sermons, theological musings, and other ramblings of a queer lutheran pastor in brew city
Unity Lutheran Church + Cross of Life Campus11 August 2019 + Lectionary 19CLuke 12.32-40Rev. Josh Evans, preaching Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Elizabeth Platz. Earlean Miller? Ruth Frost? Phyllis Zillhart? Let’s try an easier one: Elizabeth Eaton? What all of these women share in common is that they’re ordained Lutheran pastors—a phenomenon which, …
Continue reading “Have No Fear”: A Sermon after Churchwide Assembly 2019
Unity Lutheran Church + Christ the King Campus28 July 2019 + Lectionary 17CLuke 11.1-13Rev. Josh Evans, preaching Let us pray… (pause) We’re not actually going to pray right now, but what did you notice when you heard those words? Did you bow your head? Close your eyes? Fold your hands? Try to quiet your thoughts? …
Unity Lutheran Church + Christ the King Campus21 July 2019 + Mary Magdalene, ApostleJohn 20.1-2, 11-18Rev. Josh Evans, preaching No one likes to be thought of as clingy. So it might seem strange to call Mary Magdalene, the apostle whose feast day we commemorate today, clingy. And yet, our gospel text literally shows her clinging …
Unity Lutheran Church + Cross of Life Campus7 July 2019 + Lectionary 14C2 Kings 5.1-14, (15-19a); Luke 10.1-11, 16-20Rev. Josh Evans, preaching If “healing stories in the Bible” were a Family Feud category, survey says… the story of Naaman probably isn’t on the board. Which is a shame. Because it’s such a fascinating story. So …
Continue reading A Sermon about the Community We Least Expect (but Most Need)
Unity Lutheran Church + Cross of Life Campus23 June 2019 + Lectionary 12CLuke 8.26-39Rev. Josh Evans, preaching The Exorcist was maybe not the best choice of movie for a 10-year-old boy… but what can I say? I loved scary movies — emphasis on the past tense loved— and my family was foolish enough to indulge …
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, …
Unity Lutheran Church + Christ the King Campus9 June 2019 + Day of PentecostJohn 14.8-17, 25-27; Acts 2.1-21Rev. Josh Evans, preaching Where have I seen this before?This looks so familiar… Questions I found myself asking as I perused the website for Augustana Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska — with its characteristic bright green and blue …
