had the same issue (almost as if a record were at the end and starting to skip). There were a couple of recordings that had gaps, I think most of the time brief, but still, you can't help wondering what was said in those intervals. That would probably be a plus to reading rather than listening because they likely could fill in any gaps from various notes.
Actually being able to listen to King speak far outweighs any shortcomings and I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to know more about King or the causes he cared so much about.
April 22, 2019
Thiswas really hard to rate for me. On one hand I admire MLK. I admire him for his accomplishments. I admire him for the cause for which he fought. I admire him as a leader. I admire him in any number of ways and I wanted to give this collection of speeches five stars because of my admiration for MLK. On the other hand, these speeches are not just speeches. They are sermons and sermons promote religion. When someone pushes religion on me I feel like my intelligence is being insulted. I consider it to be utter nonsense and it astounds me that anyone over the age of five can be gullible enough to actually believe in religious doctrine. For that reason when I come across a book that promotes religion I usually give it only one star and really desire to give it a negative number of stars. Listening to these speeches causes me to be a bit amazed at just how much I can disagree with someone I admire in so many ways. So what do I do? Do I give it five stars or do I give it one star. I am settling on three stars because that is right in the middle of being between both choices, but I don't think I could rate this collection of sermons in any way and be comfortable with it.
January 20, 2020
An excellent collection of Dr. King's sermons and in his own words from his own mouth! awesome! This book does not hurt in any way his activism it does in some major ways undermine his position in modern history. I mean to say that he shows that unlike the nearly deified figure we all learned about in history class, or the moral saint that we have been always shown of Dr. King is not so true as just another flawed human with his own vices and his own shortcomings. The major of which is true for almost all preachers who preach about wealth being bad and thus the richest are the worst, but then that even the little wealth that his poor parishioners have is also evil and if they would just give it to the church it can be used to do good! No matter how spiritual and activist you maybe this is still plain and simple preying upon the poor.
May 6, 2017
A collection of MLK sermons. They are good, but not as striking as the sermons collected in Strength To Love. Even though those were given before 1963, and these have several after that year (and 4 are common to the 2 books), the earlier sermons have a freshness (and, amazingly, a timeliness for now) that seems more lacking in these. Also, King used chunks of rhetoric over and over, and that repetition becomes evident in these sermons. It is not surprising, since he became so much busier in his later life, that he would not have time write new sermons regularly. Unfortunately, this collection does not have the sermon from the night before his death--"I've Been to the Mountaintop."
November 24, 2025
BOOK REVIEW - A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (2004)
This a powerful collections of a sampling Martin Luther King Jr.’s sermons, offering readers not just historical insight but a window into the spiritual force that fueled the American civil rights movement. If King is often remembered as a march-organizer, orator, strategist, and moral prophet, this book reminds us that he was first—and always—a preacher whose authority came from the pulpit long before it came from the streets.
The sermons contained in the book are a treasury of theological brilliance, moral clarity, rhetorical mastery, and spiritual depth. King’s sermons do far more than comment on events of the 1950s and 1960s—they illuminate the timeless struggles of fear, injustice, despair, and hopelessness, while calling the listener (and the reader) into courage, compassion, and moral action.
What makes King’s sermons extraordinary is the way they fuse the prophetic and the pastoral. He speaks with the authority of Amos and Isaiah, yet with the intimacy of a pastor tending to wounded souls. In these sermons, King comforts the afflicted, confronts the comfortable, and walks his listeners toward moral reckoning.
His language is rich, poetic, grounded in the Bible, and woven through with philosophy, history, and even classical literature. Reading these sermons feels like entering a world where theology and justice meet—where spirituality becomes the engine of social transformation.
Impact of Key Sermons
1. “A Knock at Midnight” - Delivered in Detroit in 1967, became one of King’s most haunting reflections on moral darkness. Drawing from Luke’s parable of the persistent neighbor knocking at midnight, King describes a world drowning in despair—racism, war, poverty, and moral fatigue. This sermon captured the emotional exhaustion of the late civil rights movement, speaking to a nation grappling with violence, white backlash, and political division. Yet King insists that God still answers in the midnight hour. Today, the phrase “knock at midnight” continues to symbolize the persistence required to confront injustice. Quote: “It is midnight within the social order. The poor cry out for justice, but the wealthy turn away… Yet I still have faith in a God who comes at midnight, who answers the door when all others have turned out the lights.”
2. “The American Dream” - Delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church and repeated in numerous venues, this sermon lays out King’s vision for a moral, inclusive, and democratic society grounded in human dignity. He draws on the Declaration of Independence, the teachings of Jesus, and America’s moral potential. This sermon offered a theological and patriotic foundation for racial equality. King insisted that civil rights were not merely constitutional but deeply spiritual—rooted in the idea that every human being is made in God’s image. Quote: “You see, the whole concept of the ‘imago Dei,’ the image of God, is the idea that all men have something within them that God injected… This gives him a uniqueness, it gives him worth, it gives him dignity.”
3. “The Drum Major Instinct” - Preached two months before his assassination, this sermon is one of King’s most soul-searching and autobiographical. He warns of humanity’s desire for recognition—the “drum major instinct”—and calls his congregation to channel ambition into service. This sermon became tragically famous when excerpts were read at King’s funeral. It reframes greatness not as power or status, but as service, humility, and love. King’s own self-description—wanting to be remembered for serving others, not for awards or degrees—became central to his legacy. Quote: “If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. Say that I was a drum major for righteousness.”
4. “Why Jesus Called a Man a Fool” - Delivered in 1967 after King narrowly survived an attack on his home, the sermon critiques materialism and self-centeredness through the parable of the rich fool. This sermon gave theological grounding to King’s criticism of American consumerism and war-driven priorities. It remains a profound moral critique of societies that value wealth over compassion. Quote: “A man becomes a fool when he fails to realize that the world is more than the sum of his possessions… We are all tied in a single garment of destiny, and what affects one directly affects all indirectly.”
5. “Pilgrimage to Nonviolence” - King outlines his intellectual journey toward nonviolence, influenced by Jesus, Gandhi, Reinhold Niebuhr, and the Black Church tradition. This sermon clarified the moral and philosophical foundation of the civil rights movement. It served as a moral charter for nonviolent action and remains one of the clearest articulations of nonviolent philosophy in modern history. Quote: “Nonviolence is not a method for cowards. It is resistance, but resistance that does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to awaken a sense of shame within him. The end is redemption.”
This book is more than a sermon collection—it is a spiritual autobiography of the civil rights movement. Through these sermons, King reveals the moral engine beneath his activism: a profound, unwavering faith in God, human dignity, and the power of love to overcome hatred.
The book is not only a window into King’s theology; it is a summons. It calls the reader to hope at midnight, to courage in the face of fear, to justice grounded in humility, and to a relentless love that refuses to let the world stay as it is.
This a powerful collections of a sampling Martin Luther King Jr.’s sermons, offering readers not just historical insight but a window into the spiritual force that fueled the American civil rights movement. If King is often remembered as a march-organizer, orator, strategist, and moral prophet, this book reminds us that he was first—and always—a preacher whose authority came from the pulpit long before it came from the streets.
The sermons contained in the book are a treasury of theological brilliance, moral clarity, rhetorical mastery, and spiritual depth. King’s sermons do far more than comment on events of the 1950s and 1960s—they illuminate the timeless struggles of fear, injustice, despair, and hopelessness, while calling the listener (and the reader) into courage, compassion, and moral action.
What makes King’s sermons extraordinary is the way they fuse the prophetic and the pastoral. He speaks with the authority of Amos and Isaiah, yet with the intimacy of a pastor tending to wounded souls. In these sermons, King comforts the afflicted, confronts the comfortable, and walks his listeners toward moral reckoning.
His language is rich, poetic, grounded in the Bible, and woven through with philosophy, history, and even classical literature. Reading these sermons feels like entering a world where theology and justice meet—where spirituality becomes the engine of social transformation.
Impact of Key Sermons
1. “A Knock at Midnight” - Delivered in Detroit in 1967, became one of King’s most haunting reflections on moral darkness. Drawing from Luke’s parable of the persistent neighbor knocking at midnight, King describes a world drowning in despair—racism, war, poverty, and moral fatigue. This sermon captured the emotional exhaustion of the late civil rights movement, speaking to a nation grappling with violence, white backlash, and political division. Yet King insists that God still answers in the midnight hour. Today, the phrase “knock at midnight” continues to symbolize the persistence required to confront injustice. Quote: “It is midnight within the social order. The poor cry out for justice, but the wealthy turn away… Yet I still have faith in a God who comes at midnight, who answers the door when all others have turned out the lights.”
2. “The American Dream” - Delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church and repeated in numerous venues, this sermon lays out King’s vision for a moral, inclusive, and democratic society grounded in human dignity. He draws on the Declaration of Independence, the teachings of Jesus, and America’s moral potential. This sermon offered a theological and patriotic foundation for racial equality. King insisted that civil rights were not merely constitutional but deeply spiritual—rooted in the idea that every human being is made in God’s image. Quote: “You see, the whole concept of the ‘imago Dei,’ the image of God, is the idea that all men have something within them that God injected… This gives him a uniqueness, it gives him worth, it gives him dignity.”
3. “The Drum Major Instinct” - Preached two months before his assassination, this sermon is one of King’s most soul-searching and autobiographical. He warns of humanity’s desire for recognition—the “drum major instinct”—and calls his congregation to channel ambition into service. This sermon became tragically famous when excerpts were read at King’s funeral. It reframes greatness not as power or status, but as service, humility, and love. King’s own self-description—wanting to be remembered for serving others, not for awards or degrees—became central to his legacy. Quote: “If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. Say that I was a drum major for righteousness.”
4. “Why Jesus Called a Man a Fool” - Delivered in 1967 after King narrowly survived an attack on his home, the sermon critiques materialism and self-centeredness through the parable of the rich fool. This sermon gave theological grounding to King’s criticism of American consumerism and war-driven priorities. It remains a profound moral critique of societies that value wealth over compassion. Quote: “A man becomes a fool when he fails to realize that the world is more than the sum of his possessions… We are all tied in a single garment of destiny, and what affects one directly affects all indirectly.”
5. “Pilgrimage to Nonviolence” - King outlines his intellectual journey toward nonviolence, influenced by Jesus, Gandhi, Reinhold Niebuhr, and the Black Church tradition. This sermon clarified the moral and philosophical foundation of the civil rights movement. It served as a moral charter for nonviolent action and remains one of the clearest articulations of nonviolent philosophy in modern history. Quote: “Nonviolence is not a method for cowards. It is resistance, but resistance that does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to awaken a sense of shame within him. The end is redemption.”
This book is more than a sermon collection—it is a spiritual autobiography of the civil rights movement. Through these sermons, King reveals the moral engine beneath his activism: a profound, unwavering faith in God, human dignity, and the power of love to overcome hatred.
The book is not only a window into King’s theology; it is a summons. It calls the reader to hope at midnight, to courage in the face of fear, to justice grounded in humility, and to a relentless love that refuses to let the world stay as it is.
March 14, 2020
this was a man who called christains to live out the faith of true Christianity. here was a man who was willing to call us out on our passive allowance on injustice to the poor class as well as the racial divide of the times.
this is a great book that helps us to remember what it was to live in the tension of unjustice and unfair abuse and the hypocrisy of the church.
this was a man who called the chritians to arms and to demand action when the time was right. This was a man who taught us we have a responsibility to live a good life and worship God with the best of our ability.
highly recommend this book to teens and to adults. this is a must read.
this is a great book that helps us to remember what it was to live in the tension of unjustice and unfair abuse and the hypocrisy of the church.
this was a man who called the chritians to arms and to demand action when the time was right. This was a man who taught us we have a responsibility to live a good life and worship God with the best of our ability.
highly recommend this book to teens and to adults. this is a must read.
Read
July 22, 2020MLK sermons to understand MLK
In these sermons Martin Luther King, Jr reveals a man who loved the Church, was dedicated to its mission and learned to love ALL of man from the shepherding of Christ in his life. He understood the importance, the imperative, to all creation that evil be resisted peacefully. Trusting and patiently waiting on justice from God, he knew the vision God had given him on the mountain top, the promised land of peace, might not be his to visit but tried to point it out to all those who'd listen.
In these sermons Martin Luther King, Jr reveals a man who loved the Church, was dedicated to its mission and learned to love ALL of man from the shepherding of Christ in his life. He understood the importance, the imperative, to all creation that evil be resisted peacefully. Trusting and patiently waiting on justice from God, he knew the vision God had given him on the mountain top, the promised land of peace, might not be his to visit but tried to point it out to all those who'd listen.
January 23, 2020
A Collection of sermons that MLK gave throughout the years of the civil rights movement. The topics often mentioned include the Vietnam war, poverty, morality, and civil rights. “Knock at midnight,” “American Dream,” and “Drum Major Instinct” were a favorite and throughly thought-provoking.
I was surprised with how MLK incorporated psychology, sociology and even economics into his sermons. It made the sermons feel more modern and intellectual.
I was surprised with how MLK incorporated psychology, sociology and even economics into his sermons. It made the sermons feel more modern and intellectual.
February 19, 2020
So many quotes from Dr. King are thrown and tossed about, but I have never actually read or heard from the beginning any of his sermons. I loved reading these printed versions of some of his sermons. I could actually hear the cadence in my head as I read through some beautifully put together thoughts. It was also amazing to read in several of his sermons his thoughts on his death...which he didn't know would come so quickly.
March 13, 2020
A collection of recordings of Martin Luther King’s sermons brought me into a Baptist Church, with a Baptist minister. It is a privilege to hear s voice that changed the world.
Each sermon is introduced by a leader in their own right who describe the sermon and put it in context.
Dr. King was 100% Baptist minister and 100% radical thinker.
Just wow!
Also, reading Ibram Kendo’s Stamped from the Beginning adds a mile of depth to these.
Each sermon is introduced by a leader in their own right who describe the sermon and put it in context.
Dr. King was 100% Baptist minister and 100% radical thinker.
Just wow!
Also, reading Ibram Kendo’s Stamped from the Beginning adds a mile of depth to these.
August 8, 2019
Another great collection of sermons from Dr. King. His interpretation of the Bible is so inspiring and gives me hope. I love how Dr. King is able to deduce truths about how the world operates in the spiritual realm. Reading one of Dr. King's sermons is a great way to start your morning or end your night.
January 20, 2020
The words of Dr. King ring just as true today as they were when he delivered them from the pulpits of churches in the 50s and 60s. The message is just as applicable today in all matters education, social justice, and peace. I encourage any reader to find the audio of these speeches on YouTube and follow along with the printed words.
December 30, 2023
This is a collection of MLK Jr.'s sermons from the 90's, with introductions to each sermon giving a little background. Too often in this day and age his writing has been narrowed down to a couple of sound bites from "I Have a Dream." These sermons show the excellence of his writing skills, and despite having been written in the 50's and 60's, are quite timely.
September 27, 2024
(I don’t like leaving reviews, but this book compelled me to share this one) This book changed so many assumptions I’ve been conditioned to have. It changes perspectives and provides real life events to support it. Thank you for sharing your journey and thanks to all who fight for social justice and reform.
March 9, 2019
Many remember the few lines of Dr. King's 'I have a dream' speech but for those wanting to hear more, this is a good place to start. It's one thing to read the words it's another to listen and receive the message of love.
October 18, 2023
I'll never forget listening to these sermons as I drove across Texas. Very inspiring to hear from our brother in Christ when you have spent a lifetime only considering him as a Civil Rights hero. RECOMMEND...even though the audio quality was pretty rough.
March 23, 2018
Every Black Home Must Have A King Collection
This Is One Of The Books That Should Reside There
This Is One Of The Books That Should Reside There
May 25, 2018
These sermons have been, and will continue to be, a balm to my soul. Dr. King's words are as timely today as they were the day they were spoken.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews