St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York11 October 2026 + The Twentieth Sunday after PentecostProper 23 / Lectionary 28aMatthew 22:1-14The Rev. Josh Evans By his own admission,Dr. Frasier Crane is no stranger to the underperforming dinner party.Over the course of 11 seasons and 264 episodes,which I have now watched in their entirety [redacted number of times],Frasier’s …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York27 September 2026 + The Eighteenth Sunday after PentecostProper 21 / Lectionary 26aMatthew 21:23-32; Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32; Philippians 2:1-13The Rev. Josh Evans You can almost hear the echoesof the laborers from the first shift in last week’s parable,murmuring under their breath that the last to arrive are getting paid the …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York20 September 2026 + The Seventeenth Sunday after PentecostProper 20 / Lectionary 25aMatthew 20:1-16; Jonah 3:10–4:11The Rev. Josh Evans It’s September –a mere two days away from fall proper –and that can only mean one thing:It’s time for Josh’s annual rewatchingof Gilmore Girls. Rory Gilmore’s future is brightwhen she gets …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York26 July 2026 + The Ninth Sunday after PentecostProper 12 / Lectionary 17aMatthew 13:31-33, 44-52The Rev. Josh Evans So far,“the kingdom of heaven” has been like: A sower who went out to sow.And as they sowed, some seeds fell on the path,others on rocky ground,still others among thorns,and, finally, others …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York12 July 2026 + The Seventh Sunday after PentecostProper 10 / Lectionary 15aMatthew 13:1-9, 18-23The Rev. Josh Evans As modern readers of scripture,we have this urge to assign neatly defined rolesto the cast of characters – human or otherwise – in a given parable,to find out what it means –as …
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Albany, NY26 October 2025 + Twentieth Sunday after PentecostProper 25 / Lectionary 30cLuke 18:9-14The Rev. Josh Evans (Jump ahead to 23:05 for the beginning of the sermon this week.) I have a confession:I hate stewardship sermons. (How’s that for an intro from the guest preacherbrought here specifically for your stewardship campaign?) …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York31 August 2025 + Twelfth Sunday after PentecostProper 17 / Lectionary 22cLuke 14:1, 7-14The Rev. Josh Evans A place for everything,and everything in its place. It’s so simple,so proverb-like,so beautiful of a sentiment.Words to live by. It’s no secret that I like things neatly organized.If we had projection screens in …
St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York13 July 2025 + Fifth Sunday after PentecostProper 10 / Lectionary 15cLuke 10:25-37The Rev. Josh Evans In nearly seven years of ordained ministry,you might be shocked to learn – as I was –that I have, apparently, never preached on this parable before.This parable of the so-called “Good Samaritan,”as our Bibles …
St. John’s Lutheran Church19 November 2023 + Lect. 33a (25 Pentecost)Second Sunday before AdventMatthew 25:14-30Rev. Josh Evans There’s no doubt that this parable, like the one before it, is challenging. In the first place, we’re confronted with the language of slavery – which, while different from the history of slavery in this country, is still …
St. John’s Lutheran Church12 November 2023 + Lect. 32a (24 Pentecost)Third Sunday before AdventMatthew 25:1-13Rev. Josh Evans There are two types of people this time of year: those who already have Christmas music resounding from their radios – and those who hate joy. Okay, maybe that’s a little extreme, but what’s life without a little …
