St. Philip Lutheran Church24 December 2022 + Nativity of Our LordLuke 2.1-20Rev. Josh Evans This is now my third Christmas at St. Philip. In 2020, our sanctuary had been transformed into a film studio, as we recorded our Christmas Eve service, piece-by-piece, on December 22, with only the liturgical “actors” and our production team for …
St. Philip Lutheran Church27 November 2022 + Advent 1aMatt. 24.36-44; Isa. 2.1-5; Rom. 13.11-14Rev. Josh Evans There are two types of people: First, there’s the type of person who, at the stroke of midnight on November 1, instantly changes out the carved pumpkins for a brightly lit and spectacularly trimmed Christmas tree, usually while belting …
St. Philip Lutheran Church24 December 2021 + Nativity of Our LordLuke 2.1-20; Titus 2.11Rev. Josh Evans I wonder how she felt when she of all people was chosen to be the first to receive the “good news of great joy.” Lutheran pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber gives us some insight: “We have no idea what Mary was …
Continue reading When the Soul Felt Its Worth + A Sermon for Christmas Eve 2021
St. Philip Lutheran Church24 December 2020 + Nativity of Our LordLuke 2.1-20Rev. Josh Evans, preaching It’s not Christmas until… how would you fill in the blank? Here’s what a very scientific Facebook poll among my friends this week found out: It’s not Christmas until… the lights and tree are up… we get to sing carols …
St. Philip Lutheran Church13 December 2020 + Advent 3BJohn 1.6-8, 19-28Rev. Josh Evans, preaching I admit it: I’m one of those people who puts up their Christmas decorations as soon as the last trick-or-treater leaves my front door. Christmas lights especially may be one of the things I love most about this time of year. …
Note: An edited version of this reflection appears in the January 2020 issue of the UNITY Lutheran Church newsletter. As I write this article, I’m sitting in my apartment, in near-total darkness, except for the glow of the lights on my Christmas tree and two other strands of lights I have hanging around my front …
Unity Lutheran Church + Cross of Life Campus29 December 2019 + Christmas 1John 1.1-14 (Nativity III)Rev. Josh Evans, preaching When I was in college, I worked for about a year as a student campus security officer. In hindsight, even a student job in public safety wasn’t the wisest choice for me, as someone who is …
Unity Lutheran Church24 December 2019 + Nativity of Our LordLuke 2.1-14Rev. Josh Evans, preaching Audio: Video: How did I wind up with so much stuff? Said anyone who has ever moved - and especially so when downsizing. Seriously: how did I wind up with so much stuff? I even got rid of a bunch of …
For those playing along at home, this is sermon catch-up post #3 of 4! It also inches ever closer to bringing us up to the present day. The sermon below, for the First Sunday of Christmas, is the first sermon I preached at the Cross of Life campus of Unity Lutheran Church, a two-campus worshipping …
Continue reading A Sermon about Lingering in (ALL) the Holy Days of Christmas
Preacher's note: This is a sermon for which you'll want to listen along, as there are audio elements not included in the manuscript. Augustana Lutheran Church 25 December 2016 + Nativity of Our Lord (Christmas Day) John 1.1-14 In the beginning— no, before the beginning— before the beginning when God sat alone in the murky …
Continue reading In the Beginning: A Homily, in Verse, for the Nativity of Our Lord
Pastor Josh Evans 