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 Church|27 June 2021 + Lectionary 13B (Pent. 5)Mark 5.21-43Rev. Josh Evans, preaching It was a quiet morning at the Cleveland Clinic, and I was near the end of an overnight on-call shift as I made my way to visit the family of a patient who had just died. It was at that …
St. Philip Lutheran Church20 June 2021 + Lectionary 12B (Pent. 4)Emanuel Nine, Martyrs (June 17)Mark 4.35-41Rev. Josh Evans, preaching The summer before I started seminary, I took a vacation to Charleston, South Carolina. With churches and places of worship in just about every direction you could look and a skyline dotted by steeples, Charleston’s reputation …
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Bellerose, NY13 June 2021 + Lectionary 11B (Pent. 3)Mark 4.26-34Rev. Josh Evans, preaching View the entire installation liturgy below. The gospel reading and sermon begin at the 13:45 mark. Good morning! My name is Pastor Josh Evans, and I have the privilege of serving the people of God at St. Philip …
Continue reading Sermon for the Installation of Pastor Analyse Triolo
St. Philip Lutheran Church6 June 2021 + Lectionary 10B (Pent. 2)2 Cor. 4.13--15.1; Mk. 3.20-35Rev. Josh Evans, preaching I remember it like it was yesterday. It was the summer of 2011 … almost 10 years ago to the day. I had just graduated from college earlier that spring, with my highly honorable -- and practically …
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 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 Church14 February 2021 + Transfiguration of Our LordMark 9.2-9; 2 Kings 2.1-12Rev. Josh Evans, preaching The thought of a week-long forecast of temperatures in the mid-90s - even reaching the lower 100s - seems unbearable … though maybe not altogether unwelcome on a snowy midwestern day with wind chills well below zero. …
