St. John’s Lutheran ChurchAlbany, New York9 March 2025 + Lent 1cLuke 4:1-13The Rev. Josh Evans “The passion of Christ begins not in the week of suffering but already with the first day of his preaching,” as Dietrich Bonhoeffer observes, in a brief homily on this very gospel, preached to the students of the Berlin Technical …
St. John’s Lutheran Church18 February 2024 + Lent 1bMark 1:9-15Rev. Josh Evans In the beginning was the wilderness. Every First Sunday in Lent, we hear this story. Three out of four gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke – what biblical scholars call the “synoptic gospels,” for the way they “see together” the story of Jesus …
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. Philip Lutheran Church26 February 2023 + Lent 1aMatthew 4.1-11Rev. Josh Evans It had to be one of the most difficult and dangerous journeys I ever made. In hindsight, I probably should’ve just canceled. In the winter of 2017, I was in the middle of my year-long seminary internship in Omaha, Nebraska. In February of …
St. Philip Lutheran Church6 December 2020 + Advent 2BIsaiah 40.1-11; Mark 1.1-8Rev. Josh Evans, preaching Punctuation matters. Maybe you’ve seen an image with these or similar words online:Let’s eat, Grandma!Let’s eat Grandma! The difference a comma makes! Meanwhile, in Isaiah 40, open one translation of the bible and read:A voice cries out: “In the wilderness …
Originally written for the April 2020 issue of the UNITY Lutheran Church newsletter Recently I had the opportunity to gather virtually with some members of my home congregation in Chicago for a Lenten mini-retreat. We centered our time on the theme of journeys - always a good retreat topic. The language of journey and journeying is fitting …
Preacher's Editorial Note: I have the privilege of serving a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) congregation, meaning they have made the decision to be intentionally welcoming and affirming of the diversity of God's people, particularly those in the LGBTQ+ community. When I was looking for an internship site, it was important both to me and to the …
Pastor Josh Evans 