Rev. Dr. John J. Lolla, Jr. April 21, 2019 Text: Luke 24:13-14, O.T.: Isaiah 65:17-25, N.T.: Luke 24:1-12 That first Easter morning, the 11 Apostles’ reaction to Mary Magedelene, Joanna, Jesus’ mother Mary’s was disbelief. The women reported Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus’ Apostles said they were fabricating a tale. Later that day, on the Emmaus Road, two disciples were discussing the women’s report about Jesus rising from the dead. Luke’s Gospel gives us little description…
Rev. John J. Lolla, Jr. April 18, 2019 Text: Luke 22:3, N.T.: Luke 22:28-34 Maundy Thursday Jesus’ chosen twelve faced the darkest hour of their lives this night. Years beyond this evening, long after Easter, they would face their private Gethsemanes, and suffer their personal Calvary’s. But in those future challenging times they would know better the outcome of God’s righteousness. They would not be terrified like they were this night. By the end…
Rev. Dr. John J. Lolla, Jr. April 14, 2019 Text: Luke 19:3, Old Testament: Isaiah 50:4-9a, New Testament: Luke 1:28-40 It’s time for change. Social change! Economic change! Political change! We want it. We want it now! Emotions fill the halls of power. The nation is anxious. People are unsettled. Crowds on the street demand leadership that brings genuine change. They want an end to the impasse paralyzing government. A government that isn’t…
Rev. Dr. John J. Lolla, Jr. April 7, 2019 Text: Luke 15:20, Old Testament: Isaiah 43:16-21, New Testament: Luke 15:11-32 Several years ago, I was called to visit a man whose wife had died. He was living alone in a senior care facility north of Pittsburgh. He was alone, except for the residents and staff around him. I talked with his care givers and they said he had no family who visited. He wasn’t…
Rev. Dr. John J. Lolla, Jr. March 31, 2019 Text: Luke 15:4, O.T.: Joshua 5:9-12, N.T.: Luke 15:1-10 Near the tenth hole on Meadowink Golf Course outside Murrysville sits a stone monument. It marks the location of a log house that stood during the Revolutionary War. The log house had been owned by Michael Rugh. In 1778, it was burned by Indians loyal to the British. Michael, his wife Phoebe, their four-year old daughter Mary,…