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 Church31 July 2022 + Lect. 18c (Pentecost 8)Hosea 11.1-11Rev. Josh Evans Who among us isn’t guilty of looking back at the past with a certain sentimental nostalgia? Usually those moments come during especially difficult times in the present. When the going gets tough, we open up the mental scrapbooks and reminisce about …
St. Philip Lutheran Church14 April 2022 + Maundy ThursdayJohn 13.1-17, 31b-35Rev. Josh Evans “Jesus went out with his disciples to a place where there was a garden… Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place… So he brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they …
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 Church31 October 2021 + Lect 31b (Pent 23 / Reformation)Jer 31.31-34; John 8.31-36; Mark 12.28-34Rev. Josh Evans Before I get to my sermon, I want to offer a second gospel reading. I know… five readings on a Sunday morning, including the psalm, is a bit much, but I think it’s a helpful …
St. Philip Lutheran Church30 May 2021 + The Holy TrinityJohn 3.1-17Rev. Josh Evans, preaching In case you ever wondered what it’s like to write a sermon for Trinity Sunday… well, why don’t I just show you… Why yes, I did spend an hour of my Friday afternoon this week making that clever TikTok video -- …
St. Philip Lutheran Church9 May 2021 + Sixth Sunday of EasterJohn 15.9-17Rev. Josh Evans, preaching Everything is about to change… It was the second-last week of classes. Or more precisely, the last second-last week of classes, and the last semester of our senior year, only a matter of weeks before graduation. We were sitting in …
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 …
Unity Lutheran Church + Christ the King Campus12 January 2020 + Baptism of Our LordMatthew 3.13-17; Acts 10.34-43Rev. Josh Evans, preaching Think back to your baptism. What do you remember? Did the heavens suddenly open up? Did a dove come and perch on top of you? How about a thundering voice from heaven? It’s doubtful …
Preacher's Note: My internship supervisor was fond of saying that, in ministry, one phone call can change your entire day. Case in point: I wasn't planning on preaching at our Thursday evening worship service tonight, but here we are! The original version of this sermon was preached at St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Midlothian, IL, …
Pastor Josh Evans 