St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York7 September 2025 + Thirteenth Sunday after PentecostProper 18 / Lectionary 23cLuke 14:25-33The Rev. Josh Evans Did Jesus really just say that? “Whoever…does not hate father and mother,wife and children,brothers and sisters,yes, and even life itself,cannot be my disciple.” Is this really the same Jesuswho heals the sick,mingles with outcasts,and …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York13 October 2024 + Lectionary 28bMark 10:17-31Rev. Josh Evans “You know the commandments.”Do you, Jesus?Because you only named six of them.You couldn’t even name all ten of the big ones –let alone the other 603 that are outlined in the law of Moses.Did you forget a few –hoping (as apparently …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York15 September 2024 + Lectionary 24bMark 8:27-38Rev. Josh Evans The stage is set, and the debate is ready to begin.Each party has taken their place at the podium,ready to defend their platform,and the moderator asks the first question:“Who do people say that I am?” The disciples, in turn, offer various …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York7 July 2024 + Lectionary 14bMark 6:1-13Rev. Josh Evans It’s not always easy, this life of being a disciple. Take nothing. No bread, no bag, no money. Nothing but your staff, the clothes on your back, and the sandals on your feet. Take nothing. Utterly rely on the providence of …
St. John’s Lutheran Church21 January 2024 + Epiphany 3bMark 1:14-20Rev. Josh Evans What was he thinking? Inviting fishermen to follow him? Not exactly the upper echelon of society – but smelly, day-laboring fishermen without any formal education or social standing. People the world would just as easily cast aside. It’s almost as absurd as God’s …
St. John’s Lutheran Church14 January 2024 + Epiphany 2bJohn 1:43-51Rev. Josh Evans Three simple words. One profound – and dangerous – invitation. “Come and see.” Words spoken by Philip to Nathanael, echoing Jesus’s own in the scene just one day before, as he calls Andrew and Simon Peter, the first of his disciples, on the …
St. John’s Lutheran Church25 June 2023 + Lectionary 12a (4 Pentecost)Matthew 10.24-39Rev. Josh Evans Jesus doesn’t exactly hide the cost of following him. He puts it all out there. There’s no fine print here as he sends out his disciples “like sheep into the midst of wolves.” Picking up right where we left off last …
St. John’s Lutheran Church18 June 2023 + Lectionary 11a (3 Pentecost)Matthew 9.35–10.23Rev. Josh Evans Another Sunday, another call story. Actually, make that stories (plural). In the span of a few verses, one disciple becomes twelve – and probably more than that. They’re just the ones (the men) who get named. Their task: Proclaim the good …
St. Philip Lutheran Church4 September 2022 + Lect. 23c (Pentecost 13)Luke 14.25-33Rev. Josh Evans Having a bumper sticker with the name of my congregation and the statement that “Love > Hate” has gone a long way to keep my road rage in check these last couple of years. But no more! According to Jesus, hate …
St. Philip Lutheran Church3 April 2022 + Lent 5cJohn 12.1-8Rev. Josh Evans All throughout this season of Lent, our cups have been filled to the brim. At the start of our journey, we walked with Jesus in the desert, tempted to our very limits, and in that desert-place, we remembered and claimed the belovedness that …
Pastor Josh Evans 