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Episodes
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
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.
Thursday Sep 03, 2015
Thursday Sep 03, 2015
There are many examples in the Gospels where Jesus warns about not bearing fruit, but in the Parable of the Vineyard in Matthew 21.33-42, He teaches about not sharing fruit and what happens to the wicked and greedy stewards when the King returns. The Church is the Vineyard of Christ, and if we refuse to bear fruit, or unwilling to share the Church with others, then we risk the Church being taken away from us and being given to new stewards who will be willing to share the fruit when the time comes. The wicked and greedy stewards were kicked out of the garden. Before we find ourselves on the outside looking in, Jesus has given us another opportunity for repentance. With the beginning of the New Ecclesiastical Year starting, it is a perfect opportunity for a fresh start and look forward to sharing our fruit with the world.
Thursday Sep 03, 2015
Thursday Sep 03, 2015
It is a question we all ask, but are we really interested in the answer? “What good thing must I do to have eternal life?” These were the words of a rich man, who THOUGHT He wanted to go to heaven. But when he heard what would be required of him, he went away sorrowful. When pushed for an answer, Jesus said, “If you wish to be perfect, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and follow me.” If we cannot bear the idea of living in complete poverty; if we cannot bear the idea of leaving “it all” behind, then we will walk away from God full of sorrow. If we really to follow Jesus into heaven, then we will live the life of the Church, which He established to lead us to heaven. What good thing must you do? Live the life of the Church and you will find your heart with Jesus and you will follow Him into heaven.
Monday Aug 17, 2015
Monday Aug 17, 2015
When Jesus speaks to us about forgiveness, He uses the image of financial debt and the emotional burden of greed that goes along with finances. In the Gospel story of about forgiveness, Jesus offers the parable of a king forgiving a debt that could never have been paid off, but was forgiven. The greedy servant, rather than being thankful for the mercy shown to him by the king, immediately demanded his fellow servant to “either pay up, or go to jail,” even though the debt was a mere 100-days pay. Greed had created a cold heart on the part of the servant, so the king sentenced him to prison. What does this parable have to teach us? Jesus warns, "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses." (Matthew 18.35) Your account has come due, and Jesus is willing to forgive the debt of your sins. In return, He asks you to open your heart to those who sinned against you, and forgive them, just as He has forgiven you.