Posts Tagged ‘1st Corinthians’
Empty Words
Whether you understand it or not, your faith speaks aloud to those around you. There is a reason the old saying is, “Actions speak louder than words.” It rarely matters what we believe if our actions are not generated from that belief. If our words have no meaning, they are of no benefit to those…
Read MoreAvoid Temptation
Every day we pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Sit back and ponder over this verse of the Lord’s Prayer. We are asking God the Father, not just to keep us free from temptation, but to lead us away from temptation. God knows how much temptation we can handle. He…
Read MoreShare the Secret
There is a saying that really disturbs me. People say, “The Orthodox Church is the best kept secret.” If this is true, it is quite unfortunate. A secret is something that should be kept private. The Church is the Body of Christ and has come for all. It is time to share the secret. The…
Read MoreSex and Spirituality
It is the ‘hot topic’ in our society these days. It seems like everyone is talking about sex. Around every corner, lurking to attack our attention, is the topic of sex. It is one of the strongest animal urges that our bodies experience. It is also an important part of our spiritual journey. Sex is…
Read MoreHow are you Using Your Gifts?
We hear about Stewardship all the time. The problem is, we only ever hear about money. What is worse, we only hear about how much money the Church needs. We might hear a token mention of time and talents in the annual stewardship pitch. We hardly ever hear about stewardship outside of the Church’s needs.…
Read MoreWhat Happens to One Happens to All
It is easy to look at the persecution of others from a distance and be thankful we are not the ones being beaten and tortured. It is easy to hear about abuse of Christians in a distant country and be thankful we can freely walk the streets of our nation proclaiming our faith in Christ.…
Read MoreTotal Repentance
Repent! We hear the carillon call all the time. We accept the idea of repentance on the surface. Beyond giving it lip service, we rarely give repentance much consideration. Let’s face it. We all would rather just keep going like we are going. Unfortunately, without repentance we will be destroyed. At that time, there were…
Read MoreHumans are not Animals
We all grew up learning in biology that the world’s living things consisted of plants and animals. We humans were among the animals. We were different from the other animals, but we were also the same. It may be true that humans are part of the animal kingdom, and that we share some of the…
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 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 More