An application of Matthew 9:37-38 to prison ministry. Remember, 90% of ministry, like life, is SHOWING UP!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ2FJJPakg8
Reflections after going to the beach to pray before first light and sunrise. Sometimes you don’t experience what you expect but you always experience what you need!
YouTube: https://youtu.be/4VTHWjPr8c8
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VTHWjPr8c8
Teaching about the Dormition and how Mary, the Mother of Jesus, the “Theotokos” is like, and unlike us. Her Dormition (death) and subsequent resurrection and ascension into heaven is a promise to all of us, even more than the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Dormition, Aug 15/28 2023
AUDIO: http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/theotokos_2023+dormition+the-first-resurrection.mp3
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/pfbJExhc5-0
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfbJExhc5-0
A question from our catechism class: “Does the Latvian government have the authority to declare independence of the Latvian Orthodox Church from the Moscow?” As is our custom, we answer much more than just this question. This is a question of who we are and to whom we should be obedient. It is a question of when we should disobey our bishop and separate from him. It is a question of who should we be praying for and should we be praying for one or another combatant to be victorious in Ukraine or should we be praying for a stable peace as God desires it? What are the dangers to the church in Ukraine, that is the true Orthodox Christians in Ukraine? What can the little guy do?
As is always the case in any question about world politics or anything that happens in the world, our personal reaction to it must be a spiritual one first and must involve prayer for those we support in those we oppose. Every church should be praying for both Ukraine and Russia. Especially Ukrainian churches should be praying for Russia as well as their country, and Russian churches can be praying for Ukraine as well as their country. We also, from her tiny little pulpit, patriarch Curiel and Metropolitan Onuphrius to get together and concelebrate the liturgy as brothers, and not allow political rhetoric and the fog of war to obscure the fact that they are in brothers.
Video: https://youtu.be/_jbkWx5nndA
Audio: http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/misc_2022-09-11+latvian-government-proclaims-independence-from-russian-church.mp3
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jbkWx5nndA
“Our heart is enlarged.” St. Paul gives us the way to encounter EVERYTHING, and we are able because we are “temples of the living God”.
The Apostle Paul speaks often in very difficult-to-understand theology, but he often intersperses it with simple comments straight from the heart. We can understand these comments as a primer on how to live. Today is such an example. He is speaking to difficult people, and he tells them that his heart is “enlarged” – a beautiful way to say that no matter what, he loves them and thinks good thoughts about them. This is the “secret” to a successful life, and it is possible, because, as he says only a few words later, we are temples ”of the living God.” When we synthesize these two comments, we have the “recipe” to encounter everything with success. 12th Wednesday after Pentecost, 08/23/2023
AUDIO: http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/pen-wed-12_2023+our-heart-is-enlarged_2cor6-11-16.mp3
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/4ThzTAbfiFs
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ThzTAbfiFs
The Christian priesthood is different. It is for healing. Meeting of the Lord, 2024 Hebrews 7:7-17
VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Qm6jik2j-Ac
AUDIO: http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/theotokos_2024+meeting-of-the-lord+a-new-priesthood-for-healing_heb7-7-17.mp3
In the celebration of the Meeting of the Lord, where Jesus Christ shows himself to be an obedient Jew, subject to the law which He created, we see an explanation of what kind of priest He is. The Christian priesthood, begun by Jesus Christ as the high priest, is the fulfillment and the perfection of the Jewish priesthood. The former was for forgiveness, and the latter is for healing. We look at this beautiful reading of Hebrews which explains these things and also explain why Simeon was waiting for the Messiah to come, and then muse a little bit about how in the midst of such holy occurrences in the temple the world was a seething rotten mess. Hebrews 7:7-17
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm6jik2j-Ac
New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke. A description of the harsh life and persecution under the Turks. We are persuaded of the love of God by living with the love of God in our hearts. The necessity of living in this way. We can expect, and should be prepared for, persecution. God will not allow us to be tried beyond our capacity, but we will be tested. We can endure with patience if we live with God in our hearts.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T3iaw4zxxo