Beautiful Things Out of the Dust

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 …

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A Sermon for Reformation Sunday in Times of Uncertainty

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 …

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A Sermon about Being a Church That Is Always Reforming

Augustana Lutheran Church 30 October 2016 + Reformation Sunday John 8.31-36 There are more than a few one-liners peppered through the Bible—single verses plucked out for their pithy expression of some essential theological truth. Today we encounter one such one-liner: “[Then] you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” The problem, …

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How can I keep from singing? + A Sermon Hymn-Sing for the Commemoration of Three Lutheran Hymnwriters

Augustana Lutheran Church 23 October 2016 + Lectionary 30C Luke 18.9-14 Music permeates our culture. How many times have we caught ourselves singing along (some of us admittedly more poorly than others) to the radio in the car or in the shower? It’s simply hard to imagine life without music. It’s hard, too, to imagine …

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A Sermon about Listening and What It Means to Be a Disciple

      This is the first sermon preached at my internship site. Click here and here to learn more about the congregation I will be serving for the next year in the city of Omaha, Nebraska. Augustana Lutheran Church 17 July 2016 + Lectionary 16C Luke 10.38-42 It’s been a hard couple of weeks. I’ve found …

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That time I preached about the Reformation during Advent…

Sermon for ML 403 Preaching Lab Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago 1 December 2015 Jeremiah 31.31-34 (Reformation Day) [With thanks to fellow ML 403 student Analyse Triolo for the recording!] When I was handed the little slip of paper for my final preaching text, I honestly anticipated what feast or festival I would be …

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