32nd Sunday after Pentecost (January 14, 2024 / January 1, 2024)
Colossians 2:8–12; Hebrews 7:26–28, 8:1–2 Luke 2:20–21, 40–52; Luke 6:17–23
The beginning of the Gospel of St. Mark, which is traditionally understood as coming from St. Peter himself. On the Sunday before Theophany, Father Seraphim shares some teachings on Baptism. We start with the character of St. John the Baptist, who preached a baptism of repentance, as the Gospel tells us. In Christ we have a baptism “of the Holy Spirit”, which unlike the baptism of St. John is transformative, changing us spiritually into a new creation. In Holy Baptism, we are completed in Christ, having no need for anything else outside of Him. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTicqLripjQ
A simple exposition, from the heart, about Psalm 6. We must pray like this psalm! We must cultivate weeping, expectation, and impatience! Yes, patience is a high virtue, but we get there by being IMPATIENT in prayer, as the psalm shows. Made with Monster man!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khxypKbkYSM
In the presence of the Kursk root icon, a lively discussion with the children of its history and the reason why it is called “of the sign”, with a deep dive into Isaiah’s prophecy and discussion of the prophets who were painted on the icon. We also talk about the greatest miracle for men in the universe, one that happens many times, but we barely notice it most of the time! “…The Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, the Virgin in her womb will conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14)
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/b6kO4dTiY_w
Audio: http://www.orthodox.net/childrens_2023-10-11+kursk-root-icon+greatest-miracle-original.mp3
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6kO4dTiY_w
Homily on the feast day of St. Nicholas, focusing on his holiness and how his life shows us the very image of good things to come without shadow. We discuss why the beatitudes from St. Luke are read on his feast day rather than the usual selection for hierarch. Also, we look at a selection from Hebrews, which was supplanted by usual epistle reading for St. Nicholas on his feast day, but actually describes his greatest virtues and what should be our destiny also extremely well. Luke 6:17-23, Hebrews 10:1-18 2019-12-19
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iH3cv6ILvu8
The spiritual life of the Prodigal Son began when he "came to himself", and recognized his need for repentance. The same applied to Zacchaeus, to the Publican, and to all of us. In fact, the Christian life begins and continues in that spirit for all eternity. Sin is a kind of delusion, and coming to yourself means seeing the truth about yourself; seeing through the masks we put on to hide that truth. Today, Father Seraphim Holland of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in McKinney Texas explains the parable of the Prodigal Son. Visit us at orthodox.net
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV91cP4Y5TI
There’s a big contrast between Orthodox Christian prayer and your typical “Protestant” prayer. We pray many prayers “according to the rules,” and a person new to this prayer sometimes thinks that this is legalistic and impersonal when actually nothing could be further from the truth. This prayer protects us and becomes very personal because it teaches us how to pray. We first quote a beautiful illustration by St. Gabriel of Georgia and then talk about the benefits of doing prayer from the prayer book. Every catechumen should learn to pray “according to the rules.”
"Someone who prays every day according to the rules, that is, reads morning and evening prayers, can be compared to the owner of a house who has erected a large fence around his yard and is protected from others.
And the one who does not pray can be compared to the owner, whose yard does not have a fence, and anyone can enter his yard." Saint Gabriel (Urgebadze)
AUDIO: http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/misc_2024+gabriel-of-georgia+praying-according-to-the-rules.mp3
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/NRkcPLIDR2o
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRkcPLIDR2o
The event of Pentecost is described in the reading from Acts today, the promise of Pentecost in the Gospel, and the result of Pentecost in the three selections from the Old Testament that were read in the Vespers service. We will concentrate on those, which promised that we will never be left alone, everything broken in our soul will be healed and restored to perfection, and that our stony heart will become heart of flesh.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzJTWWDpBJo