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 …
St. Philip Lutheran Church6 February 2022 + Lect. 5c (Epiphany 5)Luke 5.1-11Rev. Josh Evans It was a risky venture. Sure, they had always done things together in the past. They collaborated on summer projects and even sat in on each other’s regular weekly gatherings. But something as big and ambitious as this … a merger? …
St. Philip Lutheran Church18 July 2021 + Lectionary 16B (Pent. 8)Mark 6.30-34, 53-56Rev. Josh Evans, preaching How are you? “I’m doing fine.” “I’m good.” Or for the grammatically astute among us: “I’m well.” But imagine if we answered: “Honestly, I’m languishing.” Languishing. It’s the “blah” feeling that psychologist Adam Grant suggests many of us might …
St. Philip Lutheran Church11 July 2021 + Lectionary 15B (Pent. 7)Amos 7.7-15; Mark 6.14-29Rev. Josh Evans, preaching Let’s talk about Amos. By the time the book that bears his name opens, the status of the monarchy of ancient Israel isn’t great. The once unified kingdom has split into two, with Israel to the north and …
Continue reading A Sermon about How Flawed Disciples Are Still Disciples
St. Philip Lutheran Church4 July 2021 + Lectionary 14B (Pent. 6)Mark 6.1-13Rev. Josh Evans, preaching “Can I bring anything?” … is usually the first question out of my mouth whenever I’m invited to someone else’s house for a meal. Maybe it’s the Midwestern politeness in me, but it doesn’t feel like “nothing” or “just yourself!” …
St. Philip Lutheran Church28 February 2021 + Lent 2BMark 8.31-38; Genesis 17.1-7, 15-16; Romans 4.13-25Rev. Josh Evans, preaching https://www.youtube.com/embed/-bx8gwMjlQs You can imagine my surprise when I came home one day to the sound of rushing water. Did a pipe burst? Had there been a break-in? Was the toilet overflowing? No. The cats had discovered how …
St. Philip Lutheran Church24 January 2021 + Epiphany 3BJonah 3.1-5, 10; Mark 1.14-20Rev. Josh Evans, preaching Fishing is dangerous work. I’m not talking about hazardous weather conditions at sea for people who make their living catching fish. No, I’m talking about when I was little, and my grandpa taught me how to fish in the …
Redeemer Lutheran Church, Hinsdale 16 September 2018 + Lectionary 24B (Pentecost 17) Mark 8.27-38 “Who do you say that I am?” It’s a deceptively simple question: “Who do you say that I am?” For as long as the Christian church has been in existence, questions about the identity of Jesus have enticed the minds of …
This is the final sermon preached at my internship congregation, as I draw my year (how quickly it's gone by!) to a close. I am so grateful for the privilege of being invited into so many lives over the past year, in sadness and in joy and everything in between. The people of Augustana will …
Pastor Josh Evans 