Be Transfigured Ministries

Learning to Control Ourselves

Halfway through Great Lent the Church reminds us of Christ’s invitation to deny ourselves, takes up our cross and follow Him into heaven. The Christian life is a difficult burden for us to bear, but so long as we are focused on our own agenda, we will never accept to take up our cross. When we fast, we learn to control ourselves so that we will accept the struggle of the cross, but we cannot learn to control ourselves unless we allow the Church the guide us. If we choose our own fast, we don’t learn to deny ourselves which mean we will never take up our cross and follow Christ into heaven.

Bible Study on First Corinthians Session 9

A Bible Study on St Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, inspired by the Homilies of St John Chrysostom. This session was originally live stream Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

We Need Each Other

When tragedy occurs, it is natural for us to band together to help each other heal, but why wait for tragedy? Much like the story of the healing of the paralytic found in Mark 2.1-12, many of our friends and family members, our brothers and sisters, are also paralyzed. It is up to us to reach out and help them before tragedy. No amount of fasting or prostrations will make a difference if we leave those who need God outside the Church. We must bring them to the Church so they can experience the love and grace of God. Keep the fast! Read your prayers! Come to Church. Bring someone with you, who you know needs God.

Bible Study on First Corinthians Session 8

A Bible Study on St Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, inspired by the Homilies of St John Chrysostom. This session was originally live stream Tuesday, March 23, 2021, in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

Come and See the Truth about God

On the first Sunday of Great Lent the Church celebrates what is known as the Sunday of Orthodoxy. It is a day to celebrate the restoration of Holy Icons since 787AD. For us as Orthodox, this celebration is not just about allowing icons in the Church, but a confirmation the truth that God took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. It is a confirmation that we believe and live in the way that was established by the Holy Apostles, the one who were promised by Jesus Christ that the Holy Spirit would come and guide them into all truth. The Sunday of Orthodoxy is about the truth of God.

Bible Study on First Corinthians Session 7

A Bible Study on St Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, inspired by the Homilies of St John Chrysostom. This session was originally live stream Tuesday, February 23, 2021, in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

Wanting to be with God in Heaven

On Judgment Sunday, the third Sunday of the Triodion, the Church reminds us how God will judge us in the end. As described in Matthew 25.31-46, the judgement will focus on how we view others. Do we look at others the way God wants us to look at others, or do we look at others with self-righteousness? The goats, those in hell, were shocked to find themselves in hell, not because they did something bad, but because they could not look at others with the same eyes that God does. They failed to understand what it means to love God and others. Life is not about earning our way into heaven. Life is about training our heart to want to be in heaven.

Self-Realization and Repentance

The Second Sunday of the Triodion, known as the Sunday of the Prodigal Son, calls each of us to reflect upon our situation in life and experience the self-realization that we are not where God wants us to be. Then the Church invites us to deep and profound repentance to return our life to God, so that He can restore us to our original glory.

No Better than Anyone Else

As the period known as the Triodion begins, marking the beginning of the ten-week journey to Pascha, the Church reminds us that we should not spend our life justifying ourselves to ourselves. In order to be justified by God, we must humbly accept that we are sinners and that we are no better than anyone else. There will always be someone following the rules better than us. If we can embrace this truth, the journey to Pascha will be a blessing to us.

Loving and Humble

In the story of the Canaanite Woman in Matthew 15.21-28, heard both in the Holy Unction service and the Seventeenth Sunday of Matthew, is more for our healing than for her daughter. Christ, knowing her deep faith and humility, allows us to witness her devotion in the face of her pain and suffering. Her begging not for herself but for her daughter, combined with her willingness to accept whatever crumbs Christ would offer her, should be a lesson to us. As we look ahead to our Great Lenten journey, we should embrace such a life of love and humility, asking never for ourselves but for others.