St. Philip Lutheran Church20 March 2022 + Lent 3cLuke 13.1-9Rev. Josh Evans “Bloom where you are planted” … or so the saying goes. It’s well-meaning enough, similar to the equally popular: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” The apparent wisdom behind these sentiments is to make the best of a less-than-ideal situation. Don’t get …
St. Philip Lutheran Church13 March 2022 + Lent 2cLuke 13.31-35; Genesis 15.1-12, 17-18Rev. Josh Evans The images are staggering and heartbreaking. Amid the blaring of air raid sirens and the persistent sound of gunfire and missile strikes, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has found residents of Kyiv and neighboring cities taking cover… … in bomb …
St. Philip Lutheran Church6 March 2022 + Lent 1cLuke 4.1-13Rev. Josh Evans Don’t tempt me. Written on a page, those words can hold a plethora of meanings. The key, of course, is in the tone. The server comes to your table: “Here’s our dessert menu!” “Don’t tempt me,” you chime back, knowing full well once …
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 Church28 March 2021 + Palm/Passion SundayMark 14.1--15.47Rev. Josh Evans, preaching Reflection/Introduction: “I don’t even know what time means anymore,” admits one pastor in a recent essay for the Christian Century magazine. It’s not just the fact that she’s writing a reflection for a Holy Week issue in the midst of Advent to …
Continue reading The Passion According to St. Mark + Palm Sunday 2021
St. Philip Lutheran Church14 March 2021 + Lent 4BJohn 3.14-21Rev. Josh Evans, preaching “Why did Jesus have to die?” It was my first week as a chaplain intern. With just one year of seminary under my belt, the hospital handed me a badge and a key card and sent me on my way. Clinical Pastoral …
St. Philip Lutheran Church7 March 2021 + Lent 3BExodus 20.1-17; 1 Cor 1.18-25; John 2.13-22Rev. Josh Evans, preaching She wasn’t sure what she expected to happen, but it wasn’t that. She could never have imagined what happened next… You might even say it was unprecedented. That seems to be the word of the last year, …
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 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 …
Originally written for the April 2020 issue of the UNITY Lutheran Church newsletter Recently I had the opportunity to gather virtually with some members of my home congregation in Chicago for a Lenten mini-retreat. We centered our time on the theme of journeys - always a good retreat topic. The language of journey and journeying is fitting …
Pastor Josh Evans 