St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York10 August 2025 + Ninth Sunday after PentecostProper 14 / Lectionary 19cLuke 12:32-40The Rev. Josh Evans Three years ago,I decided to shake things up in worship.That summer, while I was still in my previous call,I opted for the alternate set of first readings –sometimes called the “semi-continuous” first readingsfor the …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York19 January 2025 + Lectionary 2cJohn 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11Rev. Josh Evans Here’s something you might not know about me:I play Dungeons & Dragons. And by “play” I mean:“stumble my way through every campaign session like I know what I’m doing.” While I’m far from a Dungeons & Dragons expert, …
Evangelical, Poestenkill & Faith, Troy22 September 2024 + Lectionary 25bMark 9:30-37Rev. Josh Evans (no video this week) I wonder what prompted their conversation about greatness. Were they planning for the future?For Jesus’ replacement?For which one of them would naturally take over when he is killed,a fact he has told them (at least) twice now? Were …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York19 May 2024 + The Day of PentecostActs 2:1-21Rev. Josh Evans “I grew up with two languages,” Isaac Villegas reflects on his childhood – speaking English at home with his parents and sister, while being absorbed in the native Spanish of his Costa Rican grandparents during the day when his …
St. Philip Lutheran Church13 November 2022 + Lectionary 33cLuke 21.5-19; Mal. 4.1-2a; 2 Thess. 3.6-13Rev. Josh Evans 295. That’s the number of photos I took of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City just over five years ago. 0. That’s the number of photos of the Cathedral of St. John the …
St. Philip Lutheran Church7 August 2022 + Lect. 19c (Pentecost 9)Isaiah 1.1, 10-20; Luke 12.32-40Rev. Josh Evans Some YouTube videos just speak to you, you know? One of my favorites – aptly titled “[Stuff] Pastors Say (When Writing Sermons)” – hits particularly close to home. As the video opens to the preacher sitting in front …
St. Philip Lutheran Church25 July 2021 + Lectionary 17B (Pent. 9)John 6.1-21Rev. Josh Evans, preaching One of my earliest memories of my call at St. Philip - now nearly a year ago (hard as that is to believe!) - was our Lunch Bunch gathering last August. I hardly knew any of you, after only a …
St. Philip Lutheran Church25 October 2020 + Reformation SundayJeremiah 31.31-34; Psalm 46; John 8.31-36Rev. Josh Evans, preaching Reformation Sunday strikes me a bit differently this year. Every year, we get the same texts for this day, and every year, I’m drawn to this beautiful passage from Jeremiah - a new covenant, a God who lovingly …
Continue reading A Sermon for Reformation Sunday in Times of Uncertainty
Preacher's Note: This sermon was written and pre-recorded as the protests surrounding the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis were still developing. As such, this sermon fails to address the realities of racism and white supremacy that once again occupy the national stage. For a pastoral message addressing this, please see this statement from Friday, …
Originally published in The Door, the student and community newsletter of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago I often remark that I find it amusing that the first person to whom I came out was a pastor. That was in 2011 and all the more remarkable because it came on the heels of graduating …
Pastor Josh Evans 