for

Forgiveness and the Great Fast (Matthew 6:14-21)

On the day before the beginning of Great Lent, the Church teaches us that our journey of repentance begins with offering forgiveness. Fr Tom reminds us that forgiveness is the essential action to grow in the likeness of God, because it is what He freely offers to us. (Forty-first Sunday after Pentecost - Forgiveness Sunday)




for

The Vision for Our Parish (Romans 15:1-7)

The New Testament epistles as well as the Divine Liturgy constantly encourage us to be of one mind because we are members of the Body of Christ and of one another. Fr Tom used today's epistle reading as an opportunity to encourage his parishioners to develop oneness with each other in order to achieve parish goals. (Seventh Sunday after Pentecost)




for

Hungering for God (Luke 15:11-32) Prodigal Son

The parable of the Prodigal Son is a powerful image of our returning to God and the Father's rich mercy in restoring us. Fr Tom reminds us that we must be able both to admit that we have separated ourselves from God's life and have the deep desire to return to the riches of His Kingdom.




for

Forgiveness: A Divine Act (Mt 6:14-21)

On the last Sunday of preparation before we begin the Great Fast, the Church calls us to offer and receive forgiveness from everyone. Fr Tom reminds us that we are commanded to forgive precisely because this action allows us to participate in and experience the Divine Life of God Himself.




for

Conditions for True Worship (John 4:5-42)

We fully experience the joy of the Resurrection when we worship God during the divine services. Fr Tom reminds us that, by the Holy Spirit, the Kingdom of God is manifested to us when we know in truth who God is and who we are. (Sunday of the Samaritan Woman)




for

Light for the Darkness (Mt 3:13-17)

On the great feast of Theophany, God shines the light of the Truth, in the person of Christ, to the whole world. Fr Tom reminds us that we also are individually given the gift of this light through our renewal, by virtue of our baptism.




for

It is Time for the Lord to Act (Luke 4:16-22)

Time is both an inescapable reality and a gift of God full of promise. On the Church New Year, Fr Thomas reminds us that God takes the finite time of each day and redeems it to become an experience of the Kingdom of God for us.




for

Words of Encouragement for Great Lent (Mt 6:14-21)

Lent is a time of great anticipation as we move toward the celebration of Christ's holy Pascha. But Fr Thomas reminds us that it is also a preparation for our entire Christian life, where we face the challenges of increased prayer, fasting and almsgiving and in turn, learn much about our true selves. (Forgiveness Sunday)




for

Encouragement for Holy Week (John 12:1-18)

Orthodox Christians around the world will embark upon the most important time of the year, Holy Week, leading to the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. Fr Thomas reminds us that Holy Week is our opportunity to experience the value of Christ above all things in our life. (Palm Sunday)




for

Preparing for Judgment, Preparing for Pascha (Mt 25:31-46)

On Meatfare Sunday we commemorate the Last Judgment, when Christ returns to His creation to judge the world and redeem His people. Fr Thomas reminds us that our fasting is related to the Judgment. As we fast to prepare for Pascha, the Lord's resurrection is the first sign of our resurrection and the coming Judgment.




for

A Ransom for Many (Mark 10:32-45)

With the words, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem," the Lord Jesus Christ invites all of us to journey with Him to His Passion. Fr Thomas teaches us that the ransom that Christ freely pays on our behalf saves us from sin and death, but also allows us to freely follow Him.




for

Preparing for Holy Week (John 12:1-18)

The celebration of Palm Sunday is juxtaposed against the dark events that we experience in the life of Christ during Holy Week. Fr Thomas reminds us that our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem is an example of having the "peace from above" even if you're marching to the Cross.




for

We're All Responsible For The Church (I Cor 16:13-24)

Bishops and priests are most accountable before God for the state of the church. But Fr Thomas reminds us that all of us share responsibility for our church communities and gives practical advice on how to remain faithful and focused.




for

The Church Isn't Just for Your Kind of People (Mt 15:21-28)

Christ crossed over a border to hear the pleas of the Canaanite woman and heal her daughter. But more than a story about a healing, Fr Thomas delivers an important lesson about the makeup of the Church that every parish and every parishioner needs to hear: The Church isn't just for your kind of people.




for

Cooperating With God For Growth (Jn 5:1-15)

Jesus's question to the paralytic, "Do you want to be made well?" is at the heart of our Christian life. Fr Thomas explains the important doctrine of synergy, or cooperation with God, as the key to our daily growth in life, faith, and spiritual understanding.




for

Practicing for the Last Judgment

The Great Day of the Lord, the Last Judgment, when Christ appears in glory, will come suddenly upon all of humanity. Fr Thomas reminds us that every time we gather together in church to be in the presence of God, the angels, the saints, and one another, we're practicing for that last and great day when we will answer for every deed. (Mt 25:31-46)




for

How God Forgives

When we hear the story of the Prodigal Son, our focus is often on the actions of the son in his return to the father. Fr Thomas emphasizes from the same story, that we can also learn much about the nature of God, how He is eager to forgive us with abundant mercy, and how He wants everyone in the community to share in His joy. (Luke 15:11-32)




for

The Church's Teaching Isn't Up for a Vote

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers comes at an important point in the life of Christ, only days before his crucifixion. Jesus reveals the Scribes and Pharisees to be those who rejected the message of the prophets, and now they're going to kill God's Son. Fr Thomas reminds us that, in our own day, those who reject the message and the messengers by choosing the world's lies about God and humanity over the truth we receive in the Church commit the same grave error. (Matthew 21:33-44)




for

The Power of Forgiveness

In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Jesus illustrates the consequences of unforgiveness. Fr Thomas teaches us that it is the God of love, mercy, and compassion who commands us to forgive and warns us of the judgment to come if we do not.




for

How Do I Find the Will of God for My Life?

Christians are called to live in the will of God, but how do we find it? Fr Thomas teaches us that living in the will of God means identifying with God's Kingdom and not with the values of this fallen world.




for

Inconvenient Love for the Lord

On the Sunday of the Holy Myrrhbearers, we hear of the courage and love demonstrated by the men and women who cared for the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fr Thomas reminds us that this is also a powerful reminder that we must never succumb to the disrespectful practice of cremation because we deeply care for the body that God created and will raise from the dead.




for

Foretasting the Kingdom of God in the Church

Is the Kingdom of God some far away concept of heaven? Dn. Luke shares with us the tools the Church has provided to live as citizens in the Kingdom of God here and now as well as how to joyfully prepare for the fullness of the Kingdom at Christ's second coming.




for

Is it Easier to be Healed or to be Forgiven? (Mark 2:1-12)

In a powerful message on the value of faith, Fr Thomas reminds us that forgiveness is the most important healing we'll ever receive.




for

Forgiveness Is Greater Than Fasting

Leading into the Great Fast, Fr. Tom urgently calls us to remember that all of the fasting in the world is useless if we neglect the weightier matters.




for

Transformation and Growth

Fr. Tom discusses how the Christian life consists of personal transformation and a deep urgency to bring others into the fold.




for

An Invitation to Transformation (Dn John Skowron)

Join Deacon John Skowron in today's discussion. What are we withholding from God's will? Are we making time for Christ in our lives?




for

The God Who Searches for Us

The story of Zacchaeus teaches us that God does everything possible, including becoming a man, to seek our union with Him. (Luke 19:1-10) 37th Sunday after Pentecost




for

Ready for God

Fr. Gregory speaks about the feast of the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple.




for

Waiting for God

The aged Simeon and the prophetess Hannah were so incredibly blessed to behold the infant Christ, 40 days after his birth, and receive him into the Temple in Jerusalem.




for

Holy Forefathers

Fr. Gregory gives a sermon by Fr. Andrew Phillips on the Sunday of the Forefathers.




for

His Mercy Endures Forever

This is the fulfilment of our divine vocation on earth ... to be the people of the covenant, ever relating to the trustworthy God with loving faith and to all people with that very self-same love with which He both loves us and loves all.




for

Before Thy Cross

The Cross turns all our expectations on their heads; this is God, who is also fully human, suffering and showing utter love to His creatures.




for

Come Forth

Fr. Gregory preaches on the raising of Lazarus from the dead and the significance of the power of the Logos to create life.




for

Christ Offers His Love, Forgiveness and Healing

Forgiveness is waiting for us NOW when we turn to Christ. Use the help that is available and let us carry each other in love and prayer as we all strive to a greater perfection.




for

Therefore Be Merciful

When we are commanded by our Lord to be merciful even as our Heavenly Father is merciful this means that we must try by an entire reliance on God and His grace to become in this world as God is in this world, merciful.




for

Spot Changes for a Leopard

Let us take hope that, acquainted as we are with our sin and weakness, God can make a wonderful work of glory from the raw material of our brokenness.




for

Zeal for the Lord

Fr. Gregory preaches on the healthy and unhealthy forms of zeal.




for

Be Comforted

Deacon Emmanuel Kahn gives the sermon today from the Gospel of St. Luke, chapter 13.




for

Lazarus Come Forth

Deacon Emmanuel Kahn preaches on the raising of Lazarus.




for

Reach Out . . . for the Angelic Choir

Dn. Emmanuel speaks about St. Basil and the first of the year.




for

Forgiveness Changes Everything

Fr. Dn. Emmanuel Kahn gives the sermon on Forgiveness.




for

The Transformation of Suffering

Fr. Gregory introduces a guest preacher today who talks about the pattern of redemption: the Lord heals the soul and then the body.




for

The Holy Trinity: A Life for Our Lives

Let us make the sign of the cross, and invite the Presence of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit into our lives—into our hopes and our fears. God already knows those hopes and fears, but sometimes He waits for us to share our lives with Him privately, to be honest with Him, so that He can then be honest with us, through revealing some of the fullness of Himself to each of us.




for

Become a Witness for Christ

Fr. Emmanuel Kahn gives the sermon on the Feast of All Saints and encourages us to follow the example of the great "Cloud of Witnesses."




for

Light For All

Christ was born to save us, but what does that actually mean?




for

God Shines Forth

Fr. Christopher is the preacher today and examines the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord.




for

By, For, and To: The Prepositions of Salvation

We are not saved by good works. We are saved by grace for good works. We do good works not only for Christ but also to Christ. Such are the prepositions of salvation: "by", "for" and "to."




for

Suffering for Me

Fr. Gregory from Palm Sunday.




for

Forgiven, Now Forgiving

Fr. Emmanuel Kahn and Fr. Gregory Hallam speak to both the adults and children about the importance of forgiveness.




for

Striving for Holiness

Fr. Gregory and Fr. Emmanuel team up to preach on St. Paul's admonishment to "put off the old nature and put on the new nature."