Archive for October 2022
Prayer for Others
What does it mean to pray for others? “Dear God. My friend Johnny needs help finding a new job. He is unhappy and doesn’t want to work anymore. Please find a new job for my friend Johnny.” Is that prayer for others? It is prayer, but I personally would be afraid to pray this prayer.…
Read MoreHonor in Relationships
Yesterday I wrote about marriage and the equality that exists in a holy marriage. Continuing on the theme of family, today I wanted to talk about children along with their parents. The issues are not entirely separate. Children must honor their parents. Is it really such a one-way relationship? Brethren, let each one of you…
Read MoreAn Equal Match
At last night’s bible study on 1st Corinthians, we discussed chapter 7 about marriage and virginity. This topic is very important lately. Marriage is under attack on so many fronts. Whether it is from serial divorce or same sex marriage, our society is suffering from a lack of sacredness in relationships. Last night’s session was…
Read MoreChristian Stewardship
Every year in the fall months, churches offer presentations about stewardship. We hear about tithing. We hear about sacrificial giving. We even hear about budget sharing. All these share a common element. All focus on ‘how’ we give our stewardship. They miss the foundation of Christian Stewardship. At that time Jesus went on through cities…
Read MoreEpisode 378 – The Physical Touch of God
As God revealed in the miracle at Nain as described in Luke 7.11-16, God has chosen to come and visit His people with His own body. With His physical touch, Christ brought the son of the widow back to life. We are the temple of the Living God because God has visited His people. Through…
Read MoreEvangelism is a Mixed Bag
In the context of a funeral, we Orthodox find ourselves as strangers among friends. We preach resurrection and judgment. Our friends teach that we become angels in heaven filled with platitudes and niceties. This isn’t done out of malice. Our friends want to sooth the pain of loss at funerals. The problem for us is…
Read MoreModern Idols
Living among nonbelievers can be stressful and confusing. Our way of life as Christians does not have the same priorities as the world. While the world encourages living by ‘our own’ rules, the Church teaches to live another way. The way of Christ is strange and uncomfortable for the world. It is our daily cross…
Read MoreA Single Book is Never Enough
As I wrote in “Our Own Church” yesterday, there are many other things that are not included in the Scriptures. We simply cannot limit our experience of God to one book, even if that book is the Bible. It doesn’t make everything true. In the same token it doesn’t make everything false. There must some…
Read MoreOur Own Church
One of the struggles we experience within ‘American Individualism’ is a sense that nobody has the right to tell us what to believe or how to live. In fact, this has led to more than 45,000 denominations of Christianity in the world. As the name suggests, Protestantism features an individual or group that protests the…
Read MoreAncient Preparation for God’s People
There are many in the world who claim that ‘because other religions’ share similar elements of faith, then all faiths are man-made. Some examples of this include the global ‘flood event’ and various worship styles. Just because religions share common elements does not mean they are man-made. It might be that God had planted the…
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