Be Transfigured Ministries

Holy Communion and Marriage in the Orthodox Church

Questions and Answers, "If I can get married in the Orthodox Church, why can't I receive Holy Communion in the Orthodox Church?"

All summer, we will answer questions submitted by parishioners and followers of Be Transfigured. You can review ALL the entire "Questions and Answers Sermon Series" on the Be Transfigured Blog.

The Sanctity of Life

Episode One in our special summer sermon series, "Questions and Answers," begins with the questions, "What does our religion teach about the death penalty?" All summer, we will answer questions submitted by parishioners and followers of Be Transfigured. You can review ALL the entire "Questions and Answers Sermon Series" on the Be Transfigured Blog,

Seeing God

When life presents us with blessings or even struggles, whether or not we experience them as opportunities to draw closer to God, depends completely upon the condition of our hearts. Do you see God in the blessings and struggles of your life? It just takes allowing God to heal your vision, and open your heart to His grace.

I Have No Man

On this week's episode of Be Transfigured - Live a New Life in Christ! we discuss the healing of the paralytic who had been waiting for Christ thirty-eight years. When Jesus asked, "Do you want to be made well," his response was poignant when he said, “I have no man to put me into the water.” Jesus is the man we all need, the only true authentic human being who has come to save us from the paid and brokenness of this world. Whatever we need, He is willing to give us for our salvation.

Glory is Serving Others

With Great Lent coming to an end, the Church gives us one final opportunity to embrace the idea of repentance and live a life focused upon God’s glory rather than the glory of the world. As Christians, our goal must be to serve others, and by serving others, we are serving God. Only thing remains….for us to let go of our worldly idea of glory and allow Jesus to save us.

Do You Doubt God?

It is common to many who desire to believe in God to doubt His ability to actually accomplish what He says He will accomplish. His invitation for us to believe in Him is accompanied by the words, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” If YOU desire to believe, through prayer and fasting, and the Orthodox Christian way of life, you too can experience the evidence of God’s power.

Your Cross; Your Struggle

When Jesus Christ invites you to take up your cross and follow Him, it is an invitation to embrace the spiritual struggle of subduing your passions. Only you and God know your struggle. It sometimes is good to be reminded that just as others don’t know your whole struggle, neither do you know anyone else’s struggle. This gives us a chance to embrace the Great Lenten journey as we accept that we must give our entire life over to Christ, and that IS a struggle….but it is YOUR struggle.

What is Truth?

The Sunday of Orthodoxy is both a theological and historical celebration. The final end of the Iconoclastic controversy ended in 843AD when the Empress Theodora, the first Sunday of Great Lent, officially restored Holy Icons to their rightful place within the Church. The Church had earlier in 787AD defended the truth of Orthodoxy present in the Holy Icons as a witness to the Truth of the Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. Thus, the first Sunday of Great Lent has been a dual celebration of truth and history ever since!

Forgiveness is Key

The key to salvation is the gift of forgiveness. Jesus says, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (Matthew 6.14-15) If we want to enter the gates of Heaven, we must use the key provides to us in forgiveness.

Judgment is Coming!

One week before the beginning of Great Lent, the Church calls to our mind the Parable of the Last Judgment found in Matthew 25.31-46. We are urged to take seriously the condition of our heart, so that we can be welcomed into the kingdom of prepared by the Father. It isn’t the presence of “bad things” we do that will condemn us, but the lack of “good things” we chose not to do. But most importantly, it will be our ability to see God in the lowest members of our society.