SERVE - Mission: Witness, Part 3

May 8, 2017

Week 3 in our latest series MISSION: WITNESS and this week we're looking at a third manner of preaching the gospel: SERVICE.

And our example for this week is one of my all-time favorite men in Christian history - George Mueller, a 19th century German who provided education and care for thousands of orphaned street children in England at a time when society didn't care about them.

As as much as WHAT he did was truly inspirational, HOW he did it is absolutely incredible! A true man of faith and man of prayer who witnessed to the goodness and kindness of our God.

May his story inspire you just as it did to me.

A Reflection after a Visit to STSA

May 5, 2017

Alrighty blog readers, I have a special treat for you. Below is a guest post from Eric Young, the Assistant Dean in the Georgetown University MBA Career Center and also a member of the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. Eric paid us a visit at STSA on Sunday, April 23 and below is his reflection after that visit. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! And if you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

Do the Work of An Evangelist

May 3, 2017

“But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, DO THE WORK OF AN EVANGELIST, fulfill your ministry.” 2 Timothy 4:5

Anyone who calls themselves a Christian/follower of Christ is called to do the work of an evangelist. Actually... let me say that more bluntly....if YOU call yourself a Christian/follower of Christ, then YOU are called to do the work of an evangelist. No wiggle room there.

But evangelism doesn’t mean standing on a corner and yelling at people to repent before they go to hell (see video above).

Are You An Audio-Visual Christian?

April 26, 2017

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Preach the gospel at all times; and if necessary, use words.” It’s become a popular cliché amongst Christians today. We use it with regards to the idea of doing evangelism in our workplaces, schools, communities, etc. The principle behind it is that we should let our actions speak louder than our words.

So don’t tell people to be honest; be honest yourself. Don’t tell people to be kind-hearted; be kind-hearted yourself. Don’t tell people that you are a Christian…show them that you are one! Let people “see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

Very nice…very spiritual-sounding…very true indeed. No one can disagree with the concept.

But the question is this: is that enough? Or do we sometimes need to do more? We all agree that our witness should BEGIN with our actions, but should it END there as well?

SPEAK - Mission: Witness, Part 1

April 24, 2017

We kicked off a new series yesterday called MISSION: WITNESS. In it, we're talking about different ways that we can be witnesses/evangelists in the world today.

Each week in this series, we'll look at one of the "lesser-known" heroes of Christianity - someone who has witnessed to Christ in their own unique way - and we'll see that there's more than one way to be an evangelist.

Our hero for week one? St. Photini, the greatest preacher that you know nothing about.

What Learning to Drive a Car Taught Me about Life

April 21, 2017

I am NOT a natural born driver. Never have been and never will be. I'm not one of those people who just gets into a car and "just knows” how it works. In fact, the first time I put my foot on a car pedal I was so anxious that my nose began to bleed.

Despite the effort it takes, there’s great value in trying to learn something new. Since learning is multiplied when shared, I decided to share some lessons I’ve learnt whilst learning to drive a car. These lessons can be applied on the road just as much as they can on your spiritual path.

So buckle up because here we go!

Holy Week Hymns in English

April 7, 2017

Just wanted to let you all know that I'll be offline till the end of Holy Week and the celebration of Easter on April 16. But if you're looking for a way to get yourself ready for Holy Week, check out the HYMNS OF HOLY WEEK in English.

Learning the hymns of the Pascha services is one of the best ways to transform your worship experience and go from a passive bystander to an active participant. Highly recommend it to all!

PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL LIFE - Spiritual Sweat II, Part 6

April 3, 2017

We wrapped up Spiritual Sweat II with an inspirational message about how we can turn our SHORT TERM spiritual highs into LONG TERM spiritual growth. The answer?

PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL LIFE. A habit of daily spending time with our Heavenly Father and the Lover of all mankind.

Finding My Soulmate

March 31, 2017

This is a guest post from Peri Koussa - a fourth year PharmD student at MCPHS University in Boston. Aside from being a future health care professional, Peri is also - in her own words - "a closet poet and strong believer in the power of words." You can see more of Peri's work by checking her out on SoundCloud. And if you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

Here I am, a young girl in her twenties, drowning in the waves of a community I struggle to understand. It is a community that boasts of an ultimate feat: finding a soulmate.

Everywhere you go there seems to be some sort of indication that it is time to start the search for 'the one'.

PURITY - Spiritual Sweat II, Part 5

March 27, 2017

“But among you there must not be even a HINT of sexual immorality..." (Ephesians 5:3)

Purity matters. We fight for pure water and clean air, but there's one area where we generally don't seem as concerned about purity - that is SEXUAL PURITY.

In Part 5 of Spiritual Sweat II, we tackle the sensitive topic of sexual purity and look at it from God's perspective. We'll see that sexual purity is a lot more important than we may realized and the consequences of disobedience in this area, are greater than you may have thought.

The Vastness of God's Creation

March 24, 2017

This is a guest post from a group called Team Humanity. Their mission is to help you "discover the beauty of unity, of our one humanity, with His Divinity." You can learn more about Team Humanity by following them on YouTube, Twitter or Facebook. And if you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

Have you ever sat and thought about the vastness of creation? I don't mean the Earth… I mean the universe and the galaxies! How about the stars? Did you know that the sun is 93 million miles away (150 million kilometres) from Earth and is so large that 960,000 earths could fit inside it!? And that's just one star in our galaxy!

How about Betelgeuse? No not the movie. That's another star. It's 427 light years away.

Thanking God for His ABSENCE

March 22, 2017

“Where are you God? How come you’re not answering me God? Why are leaving me like this God? I just can’t take it any more!”

We’ve all been there and if we’re honest, the majority of our experience in prayer centers around God’s absence more than His Presence. Yes there are times when we’re overwhelmed by God’s Presence and feel that we’re standing before the Almighty Himself; but if you’ve ever tried to pray consistently and regularly, you know that those times are the exception, not the rule.

In fact, if you’re like most people (including myself), more often than not you’ll finish your time in prayer and not feel anything spectacular or earth-shattering at all. You’ll wonder if your prayer even went beyond the ceiling.

You know for sure you were talking, but was anyone up there even listening? It’s not just me, is it?

REPENTANCE - Spiritual Sweat II, Part 4

March 20, 2017

"For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore TURN and LIVE!” (Ezekiel 18:32)

We're halfway through the Spiritual Sweat journey (and Lent) and now it's time for the rubber to meet the road. It's time to put our humility and honesty into action through the practice of REPENTANCE.

What is repentance? It's more than a feeling... more than just confessing my sins. Repentance = CHANGE and if you want to know what that change looks like, check out Part 4 in Spiritual Sweat II above.

On the Contrary

March 17, 2017

This is a guest post from Shereen Marcus - a proud member of St. Timothy & St. Athanasius church who has guest posted before. In today's post, Shereen speaks candidly about her experience with the children's program at STSA - a program she has been instrumental in creating and managing since the start. And if you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

Several years ago, I was entrusted with heading up the Youth Ministry program at my church. Then, a short time later, I was asked to take a step away. I thought I was doing a good job, and my priest didn’t disagree, but yet he still asked me to step away from it. But… I wasn’t done yet.

“You don’t have to agree,” he said, “But you do have to obey.”

I was devastated. Re-vamping the Orthodox Church model for Sunday School had become a passion of mine. And to be honest – I really thought I was doing a good job. Kids were having fun – and parents were telling me how it was their kids who dragged them to Church instead of the other way around.

HONESTY - Spiritual Sweat II, Part 3

March 13, 2017

"GOD WON'T HEAL WHAT YOU DON'T ADMIT."

It's Week 3 in Spiritual Sweat II and this week we're talking about HONESTY - not honesty of the mouth, but honesty of the heart. We need to be honest about our true spiritual condition because - as Jacob saw when he wrestled with God - that's the only way to see God and revive our hearts.

So get ready. This week's message was a bit of a tough one and it isn't for the spiritually faint of heart. But if you're looking for revival, it might be just what the doctor ordered.

From Rock Bottom to Sky High

March 8, 2017

“Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.” Luke 15:15-16

This Sunday – the third Sunday of Lent – we read one of the most well-known and beloved stories of the entire Bible: the parable of the Prodigal Son (see Luke 15:11-32 if you need a refresher).

Why do we love this story so much? What is it that makes this particular parable melt our hearts the way that it does?

It’s more than just the love of the father or the forgiveness he shows to his son; there’s more to it than that. There’s something in this story that stirs the heart of everyone who hears it or reads it.

What makes this story so touching? What jumps out to me is how LOW the boy had fallen and how HIGH he was lifted after that.

It’s the discrepancy or change from start to finish. At one point, he had sunk to the lowest of lows – the textbook definition of “rock bottom” – but by the end of the story, he had ascended to the highest of highs – the receipt of amazing grace and an incredible deliverance.

How deep had he sunk?

HUMILITY - Spiritual Sweat II, Part 2

March 6, 2017

"It's my anger that gets me in trouble; but it's my pride that keeps me there." Mark Twain

Humility is the foundation of our Christian life. It's knowing who we are and who we are NOT. Without humility, there is no connection with God. The problem though is understanding what is humility is (and what it isn't).

That's our topic in this week in Spiritual Sweat II. We're talking about humility - the mother of all virtues. What is humility? How can we measure humility? And what can we do to increase our humility?

“For thus says the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15

What I’m Focusing on this Lent

March 1, 2017

It’s here. It's now officially here. Put away those hamburgers and get that ice cream out of sight. It’s time to break out the veggie burgers and soy milk. Why? Because LENT IS HERE!

Every year at the start of Lent, I like to set a goal or focus. Instead of fasting aimlessly, I like to have a target that I'm aiming for. And this year, God convicted me that my focus is very similar to what it was two years ago. (I'm even going back and rereading the same book I was reading back then).

So I decided to dig up the old blog post from 2015 - which is equally applicable for me - and hopefully for you as well. Happy Lent everyone!