“It’s by RECEIVING the Body of Christ, that we BECOME the Body of Christ. “
We wrapped up our series After the Resurrection this week where our topic was the pinnacle of all sacraments: the Eucharist. Check out the video above and see what communion is both what He came for and what we were made for.
Read More“Confession isn’t about JUDGING a sin. It’s about HEALING a sinner.”
Ever wondered where Confession came from and why it’s so important? What actually happens when I confess and also, what happens if I don’t?
That’s our topic in Part 4 of After the Resurrection. We’re looking at the sacrament of Confession and how it is the mystery by which we “receive the healing touch of Christ today.”
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These certainly are strange times that we’re living in – no leaving the house, no going to church, no using more than 4 squares of toilet paper per “trip”. But despite all the craziness, one thing that does not change – and will NEVER change – is the following commandment (#4 out of the big 10):
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8
Read MoreWhat does it mean to be “born again”? Or that I am “adopted into His family” and can be an “heir with Christ”? Are those just figures of speech? Or is there more to it than that?
We’re in Part 3 of our series After the Resurrection and this week’s message focuses on the sacrament of Baptism and two of the many benefits that come from it: REGENERATION and ADOPTION.
Read MoreEver wondered why the Orthodox church makes such a big deal out of priesthood? Or thought to yourself “what makes them so special? Aren’t we all supposed to priests in some sense?”
If so, then you need to check out the message above. It’s Part 2 in our series After the Resurrection and this week’s message focuses on the sacrament of priesthood.
What is it? Where did it come from? And most importantly, what does it mean to me today?
Read MoreChrist is risen! Happy Easter to everyone. We are back and no virus is going to stop us from meeting (virtually of course) and sharing the Word of God. So if you missed yesterday’s message, check out the link above.
The series is called AFTER THE RESURRECTION. In it, we talk about the sacraments of the Church and how we find the full power of Christ and His resurrection in those sacraments.
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CHRIST IS RISEN!!!
Wishing everyone a glorious Feast of the Lord’s Resurrection (aka, Easter) and I wanted to share the letter we read during the service from His Grace Bishop Peter. Seeing as so many people were touched by it and asking me for a copy, I decided to post it here. Enjoy!
Read MoreGod doesn’t love us because of who we are. He loves us because of who He is.
We wrapped up our Unshakeable series on Sunday and for the finale, we talked about the one characteristic that defines God more than any other. God is LOVE.
But while we all have an idea in our minds about what “love” is and what it looks like, we must be careful not to define God’s love as simply a higher version of human love. The two might be similar, but they are not the same.
Check out the video above to see for yourself and you can also enjoy a little entertainment at the start of the video, thanks to James, our guest host for the week.
Read More“We need less THINKING about justice and more DOING of justice.”
We’re in Part 5 of our series Unshakeable and this week we looked at a topic that is on everybody’s mind these days: THE JUSTICE OF GOD.
Where is God when times are bad? Where is He when evil seems to be winning? Why isn’t He doing more?
Special thanks to Fr. Timothy for answering those questions and more in this week’s message.
Read More“Even when we’re far, God is still near.”
That’s because above all else, God is OUR FATHER. That’s how Jesus described Him in Matthew 6 when He was asked about how we are to relate to God. Not just as servant to Master, or creature to Creator, but son/daughter to Heavenly Father.
And that means that no matter how far we may go, God is always near.
Read More“Trust in the goodness of the Giver, despite what you see in the gift.”
That’s easier said than done, but that’s what God’s goodness is all about. It’s about trusting His definition of good more than my own. And that was our topic in Part 3 of Unshakeable.
Enjoy the message!
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“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:25-26)
I HATE WAITING! I’m not alone am I? We all hate waiting don’t we? Raise your hand if you’ve done any of these in the past week…
WE HATE WAITING! We hate waiting at the grocery store. We hate waiting in traffic. And we hate waiting on God.
It seems like such a waste of time, doesn’t it? Life would be soooooo much better if we didn’t have to wait. If we had WHAT we wanted WHEN we wanted it. Right here…right now… no waiting. Give it to me NOW NOW NOW!!!
Read More“At all times and in all circumstances, my life is fully in the Hand of God.”
That’s our key takeaway from week 2 of Unshakeable. We looked at the SOVEREIGNTY of God and the implications of His sovereignty on our lives. Nothing is ever outside of His control, no matter what the circumstance may be.
And if you’re looking for a verse to remind of this, look no further than Lamentations 3:37: “Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, when the Lord has not commanded it? “
Read More"Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever."
Psalm 125:1
UNSHAKEABLE. That’s the name of our latest series and in it, we’re talking about the key to a life of invincibility: trusting in God. When we trust God, we can withstand the inevitable trials of life. When we don’t, the smallest challenges may cause us to stumble and fall. The one who trusts in God cannot be shaken.
But is trust simply a “yes or no” thing? Or are there degrees? Is it possible that all of us – no matter how much or how little faith we have – can grow in our trust of God?
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In case you missed it, Lent is here. That’s right. Bye bye to hamburgers, chicken wings and ice cream; hello to veggie burgers, bean burritos and fruit salads.
As you’ve probably heard before, Lent is the most sacred time of year. It’s a time during which Orthodox Christians prepare to celebrate and relive Christ’s death on the cross, His burial in a tomb, and ultimately His resurrection from the dead.
But what does that have to do with fasting? Why do we fast for Lent? I mean really…why do we really fast? Why is fasting such a big deal in our church and we do place SOOO much emphasis on it?
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Double standard: ‘any code or set of principles containing different provisions for one group of people than for another’
The opponents of Christianity are right. We do have a double standard. There’s no doubt about it. Some might not realize it or know it, but the double standard is actually taught explicitly in the Bible. The Bible teaches us very clearly that we should have a different of standards for dealing with Christians vs non-Christians.
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“If a person is wrong about being right with God, then ultimately it really doesn’t matter what he is right about.”
About 15 years ago, a friend of mine and I set out on a road trip to visit another friend who lived about three hours away. The route to get there was fairly simple; it was one highway the entire way. Neither of us owned a GPS at the time, but we didn’t need one. We had something just as good… MAPQUEST!
The directions were clear and straightforward: take Route 50 for 140 miles, then once you hit a city called Westover, MD, the destination will be on your right after ½ mile.
Simple. Straightforward. A piece of cake. What could go wrong?
Well… to make a long story short…SOMETHING WENT WRONG!
Read More“God doesn’t remove darkness; He enters into it with us.”
If you’ve ever struggled with the question, “why does a good God allow so much bad?”, then this week’s message is what you need to listen to. It’s the finale of our Blind Faith series and in it, we see how Jesus approached pain, suffering and death in the life of His dear friends Lazarus, Mary and Martha.
What you find might surprise you as Jesus doesn’t remove the pain from their lives; instead He enters into with them.
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“The great people of the earth today are people who pray. I do not mean people who talk about prayer; nor those who say they believe in prayer; nor yet those who can explain about prayer; but I mean those people who take time and pray. They have not the time. It must be taken from something else. This something else is important. Very important, pressing, but still less important and less pressing than prayer.” -- S.D. Gordon
Which is harder – to pray or to work? Be honest. Which comes more natural when you have a problem that you can’t solve: to get up and try to fix it? Or to kneel down and spend some time praying about it?
For me, it’s a no-brainer. The harder task is prayer...by far! I know it seems counterintuitive, but it's true.
Read More“I don’t have to UNDERSTAND everything in order to BELIEVE something.”
Week 5 of our Blind Faith series takes us to John 9 and the story of a man born blind who was miraculously healed by Jesus. Some struggled to accept the miracles (the Pharisees) because they couldn’t understand it and make it fit into their “god box.”
And if we’re not careful, we may end up doing the same thing. That’s what happens when you choose to only believe that which you can understand.
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