“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14)
Congratulations! You’ve been called to a high office. You’ve received a great honor. Lives will forever be changed because of you. Futures will be transformed. In fact, every time you open your mouth, eternity hangs in the balance.
Why? BECAUSE YOU’RE A PREACHER!
Read MoreIt's once again that time of year where I take my annual hiatus from preaching. Every year we plan a fun guest speaker series at The Well and judging from part 1 yesterday, this year's series is going to be a good one!
It's called MEETING (again) FOR THE FIRST TIME. It's a follow up to our last series where we discussed some of the common myths about who God is. Each week, we'll look at one "false god" and try to figure out what the truth really is.
Week One: BODYGUARD GOD - isn't God supposed to protect from evil and harm?
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This is a guest post from Marina Abdel Malak – a FrAnthony.com guest post favorite. In her previous posts, Marina spoke about her battle with ANOREXIA NERVOSA and how God helped her overcome it. Now, thanks to God, Marina is preparing for a career in helping others overcome their illnesses in medical school. If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.
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It's time for another ASK ME ANYTHING scope today at 12:30 pm today. This is your chance to ask whatever question you want and hear my thoughts on the subject.
What's the latest book you are reading?
What are your plans for the summer?
What's your favorite color?
Were you cheering for the LeBron or KD?
Any question you want. Nothing is off limits!
Read More“People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.” Blaise Pascal
In this week's message - the Clear the Air finale - I presented what I believe is the REAL reason people walk away from God. And it isn't what people usually say/think it is. I believe there is something much deeper going on.
Don't believe me? Check out the message above and see for yourself.
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It hasn’t been a long time since I’ve begun to write, but it has been long enough for me to truly notice and witness God’s grace in my life.
Most people who help me with my writing pieces, know that my favorite topic to write about is the grace of God. The all-knowing, all-merciful and all-loving God. His love extends so far into every facet of my life that I find it so difficult now to understand how blind I can sometimes be, and how much better I need to be every single day.
Read More“The religion that is afraid of science dishonors God and commits suicide.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
We're in Part 3 of CLEAR THE AIR - the latest series at STSA that calls everyone who may have walked away from God to reconsider the reasons for which they did so.
In this week's message we address the notion of "God of the gaps" and the relationship between science and faith (which might surprise you a bit) . We discuss why we Christians and the Church should be the ones who embrace science and discovery the most.
Read MoreWarning: the video above may lead to some serious trauma for those who grew up in church and were taught that the Bible is the foundation of Christianity. If that's you, get ready to have your faith seriously challenged.
It's our second installment in CLEAR THE AIR - the series that looks at the different reasons people "walk away" from God and calls them into question.
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We just recently concluded the season in the church known as “the Holy 50 days” – that is the 50 days going from the Resurrection of Christ (aka, Easter) to the descent of the Holy Spirit (aka, Pentecost).
While this season was meant to be a time where we rejoice because Christ is here with us in all of His glory, unfortunately for many of us, it is seen as a time of “recovering” from Lent and soon becomes a breeding ground for sin.
Why is that?
Read MoreWhat if the “God” you walked away from never existed to begin with?
We kicked off a brand new 4 week series on Sunday - one that is speaks directly into a problem I see so prevalent in our world today. Too many people walk away from God for the wrong reasons. They are walking away based on false ideas or misconceptions of who he is.
The goal of this series is to clear up some of those misconceptions and see the truth about God as revealed to us in His Son Jesus Christ.
I hope you not only enjoy this video but even more so, I hope you'll share it with others who may have walked from a god who never even existed to begin with.
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Sometimes I wish prayer was as easy as using an app. I would ask to get to my next life destination and God would Uber me from point A to point B. I would ask for direction and He'd lead me to google maps. I would ask for creative inspiration and I'd get a Pinterest thread in my thoughts.
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Don’t answer too quickly. Of course we all know the “right” answer. We all know that God’s plan is better than our plan and that His ways are higher than ours, yadda yadda yadda. We know the right answer in our head, but let’s be honest – it’s not always easy to believe it, is it?
What happens when your plans get changed against your wishes? When the thing you planned for doesn’t happen the way you want it to or in the timing you need? What happens when your "perfect plan" is turned upside down against your wishes and the only one to blame is God? What then?
Read More"When we lose something of value, we focus on what’s LOST to neglect of what’s UNLOST."
As we celebrated Pentecost yesterday - aka "the birthday of the Church" - I wanted to reflect on what it means to be the Church and how that identity translates into my life today.
We looked at three parables of Jesus and saw that being the Body of Christ is all about PEOPLE and making sure you have the right "PEOPLE CATEGORIES."
Check out the message above to see what I mean.
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I sat their on the church stairs, barely able to take a breath. The ringing in my ears, the dust in the air, the people running back and forth, in panic. I look around me and I see body after body, full of blood, carried and rushed out the church doors.
In the background I can hear the screaming and with each tear a mother cries and falls to the ground, the earth beneath me rattles. Each hug a father gives to their dying child, I feel their arms around me holding me close. Every sibling that holds their loved ones hands for the last time, trying to tell them it’s going to be okay; I feel their fingers in-between mine.
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For those of you who are keeping track at home, it’s now been 46 days since Easter Sunday. While that may not mean much to you, it certainly means a lot to me. Why? Because that means that we are in one of my favorite seasons of the entire Church year – the period after the Ascension of the Lord Jesus into heaven (40th day after Resurrection), but before the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (50th day after Resurrection).
One of the best things about the Orthodox church is the balance that it gives to our spiritual lives through the various seasons of the year. There’s a season for fasting and a season for feasting! A season for focusing on repentance and a season for focusing on rejoicing! A season for solitude and a season for mission!
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The two seem pretty contradictory right?
Submission is a word that has caused confusion, and sometimes, disgruntlement for many engaged and married women. A newlywed myself, it was something I struggled with prior to my wedding. I struggled to understand what God was commanding of me and I was unsure that I’d be able to fulfill and obey what was asked of me properly.
Read More"We are not here on a vacation. We are here on a mission."
That was the takeaway from yesterday's finale in the Mission: Witness series. We looked at the life of the first ever American saint canonized by the Orthodox church and saw how his life could hopefully inspire us GO...
...beyond our comfort zones... out of our little bubbles... away from our self-centered way of thinking.
We were sent in order to GO!
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A recent sermon by Fr. Anthony talked about evangelism. How do we go around and talk about Jesus, and how do we bring Jesus to the people around us. I am surrounded by friends who are atheists. They are aware of my belief and respect my religion and are aware of my fasting time and have seen the many pictures of St. Mary and Jesus Christ in my room.
Despite that I always feel the need to be cautious when we talk because of fear of being teased and embarrassment, and sometimes because I think I will be offending them.
Read MoreIf you think you know what LOVE means, you ain't seen nothing yet!
In this week's message, we take a look at two people - Jim and Elisabeth Elliot - whose genuine love and limitless acceptance was taken to an unfathomable level.
It's a story that everyone needs to hear. It's a reminder about the greatest and most powerful element in the entire universe... that is, LOVE. And where love is, God is as well.
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In the Orthodox Church, we are now in the period known as the "Holy Fifty" – a period of feasting where the church celebrates Jesus’ presence with the disciples after His resurrection – and yet, my heart is still meditating on Christ’s last week on earth before the crucifixion.
Throughout Holy Week, as I attended daily liturgical worship services, I reflected over the mode of worship in Orthodoxy, which emphasizes outward expressions of piety and devotion. I don’t mean this in a negative sense. Consider. Almost every part of the Orthodox Church is intended to lead Christians through a physical act of worship in order to model for us the posture that our hearts should be taking.
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