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 York5 March 2025 + Ash WednesdayRev. Josh Evans Nothing gets a bunch of clergy and seminarians so riled up, it seems, as a singular Facebook post advertising an upcoming Ash Wednesday service with “Glitter Ash.” You heard that right:Glitter. Ash. Popularized in 2017, the Glitter Ash “movement” was organized as …
St. John’s Lutheran Church14 February 2024 + Ash WednesdayMatthew 6:1-6, 16-21Rev. Josh Evans “Do you guys ever think about dying?” Nothing brings a party to a screeching halt quite like an existential crisis. Barbie Land was a perfect utopia … until it wasn’t. Until the worries and anxieties of the very much not perfect Real …
St. Philip Lutheran Church2 March 2022 + Ash WednesdayJoel 2:1-2, 12-17; Psalm 51:1-17; Matt. 6:1-6, 16-21Rev. Josh Evans I had become the very thing I usually crossed the street to avoid. I had become … a street preacher. Well, kind of. It was my first Lent with a new church plant in Chicago, and on …
St. Philip Lutheran Church17 February 2021 + Ash WednesdayMatthew 6.1-6, 16-21; Joel 2.1-2, 12-17Rev. Josh Evans, preaching “Ashes and anguish” - reads part of the headline of a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, chronicling the impact of the pandemic on local crematoriums. While the practice of cremation has gained increasing popularity and wider …
Unity Lutheran Church + Christ the King Campus6 March 2019 + Ash WednesdayJoel 2.1-2, 12-17; Matthew 6.1-6, 16-21Rev. Josh Evans, preaching I’ve long thought of Ash Wednesday as a “reset” button of sorts. Which is really just a new way of saying what this day has always been about. From the earliest days of this …
Augustana Lutheran Church 1 March 2017 + Ash Wednesday Matthew 6.1-6, 16-21 Ash Wednesday is a curious thing, isn’t it? First, we hear a gospel text that begins with a warning against practicing our piety before others, urging us instead to give alms, pray, and fast in secret. And then we proceed to dab our …
Continue reading A Sermon for Ash Wednesday about Being Human
Pastor Josh Evans 