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Orthodox Christianity is a way of life, not a religion. Too often we relegate our belief in Christ to a mere mental exercise. Be Transfigured! And Live a New Life in Jesus Christ.
Episodes
Thursday Oct 08, 2015
Thursday Oct 08, 2015
This Bible Study was originally LIVE STREAM via YouTube on Wednesday, October 7, 2015, in Florence, SC
Monday Oct 05, 2015
Monday Oct 05, 2015
Jesus said, “Just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.” (Luke 6.31) Jesus also said, “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.” (Luke 6.32) God doesn’t want us to love simply because He said so; He wants us to WANT to love. When we are forced into love, it isn’t love at all, but an obligation. Sinners love those who love them because they want something in return, but we are called to be better than sinners. We are called to love simply because we want to love. It’s better that way.
Tuesday Sep 29, 2015
Tuesday Sep 29, 2015
Originally LIVE STREAM via YouTube on Wednesday, September 23, 2015, in Florence, SC
Monday Sep 28, 2015
Monday Sep 28, 2015
The Church calendar includes different seasons during which we read different Gospel lessons each day. On the second Sunday after the Feast of the Holy Cross, known as the First Sunday of Luke, we witness the calling of the first disciples by Christ. Jesus Christ calls a few humble but faithful fishermen to trust Him enough to leave everything aside and follow Him. This new season of the Church, allows for us to reconsider our role within the ministry of the Church, and whether we desire to leave aside the secular temptations of the world to be part of the team we call, The Church. Jesus Christ didn’t accomplish His ministry in isolation; He involved the Disciples to help Him. Adam couldn’t exist in isolation; God created Eve to assist him. The Church also doesn’t work in isolation; we are called to assist the Church – and therefore Christ – to cast our nets out into the deep and bring in as many as God has determined should join the Church. But all this takes requires a fresh perspective. It requires a fresh vantage point. It requires a new season in our lives. And in this new season, when God is with, nothing is against us.
Friday Sep 25, 2015
Friday Sep 25, 2015
Since Adam and Eve, all human beings have suffered from the illness I call “ego.” We tend to see every option in our path using the pronoun, “I.” Whether it is when to attend Church, how to spend our money, what to eat, even how to interpret the Holy Scriptures, we invoke our God-given freedom to swear off any influence from anyone over our decisions. So when Jesus invites us to follow Him with the challenge, “Deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me,” it should make us think twice about the illness we call “ego.” The Church’s way of life of reading and interpreting the Holy Scriptures, prayer, fasting, attending Church services, house blessings, caring for the poor, and Confession, are meant to cure the illness of the “ego” so that we can follow Jesus into heaven.
Thursday Sep 17, 2015
Thursday Sep 17, 2015
Thursday Sep 17, 2015
Thursday Sep 17, 2015
When we are sick, we follow the advice of our doctor if we desire to be healed from whatever sickness or disease we have. We do this, because we believe the doctor knows the best cure. We trust him to have our best interest at hand. We put our belief in his abilities into action, and follow his instructions to the letter of the law written on the prescription. But when our soul is in need of healing most of us, most of the time, ignore the advice of the Church. The Physician of our Souls, Jesus Christ Himself, has provided a cure for our spiritual sickness, and we ignore it. He has given us a way of life we call the Church, and though we claim to believe in the cure, we refuse to follow the instructions necessary to experience a full recovery. We refuse, all the while rationalizing away our poor choices in the name of comfort and wanting to avoid suffering, the very cure that has been tried and tested for two thousand years. Sometimes the cure is painful, and causes nausea, but healing comes through the struggle of the cure. If we avoid the struggle, we avoid the cure. The time has come for us to embrace the life of the Church, struggle and all, and allow Christ to heal us through His Church.
Monday Sep 07, 2015
Monday Sep 07, 2015
When Jesus describes heaven, He uses parables so we can better understand. In the parable of the marriage feast found in Matthew 22.2-14, we find several profound truths in the layers of the story, which teach us not only that we have been invited to enter heaven, but that, how we respond to the Church will absolutely have an impact on whether or not we will find ourselves in, or out, of heaven. If we make excuses, mock and disregard the Church, and reject the invitation of the Church, we will find ourselves not worthy to enter heaven. But even if we accept the invitation, but we attempt to enter heaven without listening to the Church’s teachings and by preparing ourselves, we will also find ourselves on the outside. The Church, as he servants of God, is the key to the gates, and we must be willing AND prepared to enter heaven.
Thursday Sep 03, 2015
Thursday Sep 03, 2015
This Bible Study on Acts original LIVE STREAM on September 2, 2015, in Florence, SC.