Why Do Christians Suffer?

Have you ever asked yourself why Christians must suffer? Why does God expect us to lose everything ‘just’ for Him? If God loved us as He claims, why not allow us to be honored and comforted now? What if I told you Christians don’t suffer? Would you want to be Christian? Brethren, rejoice in the…

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Be Blameless When Society Is Wicked

Sometimes we like to think is was ‘easier’ to be a Christian in the past. We read the stories about Church growth and mass baptisms. We then think of today. We can’t imagine the same stories taking place today. It is so much harder to be Christian today than ‘back then.’ Brethren, as you have…

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We Long for Each Other

Throughout human history we have lived in groups and families. This is by design from God. “It is not good that man should be alone.” (Genesis 2.18) God wasn’t talking about super bowl parties. He wants us to help each other find God. We are meant for Communion. Brethren, God is my witness, how I…

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Repentance of the Mind

You’ve heard me in my sermons. You’ve read my words in this blog. Repentance comes from the Greek word μετάνοια (metania) which literally translates to change of mind. Although we think of repentance in terms of changing our behavior, until we change our mind our behavior will always remain. Brethren, I count everything as loss…

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Be Strong

All hands united together

Among the many struggles of being a Christian in 21st Century America is the reality that we are not living among fellow believers. Either we are among Christians who are not Orthodox, or we are among non-Christians. Worse than both is to be among Orthodox Christians who do not live nor believe as Orthodox Christians.…

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Enough Already!

Candles lighting

Every parent has experienced the story. We keep giving instructions to our children, and they keep ignoring them. Then in an instant parents escalate their instructions to threats. The threats come with guilt because parents really don’t like to threaten their children. Inside every parent is saying, “Enough already! Just do what I told you!”…

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Being Saved is Hard Work

A group of people exercising at a park

The idea of working out our salvation is foreign to most Protestant Christians. We have been taught that salvation is a free gift from God. Nothing we can do can ‘earn’ our salvation, so there is ‘nothing’ to work out. That would be nice if it were true. Yes, salvation is a gift from God,…

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WWJD

A cross sign in the middle of a sunset

I remember when I was younger, the trend among Christians was the phrase, “WWJD”. We wore it on t-shirts and bracelets. For a few years, everywhere you looked you could read WWJD. What Would Jesus Do. I don’t see it around so much anymore, but the challenge still holds true for me. Brethren, have this…

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