St. John’s Lutheran Church14 January 2024 + Epiphany 2bJohn 1:43-51Rev. Josh Evans Three simple words. One profound – and dangerous – invitation. “Come and see.” Words spoken by Philip to Nathanael, echoing Jesus’s own in the scene just one day before, as he calls Andrew and Simon Peter, the first of his disciples, on the …
St. John’s Lutheran Church24 December 2023 + Nativity of Our LordLuke 2:1-20Rev. Josh Evans To be perfectly honest: I never really cared for the Christmas Eve ritual of lighting candles and singing “Silent Night.” Maybe it has something to do with — oh, I don’t know — that time I was attending midnight mass at …
St. John’s Lutheran Church24 December 2023 + Advent 4bLuke 1:46b-55Rev. Josh Evans Between two concerts, Beer & Carols, and a Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols, it’s been a very musical week. It started a week ago Saturday, when I had the opportunity to attend Joy & Harmony, the Albany Gay Men’s Chorus holiday concert, …
St. John’s Lutheran Church10 December 2023 + Advent 2bMark 1:1-8Rev. Josh Evans The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God … starts … in the wilderness. Not in a stately palace, fit for a king. Not in Rome, the seat of imperial power. Not even in a house where everything …
St. John’s Lutheran Church26 November 2023 + Christ the KingLast Sunday before AdventMatthew 25:31-46Rev. Josh Evans INTRODUCTION: Keeping Time We keep time in different ways. Most of us keep time according to the calendar year, January through December. Anyone connected to academia keeps time according to the school year, roughly Labor Day through Memorial Day. …
Continue reading (Church) Year in Review: A Sermon-Hymn Sing for Christ the King
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 …
St. John’s Lutheran Church5 November 2023 + All Saints SundayMatthew 5:1-12Rev. Josh Evans I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t feel very ‘blessed’ to mourn. When your whole world is ripped out from under you, when an unfathomable loss leaves a gaping hole in your heart, when all you can do is sob and …
St. John’s Lutheran Church29 October 2023 + Reformation SundayJeremiah 29:10-14; 31:31-34; Psalm 46Rev. Josh Evans It’s a beautiful passage – a new covenant, a God who lovingly takes God’s people by the hand, total and complete forgiveness. It also doesn’t come out of nowhere – but at a time of total devastation and ruin, uncertainty …
St. John’s Lutheran Church22 October 2023 + Lect. 29a (21 Pentecost)Matthew 22.15-22Rev. Josh Evans You could have asked me literally anything: about God, about the Bible, about ministry. Instead, when it came time for the congregation meeting to call me as your pastor, only one question was raised: Are you a Bills fan? You might …
Pastor Josh Evans 