sermons, theological musings, and other ramblings of a queer lutheran pastor in brew city
Unity Lutheran Church + Christ the King Campus5 July 2020 + Lectionary 14AMatthew 11.16-19, 25-30Rev. Josh Evans, preaching There are no parades, no fireworks, no marching bands this year. It doesn’t feel quite like the Fourth of July, does it? It doesn’t feel quite like a day to celebrate independence in the midst of a …
Unity Lutheran Church + Christ the King Campus28 June 2020 + Lectionary 13AMatthew 10.40-42Rev. Josh Evans, preaching There’s always a catch. Or at least that’s the message I had come to expect growing up in the church as someone who happens to be gay. I didn’t come out until my senior year of college, but …
Continue reading A Sermon about What It Means to Be Welcoming
Unity Lutheran Church + Facebook Live Stream4 April 2020 + Palm / Passion SundayMatthew 21.1-11, 26.14-27.66Rev. Josh Evans, preaching Look for the helpers. That was the advice Fred Rogers - aka “Mr. Rogers” - recalled from his mother when he was growing up. Whenever catastrophe or disaster would strike, she would always try to divert …
Unity Lutheran Church + Cross of Life Campus9 February 2020 + Epiphany 5 / Lectionary 5AMatthew 5.13-20Rev. Josh Evans, preaching “Listen, my children, and you shall hearOf the midnight ride of ___ [Paul Revere].” So begins Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem depicting the night that ignited the American Revolution. With Boston under British occupation, threatening …
Continue reading What Paul Revere, Motel 6, and Harriet Tubman Have in Common
Unity Lutheran Church + Christ the King Campus26 January 2020 + Epiphany 3 / Lectionary 3AMatthew 4.12-25; 1 Corinthians 1.10-18Rev. Josh Evans, preaching Imagine walking into an interview for a job you never applied for. There’s no job description or even a title. The interviewer asks no questions but just gives you the job. It …
Unity Lutheran Church + Christ the King Campus22 December 2019 + Advent 4AMatthew 1.18-25; Isaiah 7.10-16Rev. Josh Evans, preaching On the First Sunday of Advent, we found ourselves at the end...literally. Remember that stuff about the unknown day and hour and one being taken and one being left? Then, the next week, we met the …
Unity Lutheran Church + Christ the King Campus8 December 2019 + Blue ChristmasMatthew 3.1-12, 11.2-11; Isaiah 35.1-10Rev. Josh Evans, preaching In this morning’s gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Advent, we heard the voice in the wilderness crying: John the Baptist’s bold call to repentance, to prepare the way of the Lord, to make …
Unity Lutheran Church + Cross of Life Campus8 December 2019 + Advent 2AMatthew 3.1-12; Isaiah 11.1-10Rev. Josh Evans, preaching I have an idea: John the Baptist themed Christmas cards! Picture it: A brightly colored picture of John on the cover, dressed in his best camel’s hair outfit, holding a baggie of fresh locusts, just in …
Unity Lutheran Church + Christ the King Campus1 December 2019 + Advent 1AIsaiah 2.1-5; Matthew 24.36-44Rev. Josh Evans, preaching It feels hard to believe, but exactly one year ago on this day, December 1, I was ordained as a pastor into the ministry of Word and Sacrament in the ELCA. My ordination took place at …
Ahh, last but not least in this week's installment of Josh Catches Up on Posting Sermons: This is the first sermon preached for the Christ the King campus and my second sermon overall preached at Unity. Sadly, CTK doesn't (currently) have the technological capability to record audio or video of sermons, so this is one …
Continue reading A Sermon about How Good News Spreads to the Most Unlikely Characters
