St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York3 May 2026 + The Fifth Sunday of EasterJohn 14:1-14The Rev. Josh Evans “Oh! The places you’ll go!You’ll be on your way up!You’ll be seeing great sights!You’ll join the high flierswho soar to high heights… “Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best.Wherever you go, you will top all …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York26 April 2026 + The Fourth Sunday of EasterJohn 10:1-10The Rev. Josh Evans Once again,it’s the Fourth Sunday of Easter –Good Shepherd Sunday –except…there’s no Good Shepherd to be found.That’s next year. This year,we get…a gate –a rather unremarkableand perhaps a little confusingpassage on its own,but one with depths of …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York19 April 2026 + The Third Sunday of EasterLuke 24:13-35The Rev. Josh Evans “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalemwho does not know the thingsthat have taken place there in these days?” Probably not.Probably not even close. Crucifixion happened. A lot.It wasn’t exactly a remarkable or noteworthy occurrence.Even if word …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York5 April 2026 + The Resurrection of Our Lord: Easter DayMatthew 28:1-10The Rev. Josh Evans Why bother? Why bother with all of this?Not just today.Not just Easter.But all of this. Why bothertelling the storyof the triumphal entry into Jerusalem,waving our palm branches with acclamation? Why bothergoing to Last Supperwhen we …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York22 March 2026 + The Fifth Sunday in LentJohn 11:1-45The Rev. Josh Evans Lazarus was dead:to begin with.There is no doubt whatever about that.Lazarus was, in a Dickensian turn of phrase, as dead as a door-nail. Lazarus is dead,Jesus says plainly.Dead for four days,John tells us –a not insignificant detail,perhaps …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York15 March 2026 + The Fourth Sunday in LentJohn 9:1-41The Rev. Josh Evans Video unavailable this week. “Hold on…let me overthink this”might as well be my daily motto.It’s also an apt description for the story in John 9. What begins as a simple healing storyturns into a lengthy debate.Instead of …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York8 March 2026 + The Third Sunday in LentJohn 4:5-42; Exodus 17:1-7The Rev. Josh Evans No one could have imagined:back when they were getting ready to leave Egypt,hurriedly cooking, eating,packing up what little they had and could carry with them;on the bank of the Red Sea,the excitement swelling up inside …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York22 February 2026 + The First Sunday in LentGenesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Matthew 4:1-11The Rev. Josh Evans Since its inception in 1947,the so-called Doomsday Clock,an initiative of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists,has served as a clever, if not ominous, visual,warning the public about how close we areto destroying our planetwith …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York18 February 2026 + Ash WednesdayJoel 2:1-2, 12-17The Rev. Josh Evans Twice in my life have I read the book of Joel in its entirety –which is less impressive when you realizeit’s only three chapters long. The first was during study hall in high school –yes, I was that cool …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York15 February 2026 + The Transfiguration of Our LordMatthew 17:1-9The Rev. Josh Evans It begins with a question: “Who do you say that I am?”Which prompts Peter’s bold confession: “You are the Messiah.”Well done, Peter! But when Jesus starts explaining what exactly it meansfor him to be the Messiah –that …
Pastor Josh Evans 