We kicked off a new series yesterday, one that will carry us through our journey through Lent. The series is called First in Faith: The Life of Abraham. Our goal is to look at how God turned this ordinary man - filled with many of our same weaknesses and shortcomings - into a GIANT in faith.
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The Journey of Lent Begins
If you’re an Orthodox Christian, this week marked the first day of a 55 day journey called Lent. I like calling it a “journey” more than a “season” because that helps me remember that there is a purpose.
Seasons come and seasons go and nothing really changes. We go through winter for a while and then it’s time for spring. And then soon spring goes and then it’s time for summer. Just a season. Something we go through just because the calendar tells us that it’s the time of year to go through it.
A journey however is something we go through for a purpose.
Read MoreUntold Stories, Part 3 - IRENAEUS
We’re going back in time this week and putting the finishing touches on the series UNTOLD STORIES: Forgotten Fathers of the Faith. We started this series way back in December, but had to cut it short due to some untimely snow days.
But we put the finishing touches on it yesterday as we looked at the life of IRENAEUS OF LYONS. - an unsung hero of the faith who was one of the first church fathers to address the issue of the Bible: what belongs in it (canon) and how should we understand it (covenant).
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How to Control Your Thoughts
That title is a bit misleading (but it sure is catchy isn’t it?). You can’t actually “control” your thoughts – at least not in the same way that you can control other things, like a blender or a remote control car or a group of dancing robots.
It would be great if you could, but you can’t. You can’t control every thought that comes into your head. Thoughts will creep in that you have no control over. For example:
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The Inexcusable Sin of...
It isn’t often that you hear Jesus speaking harshly. It isn’t often that you hear the Bible talking about a sin as inexcusable. But that is exactly how the Bible refers to a certain sin – one that we all do a lot more than we realize.
"Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things… And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God?" (Romans 2:1-3)
Ouch! Tough words there. Where did that come from? Where’s all the love and forgiveness and mercy and grace and stuff like that? Why use a word like “inexcusable” to describe a sin which, if we’re honest, we all do on a daily basis?
Read MoreLETTER TO DIOGNETUS - Untold Stories, Part 2
One of the most powerful and mysterious writings of the early church is something called THE LETTER TO DIOGNETUS. It is an anonymous letter written in the 2nd century, less than 50 years after the end of the New Testament era.
What makes it so unique is that it is the first letter or “epistle” NOT addressed to fellow Christians, but rather to a pagan. Because of that, it serves as the one of the earliest accounts of how the early church shared their faith with non-believers and presented the good news of Jesus Christ to the world around.
Read MoreIGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH - Untold Stories, Part 1
The New Testament ends abruptly but the story of Christianity doesn’t. When the last of the apostles died, Christians were left with just a few letters and some scattered writings about the life of Jesus.
So where did the church come from? Where did the Bible come from? What’s the connection between the church of the New Testament to the church of today?
Answer: THE CHURCH FATHERS. They are the ones who brought Christianity out of infancy and nurtured it to allow it to stand on its feet as it is today.
Each week in this series, we’ll look at one church father - a “hidden figure” of church history - and see how they helped contribute to the church we now see today.
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Did You Say the "A" Word?
It’s the word that no one likes to hear. It’s uncomfortable. It’s intimidating. And at times, it’s downright frightening. The mere mention of this word brings to mind a myriad of emotions and rarely are any of them positive ones. But regardless of how negative our perception of this word might be, we all know we need to hear it and more importantly, we need to do it!
What is it that word? ACCOUNTABILITY
Read MoreBITTERNESS - No Big Deal? Part 6
“Let all BITTERNESS, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” Ephesians 4:31
We wrapped up our No Big Deal series by looking at one of the hardest “minor sins” to detect - a sin that lies far beneath the surface but can have a major impact on your life. The sin of BITTERNESS.
Bitterness may not seem like a big deal, but as we saw in this week’s message, it might be the most self-destructive thing you can do to yourself. By choosing to hold on to the past, you may be holding your future hostage.
Why? Because “when you forgive, you in no way change the past. But you sure do change the future."
Read MoreGOSSIPING - No Big Deal? Part 5
The book of Proverbs says that “The words of a gossip are like CHOICE MORSELS; they go down to a man's inmost parts.” (Proverbs 26:22). Why is that? What is it about gossip that we just can’t resist? And how do we get the gossip out of our lives - not just in terms of speaking but also in terms of listening to it as well.
All that in more in the video message above in Part 5 of our No Big Deal? series above.
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Does Faith Really Have to Be Blind?
I have to start with a confession, something that could get me in trouble. What I’m about to confess could cause some of you to look at me different and judge me as being not very “spiritual” but I’m gonna do it anyway. Here goes…
I confess that I like to understand things. I like to know what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. I know it sounds unspiritual but I like to ask questions and dig for answers in areas we’re often told to just accept on “faith.”
Yes, I confess: MY NAME IS FR ANTHONY AND I'M A LOGICAL PERSON.
Read MoreLYING - No Big Deal? Part 4
“Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truthfully are His delight.” Proverbs 12:22
Have you ever wondered why lying is such a big deal to God? Who cares if we tell “white lies”? Is it really that big a deal? Well, based on the verse above, the answer is YES!
And the reason why has less to do with the impact of our lies on others, and more to do with the impact of our lies on ourselves. Check out part 4 in our No Big Deal? series above to see for yourself.
Read MoreCRITICIZING - No Big Deal?, Part 3
“The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 12:18
We’re in Part 3 of our No Big Deal? series and this week we’re talking about the sin of CRITICIZING. Whether we realize it or not, every time we open our mouths to speak, we can bring healing or piercing. We can build or we can tear down. We can give life or we can give death.
Which will you choose?
Read MoreCOMPLAINING - No Big Deal? Part 2
Is complaining really a sin? Isn’t that just part of life?
That’s our topic this week as we jump into our series NO BIG DEAL? In this series, we’re looking at the “minor” sins and asking the question, '“what’s the big deal?”
As you’ll see in this week’s message, God takes our complaining PERSONALLY and therefore we need to take it SERIOUSLY.
Read MoreWhatever Happened to Sin? - NO BIG DEAL, Part 1
In today’s world, “little sins” like criticism, complaining, gossip, or lying aren’t just shrugged off, but are sometimes encouraged or even celebrated. But in fact, these sins are just as deadly as any other. They destroy relationships, inhibit our ability to pray, and weaken our witness to the world.
In other words, these "acceptable sins" separate us from the life that God wants for us just as much as any other sin.
In this series, we’ll examine 5 “little sins” and develop a plan to avoid their deadly sting.
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Problem Free? Or Peace Filled?
Busy, busy, busy. Everyone is busy. Deadlines and pressure at work… a mile-long to-do list at home… I need to start exercising… I need to spend more time reading my Bible… I need to find time with the kids. UGHH!!! I just have too much on my plate!
Sound familiar? These days I don’t know of single person who isn’t struggling to keep up with everything. Everyone has more than they can handle and it doesn’t seem like there’s an end in sight. Is there???
Somehow in the midst of all the chaos around us, we find the Word of God giving us a beautiful promise in Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Peace? Where is that peace? How can I get it? And how can I make sure I keep it?
The Bible is clear that God has promised to give us His peace. But so many of us struggle to have peace. So clearly there's a disconnect here. There's something wrong with our view/expectation of "peace" and how to find it.
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Humanity + Divinity = SYNERGY
“His divinity parted not from His humanity for a single moment nor a twinkling of an eye…”
Excerpt from the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil
Temper tantrums – a parent’s worst nightmare. If you have children, temper tantrums are unfortunately an inevitable part of life. You don’t have to teach a child how to throw a temper tantrum; there is something instinctual within them that tells them what to do when they don’t get what they want.
Cry…kick…scream…yell…roll around on the floor…call as much attention as you can to yourself and your extremely embarrassed dad who just wants to know where the cereal aisle is so he can get his Lucky Charms and get back home as quickly as he can.
Temper tantrums are something that all children know how to do.
But you know what? It’s not just children; we adults do the same thing. We may not be so obvious about it, but if we’re honest, we often find ourselves throwing temper tantrums with our heavenly Father when He doesn’t give us what we want or when He asks us to do something that we don’t want to do.
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How to Know God’s Will
“Dear Fr. Anthony, my name is ________ and I need your help. I have a problem and I need to decide between option A, option B and option C. And I don’t know what to do. I need your help. How can I know God’s will for my life?”
Believe me, if I had a dollar for every time I received a question like that, I’d be a rich rich man.
That’s because it’s the most common question we ask: HOW DO I KNOW GOD’S WILL?
Read MoreDoes God Speak through YouTube?
If you haven’t yet seen the video above, I strongly recommend that you do now. The clip is only three minutes long but its impact could end up being much greater. I don’t know who made the video or what its original purpose was, but I know that it has gone viral on YouTube and has been viewed by hundreds of thousands and talked about by even more.
But after watching the video several times, one thought keeps popping into my head...
Read MoreRecovering from Defeat - THE PROMISED LAND, Part 4
We wrapped up our series on THE PROMISED LAND and this week's guest speaker wrapped us up with a bang!
Special thanks to my dear friend and sister (in Christ) Maryan Farag, who taught us that defeat is not only possible in the Promised Land/Life, but it's also expected. Thankfully though, defeat isn't the end of the line; it's only a pit stop along the way when we understand the principles Maryan shares with us today.
Now go get those promises!
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