Dear Mr. Christian

August 3, 2018

Dear Mr. Christian,

Hi...I'm not like you. I'm no "believer" but I wanted to have a little heart to heart with you since you seem to be interested in wearing your God on your sleeve. I'll be candid so don't be offended. I'll try not to make fun of your Jesus fish or your cool Christian gear. This is just my open letter.

First, can you stop treating Christianity like an STD? I'm not scared of catching it from you. I know that sometimes you're so afraid to offend me that you sort of get paranoid and weird. Relax dude. There are times when I'm even a little curious by things you do (like why you practically live at church or have the weirdest & most fluctuating diet ever) but why do you get so awkward about it?

Simply Amazing

August 1, 2018

“Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were GREATLY AMAZED, and running to Him, greeted Him.” Mark 9:15

Ever notice how many times the gospel says that Jesus AMAZED the crowds? Or that everyone was ASTONISHED by His words? Ever count the number of times that Jesus performed a miracle and it says that all the crowds MARVELED when they saw it?

From start to finish, Jesus led a truly AMAZING life. There weren’t too many dull days with Him around. One day healing the sick; the next day feeding the multitudes. One day preaching in parables; the next day casting out demons. He was a Teacher and a Preacher; a Comforter and a Counselor. He was all things to all men. But apparently not everyone was impressed.

Preparing for Victory - THE PROMISED LAND, Part 3

July 30, 2018

It's Part 3 in our study of the book of Joshua, THE PROMISED LAND and in this week's message, we're getting ready for the victory that God promised us.

Special thanks to my good friend Peter Karras as he gives us four invaluable lessons on what it takes to move in and possess the land/life God promised us. We know it's there for the taking, but we need to do our part to turn the promise into a reality.

Any Divine Appointments Today?

July 27, 2018

Today's guest post comes from Uwe Bower, a core member of the STSA Church family and a dear friend of mine as well. In today's post, Uwe inspires us to think beyond what our eyes might see and our ears might here. God might be calling you into action in ways you might not notice if you don't pay attention. And you don't want to miss out on that!

In Need of a “Come to Jesus” Moment?

July 25, 2018

Is it just me or is life getting faster? It can’t be just me can it? I don’t know what it is but the more I desire to get my life in order and under control, the faster and more chaotic life seems to get.

Always on the run…late to an appointment…stuck in traffic…got 2 hours worth of errands to run in 45 minute lunch break. Busy, busy, busy. Finish one busy season and the next one is even more busy. ENOUGH!!!!

FORWARD BY FAITH - The Promised Land, Part 2

July 24, 2018

Special thanks to Steve Messeh (yes, we're brothers) for delivering a fantasticly inspiring message this past Sunday: FORWARD BY FAITH.

In this message, we continue our study of the book of Joshua and the land God promised to His children in the Old Testament. But remember, we're not chasing a promised LAND the way they were; we're chasing a promised LIFE - a life that fulfills the myriad of promises God has given to us in His Word.

In Part 1, we set the stage for the Promised Life; this week, we move FORWARD BY FAITH!

How I Found God through Others

July 20, 2018

Today's guest post comes from Eritrea Ghebrehiwet, a member of the STSA Church family in Arlington, VA. In today's post, Eritrea challenges us to consider the consequence/reward of small acts of love and service. She shares her own story about how the actions of others impacted her spiritual journey and might also have saved her life.

Do Something About Your Faith

July 18, 2018

Imagine baking a cake and only using half of the prescribed ingredients. Imagine building a car and using only half of the needed parts. Imagine building a house and only using half of the lumber needed to build the house properly. No one in their right mind would ever expect that cake, or that car, or that house to turn out right…right?

But what if we do that with our Christian faith? What if we have the same approach toward being a follower of Jesus? What if we leave out half of the equation?

THE PROMISED LAND, Part 1 (audio only)

July 15, 2018

"What happened to last week's message? Where is the sermon?"

That's the question that I've heard a thousand times over the past week and unfortunately, even though I have an answer, it probably isn't what you want to hear.

Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties outside of our control, last week's message was NOT captured on video. The room we rent went haywire and we almost had to abandon ship midway through the message.

But the good news is that we were able to capture an AUDIO version - albeit a somewhat below average recording - including the moment when things went haywire (go to minute 32 and listen for yourself).

Why You Should Care about 12 Thai Boys in a Cave

July 9, 2018

Today's guest post comes from Uwe Bower, a dear friend of mine and core member of STSA Church in Arlington, VA. In today's post, Uwe challenges us to think deeply about the meaning and value of an individual life. What's a life worth to God and what therefore should it be worth to us? If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

What on EARTH Am I Here For? (sermon video)

July 2, 2018

Special thanks to my good friend, Matthew Weybrecht, for the guest appearance at The Well yesterday. Matthew spoke about a topic that many people struggle with: what on EARTH are we here for?

Is the goal of life just heaven? Is this all just a tryout for eternity? Or is there a purpose to life here on earth?

Check out the video above and find out for yourself.

Stop Believing the LIES

June 27, 2018

A lie believed as truth will affect your life as though it were true.

(read that one more time please)

I once did a little experiment on a Sunday morning. At the start of the sermon, I told all the people that I had secretly placed four $50 bills underneath seats in the church. I explained it as random act of kindness and I fully convinced them that this was true.

Of course it wasn’t true. It was 100% false. It was a flat out lie (which I've already repented about and confessed :) ). But the fact that it was a lie didn’t matter. What mattered is that people THOUGHT it was true. The reality of it being a lie wasn’t as important as the perception that it was true.

Healthy Relationships - SPEAKING OF HEALTH, Part 4

June 25, 2018

It's the finale in our series, SPEAKING OF HEALTH, and as always, we like to end with a bang! We not only talked about our need for authentic and vulnerable relationships, but we had a live example of what that authenticity and vulnerability looks like.

Be sure not to miss the special cameo appearance from a special guest at the end of this week's message.

And stay healthy everyone!

THE HARDWARE OF THE SOUL - Speaking of Health, Part 3

June 18, 2018

We're in Part 3 of our series SPEAKING OF HEALTH and this week, we're looking at the "Hardware of the Soul." In other words, we're looking at our brains and trying to learn how they work and what role different parts play.

Why? Because the more we understand how our brains work, the better we'll be able to a) diagnose a problem when it happens, and b) invest in the health of the various parts/functions of the brain.

So get ready to learn! Class is in now session :)

Being God’s favourite

June 15, 2018

Having a twin sister, for many people I am “one out of two”, sometimes I am “the other one”, but often just “one of the twins”. Don’t get me wrong, I love my sister, but it’s also human of me to wish to be seen as the one independent person I am and to be loved as such.

Now I realized that many people feel the same way. We feel like we’re just “one of …”. We feel like we’re just “one of the church-goers”, “one in the group”. Some people feel like they’re only “the brother of …”, “the mother of …”, “the friend of …”. We often feel like we’re just “one out of many” and this hurts, because when we love in a special way, we want to be loved back in a special way too.

Now for the good news.

Write a Review, Win a Gift Card!

June 13, 2018

Raise your hand if you’ve read my book, “WHATEVER, GOD”.
Now raise your hand if you like to win free money.
Now raise your hand if you’d like to win free money for doing practically nothing, besides reading my book.

If your hand is still up, congratulations! You’re in luck!

I’m giving away three $20 Amazon gift cards and all you need to do to be eligible is leave a review for my book on Amazon sometime between now and Tuesday, June 19.

KILLING THE ANTs - Speaking of Health, Part 2

June 11, 2018

“You don’t have to believe every stupid thought you have.” Dr. Daniel Amen

That's a summary of this week's message in a nutshell. Too many of us are living as if we are slaves to our thoughts, but in this week's message we saw how we can change our LIVES by changing our THOUGHTS. Specifically, we learned that our thoughts are real things that literally have the power to rewire our brains.

In this week's message, we not only learned the power of our thoughts over our lives, but also a practical way that we can implement God's command to “[bring] every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5)

SPEAKING OF HEALTH..., Part 1

June 5, 2018

“Make us all worthy, O our Master, to partake of Your holies unto the purification of our SOULS, our BODIES and our SPIRITS.” Excerpt from Liturgy of St. Basil

We kicked off a new series this week called SPEAKING OF HEALTH... And in it, we're talking about the importance of health in ALL aspects of life: body, mind/soul, and spirit.

This series has the power to open a lot of eyes about the root of many of the problems and struggles we face today. Maybe it's not just a spiritual problem after all. Maybe there's something more to it...

Check out the video above and you’ll see what I mean.

What Every Parent Wants from Their Child

May 23, 2018

Parents, if you could get your kids to do one thing, what would it be? Think before you answer. This is your chance. Don’t waste your one wish. You want something long lasting – something that will bear fruit in the long run. What would you say? Ready for my answer?

OBEDIENCE.

The most important trait that we, as parents, need to instill in our children is obedience. Obedience to teachers. Obedience to police officers. Obedience to librarians, bus drivers, firemen, and of course, most important of all, OBEDIENCE TO PRIESTS – especially the really cool ones who blog and do stuff like that!

Nothing is more important than this. Agree?

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Fr. Anthony Messeh

ASK ME ANYTHING scope https://t.co/BHmpeU8tEB
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Fr. Anthony Messeh

I'll be on #Periscope LIVE at 1230 EST for another ASK ME ANYTHING scope. You ask the questions and I'll do my best… https://t.co/6h8vEjHyB9
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