Be Transfigured Ministries

Bible Study on First Corinthians Session 6

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 9, 2021, in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

Money and the Church

Nobody ever likes to hear about money in Church, but when the Gospel boldly speaks about money, as it does in Matthew 25.14-31, we cannot ignore the relationship that money has with our salvation. According to the Parable of the Talents, how we use (or do not use) the money which God has given to us, will be used when we are judged in the Kingdom of Heaven. We each have been given resources according to our ability, not to hide it but to use it to glorify God. The time has come for us to take the resources God has given to us, and finally use them to honor and glorify God, according to our ability. The more we have received, the more we must respond. Our salvation depends upon it.

Preparing Our Soul for Christ

When we prepare our home for an important visitor, we spend time and effort preparing the house. We clean the house and cook and make sure everything is just right for the important visitor. When it comes to welcoming Christ into our soul, what are we doing to prepare for His visit? Do we clean our soul? Do we prepare our heart? In the story of Zacchaeus, because he knew Christ was approaching, he went out of his way to get ready to see Him. Christ said, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” (Luke 19.5) Zacchaeus was saved that day because he was prepared to welcome Christ into his home. Today, and every Liturgy, is our chance to welcome Christ into our heart and be saved.

Today is Our Day

One day a blind man was begging by the side of the road when Jesus passed by. After inquiring about the commotion, the man knew this was his day to be healed by God. He understood that he may never had another chance to interact with God, so he called out “Son of David, have mercy on me!” He wasn’t about to let the change pass by, so he insisted, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Because the man took advantage of the chance he had with God, he was healed and live a new life continually glorifying God. We have the same chance today, and every day we come to Church. Do not waste your chance to call out to God, receive His blessing, and live a new life in Christ from this day forward always glorifying God.

What If…We Went back to the Beginning?

On the Sunday before Epiphany each year, the Church recalls the opening verses of the Gospel According to St Mark, “The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ…” (Mark 1.1) which recalls St John the Baptist’s invitation for us to a life of repentance. Repentance is a word that recalls the imagery of returning to the beginning, where it all began. Repentance is a word that means to change the way with think and look at life. What if…..we were able to return to the beginning and return to a time when God and His Church were the most important things in our life, and change the way we look at life?

Choose to Fight on God's Side

As the Gospel teaches us, just moments after Christ was born, the world turned against Him. King Herod killed thousands of innocent children in his attempt to kill Christ. Throughout history the world and the Devil has been at war with God, and we are caught in the middle. Although, living in America we do not fully understand what it means to live in persecution, hearing the Gospel stories of persecution and watching the nightly news coverage of persecuted Christians gives us a glimpse of what it means to fight on the side of God in this war. As the New Year approaches, now is the time for us to choose to fight on the side of God, rather than to allow the world to get between us and God. He is our King, our God, and our Father. The world will always fight against us, but when we are persecuted, always remember we are in good company with tens of thousands of holy men and women who chose God.

God is Always with Us

On the Sunday before Christmas, the Church reminds us of the earthly ancestors of Christ going back to Abraham. This long list of names is not for lack of purpose. In this ancient custom of recalling our ancestors, we recall both those who have been faithful and those who have not been so faithful. This annual custom of the Church of recalling the ancestors of Christ reminds us how much God loves us. From the very beginning of creation, God has always had a relationship with humanity as His People. Even those who were not faithful, God never abandoned, and the entire Old Testament story reminds us that God has remained faithful to us. In the celebration of Christmas just around the corner we are reminded that God is ALWAYS with us.

A Free Will Invitation

In the Parable of the Great Banquet, we learn that God’s invitation for us to join Him around His Table, is dependent upon our free will. As the story goes, after those who made excuses to be excused from the banquet, the Master found others to attend in their place. They were not begged by the Master to reconsider, nor will we be begged by God to reconsider when we use our free will to reject God’s invitation to join Him around His Table in Church. God will not force us to join Him, but He will find others to fill His Church and He will find others to fill our spot in heaven.

We Can’t Do It Alone!

One of the most misused verses (there are many) is, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” (Luke 18.27) Too often Christians use this verse to defend their own agenda claiming that as Christians, “All things are possible with God,” but that is not the correct context of this verse. The question Christ was answering was, “Who then can be saved?” (Luke 18.26) It is impossible for us to save ourselves. We need God. We can’t do it alone!

Being Thankful

As we prepare for our annual Thanksgiving Feast this week, we are called to see the gifts given to us by God not for our own use only, but for those who are in need. Rather than spending a life of greed and hoarding our gifts just for our own use, we should have a life of gratitude. We must reconfigure the idea of Thanksgiving as a day for us to be generous to those who are struggling and life a life of gratitude.