f Jesus Doesn't Fit Into My Life (Sermon May 21, 2017) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-06-04T22:09:23+00:00 Fr. Andrew discusses the idea of Christianity being an important part of life on this Sunday of the Blind Man. Full Article
f The Descent of God in Fire: Pentecost and the Exodus (Sermon June 4, 2017) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-07-06T21:27:52+00:00 With the great feast of Pentecost, Fr. Andrew discusses it as a fulfillment of the Old Testament Exodus from Egypt. Full Article
f Becoming Fishers of Men: A How-To (Sermon June 18, 2017) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-07-06T21:28:46+00:00 Jesus says to His disciples and us: Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. And then He shows us how it's done. Full Article
f A House of Prayer for All Nations By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-08-04T04:51:48+00:00 Preaching at the Antiochian Eastern Dioceses Parish Life Conference, Fr. Andrew addresses the conference theme by discussing the first eight verses of Isaiah 56. Full Article
f Is Faith Like in the Bible Even Possible? (Sermon July 2, 2017) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-08-04T04:53:50+00:00 Using the example of the centurion, who believes that Jesus will heal his servant with just a word, Fr. Andrew asks if that kind of faith is even possible in our own age. Full Article
f Where Does Zeal for God Come From? (Sermon July 9, 2017) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-08-04T04:54:59+00:00 Using Paul's criticism of those who have a "zeal for God, but not according to knowledge," Fr. Andrew discusses various types of that kind of zeal and addresses where the true zeal for God comes from. Full Article
f The Transfiguration as Model for Ministry (Sermon Aug. 6, 2017) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-08-31T18:12:01+00:00 Celebrating the great feast of the Transfiguration of Christ, Fr. Andrew discusses how what we learn from it about Who Jesus is also teaches us about how to do ministry. And he gives one suggestion for applying what we learn. Full Article
f The Birth of a Prophet (Sermon Aug. 20, 2017) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-08-31T18:14:20+00:00 Using the occasion of the feast of the Prophet Samuel, Fr. Andrew tells the story of his birth and connects that with salvation history and with our own lives. Full Article
f A Tale of Two Rich Young Men (Sermon Aug. 27, 2017) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-08-31T18:18:58+00:00 Fr. Andrew talks about Jesus' response to the rich young man on how to gain eternal life and connects it with a piece of 3rd century Church history and with our own lives. Full Article
f Of Course I'm Not Ashamed of Jesus! (Sept. 17, 2017) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-10-07T23:48:51+00:00 Featuring an all-new format for the podcast, Fr. Andrew discusses the Gospel reading where Jesus talks about being ashamed of him and what will happen when he comes again to earth—will he be ashamed of us? What does it mean to be ashamed, anyway? Full Article
f The Age of Taking Church for Granted is Over (Sept. 24, 2017) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-10-07T23:50:17+00:00 Fr. Andrew talks about the religious and irreligious space we now inhabit and draws on the writings of a saint of celebrated on the day, Silouan the Athonite, for a way forward. (Spoiler alert: Our age is more like the apostles' age.) Full Article
f Out of Appalachia: Orthodox Christianity and the Old Regular Baptists By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-12-21T02:43:39+00:00 Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick journeys into the hollers of central Appalachia and encounters one of the least-known forms of American Protestant religion, exploring their faith, their music and one of their churches, through the eyes of an Orthodox priest raised in that tradition. Full Article
f Is the Church a Refuge? (Oct. 22, 2017) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-12-21T02:45:57+00:00 With the Parable of the Sower, Fr. Andrew connects the need for a seed to fall into the ground and die in order to be fruitful with how we thwart that process with a distorted view of the Church, as expressed by Metropolitan Anthony Bloom. Full Article
f Is Our Giving Worthy of Our Calling? (Nov. 26, 2017) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2017-12-21T02:48:12+00:00 Connecting both St. Paul's command to 'walk worthy' of the calling we received with the Gospel account of the rich man who asks Jesus about eternal life, Fr. Andrew takes on the question of how we give to God in our churches. Full Article
f A Christmas More Meaningful Than Magical (Sermon Dec. 25, 2016) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2019-03-24T05:20:46+00:00 In his Nativity sermon, Fr. Andrew discusses how negative experiences at Christmas reveal the feast's true purpose. Full Article
f The Four-Point Spiritual Life (Dec. 31, 2017) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T18:24:45+00:00 Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick focuses on the four phrases in 2 Tim. 4:5 ('Be watchful in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry') and uses that verse as a summary of what it means to be Christian. Full Article
f The Prodigal's Prayer and Repentance: A Single Movement (Feb. 4, 2018) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T21:15:13+00:00 Reflecting on his recent pilgrimage to the Holy Mountain of Athos, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick connects some of the wisdom he heard there with the parable of the Prodigal Son and what that means for our own prayer and repentance. Full Article
f Lent and Judgment are About Jesus (Feb. 11, 2018) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T21:16:36+00:00 With the Sunday of the Last Judgment, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick makes the point that both the question of what we eat during Lent and how we understand the coming Judgment are really about our orientation toward Jesus. Full Article
f Self-Denial Is an Invitation (Mar. 11, 2018) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T21:18:45+00:00 Jesus said that anyone who would come after Him should deny themselves and take up their crosses. We may think this is about doing hard, painful things, but Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick tells us it's actually an invitation. Full Article
f The Triumphal Entry of Christ into the Heart (Apr. 1, 2018) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T21:22:57+00:00 Jesus enters triumphantly into the Holy City of Jerusalem, as celebrated on Palm Sunday. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick relates that to His entry into the Jerusalem that is our hearts and talks about what happens when that occurs. Full Article
f 20 Years of Being Orthodox: 6 Things I've Learned By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T21:26:59+00:00 Reflecting on the 20th anniversary of his reception into the Orthodox Church, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick talks about 6 things that he's learned along the way, most of them things he couldn't quite imagine 20 years ago. Full Article
f Jacob and His Well: Baptism for the Nations (May 6, 2018) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T21:34:29+00:00 Jacob is invoked by the Samaritan Woman who encounters Jesus at the well. What does this father of the Old Testament mean in this conversation and for us who read it? Full Article
f Of Exorcisms and Earthquakes (May 13, 2018) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T21:37:25+00:00 What do an exorcism and an earthquake have in common? What about attempted suicide and mud? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick connects all these together. Full Article
f Pentecost: Christ Has Not Left Us (May 27, 2018) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T21:38:12+00:00 Far from being a substitution at Pentecost, swapping Christ with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit makes Christ present to us for ever. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick meditates on this and related themes. Full Article
f What Do You Believe In: Reaching for the Transcendent on the Streets of New York By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T21:51:07+00:00 Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick and Steven Christoforou take to the streets of Manhattan and ask people what they believe in. What they hear surprised them and might surprise you, too. Full Article
f The Viking and the Fisherman (July 29, 2018). By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T21:53:14+00:00 With the feast of St. Olaf of Norway, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses the Gospel of Peter walking on the water and interprets both in the light of St. Paul's teachings on synergy with God. Full Article
f Engaging with the Non-Orthodox: Reflections with Notes from the Church Fathers By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T21:59:58+00:00 Addressing alumni and seminarians at St. Tikhon's Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, during the year-opening retreat, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick challenges them to have conversations with the non-Orthodox and not to settle for falling into either polemic or compromise, showing how engagement is instead the traditional Orthodox patristic posture. Full Article
f Christianity is Not a Fair Deal (Sept. 30, 2018) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:01:17+00:00 Speaking on 2 Cor. 9:6-11, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses why Christianity isn't a fair exchange and also why we often can't see what God is giving us. Full Article
f You Can't See Heaven If All You Look at is Earth (Dec. 9, 2018) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:05:10+00:00 In Luke 13, Jesus heals a woman bent over for 18 years. Bringing in the commentary of St. Theophylact of Ohrid, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick talks about how this woman is an image of our own souls and how we perceive what is heavenly. Full Article
f False Gods on the Theophany Icon (Jan. 6, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:07:51+00:00 Springboarding off a blog post by Fr. Stephen De Young ('Theophany and the River Gods'), Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses what Theophany means in terms of God's defeat of false religion. Full Article
f The Paralysis of Life on the Go (Apr. 29, 2018) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:09:42+00:00 Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick reflects on a major milestone in his own life—finally living in one home for more than 5 1/2 years—and uses that to explore how life on the go can actually be quite paralyzing. Full Article
f The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand, So How Do I Repent? (Jan. 13, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:10:44+00:00 Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick unpacks the preaching of Christ and John the Forerunner—'Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand'—discussing what all of those terms really mean for everyday Christian life. Full Article
f The Power of Remembering Jesus Christ (Feb. 10, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:12:08+00:00 Memory is powerful. And to a significant degree, it makes us what we are, shapes how we experience life, and influences what we do and say. And the acts of remembering that we engage in further shape us. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses all this in terms of St. Paul's admonition to St. Timothy to remember the risen Jesus Christ. Full Article
f The Prodigal Gets It Both Right and Wrong (Feb. 24, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:13:17+00:00 Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses the parable of the Prodigal Son, how he asks to return as a servant but is instead given sonship, expanding on this theme in terms of the ways in the spiritual life what we desire from God is often not what He is offering. Full Article
f Three Falls of Man and Return to Paradise (Mar. 10, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:14:35+00:00 Looking at the Fall of Man as three distinct 'falls,' Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick uses the major themes of Forgiveness Sunday to discuss making the journey 'backwards' into Paradise. Full Article
f The Annunciation and the Buffered Self (Mar. 24, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:16:36+00:00 Speaking on the Forefeast of the Annunciation, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick describes the feast as being God's answer to the buffered, fenced-in selves that we ironically construct to protect ourselves even while desiring someone to reach out in love. Full Article
f Henry David Thoreau and Mary of Egypt (Apr. 14, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:19:15+00:00 On the Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick compares her journey into the wilderness with a similar journey made in the 19th c. by Henry David Thoreau. What is it that each hoped for by making that journey? Full Article
f The Struggle for Prayer (Apr. 21, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:20:07+00:00 Using one of the major hymns for the feast of Palm Sunday, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick talks about the struggle to pray, how it works and why it's worth doing. Full Article
f St. Joseph of Arimathea: In the World but Not of It (May 12, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:25:33+00:00 The details we know from St. Joseph of Arimathea's participation in his community, including its governance, show him to be a man who was fully in his world but not of it. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses his example and how to apply it ourselves. Full Article
f The Equal of Martyrdom: Fr. Nicola Yanney, Holy Man of Nebraska By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:26:59+00:00 In this special documentary, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick goes on pilgrimage to encounter Fr. Nicola Yanney, an early 20th century Orthodox missionary in America and the first priest ordained by St. Raphael of Brooklyn, whose missionary territory included most of the Great Plains. Join Fr. Andrew as he explores the life of this holy man through interviews, research and prayer in Kearney, Nebraska, asking the question: Is Fr. Nicola a saint? Included with this documentary are 9 bonus tracks of extra interviews and other material that was not included in the main documentary. Full Article
f St Columba and the Water of Artbranan (June 9, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:28:04+00:00 On the feast of St. Columba of Iona, Fr. Andrew shares a scene from his life in which a pagan's baptism changes a piece of the world. He also shares another incident from the saint's life in which he uses his prophetic gift to help two men into the Kingdom of Heaven. Full Article
f History is Necessary for Christianity (July 7, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:33:52+00:00 Using St. Paul's comments about the Law of Moses in Gal. 3-4 especially in light of the Apostolic Council of Acts 15, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick argues that history is not just important for the Christian but actually necessary to Christian theology. Full Article
f Which God Are You Sacrificing To? (July 21, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:37:20+00:00 Using St. Paul's language about 'zeal not according to knowledge' (Rom. 10:2), Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick points out that our zeal is often for sacrificing to false gods, even when we may not see it that way, and gives direction on how to redirect that zeal for sacrifice toward the one true God Jesus Christ. Full Article
f We Are Training Ourselves for Selfishness (Aug. 4, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:39:04+00:00 Every day, we make hundreds of small choices that train us for selfishness. How does that affect our behavior, and how do we train ourselves to be like Christ instead? Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick explores some of our everyday experiences and what they mean for eternity. Full Article
f Feed Your God or Be Fed By God (Aug. 11, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:40:27+00:00 Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick compares the account of the Prophet Daniel and the idol Bel (Baal) in the Old Testament to the Feeding of the 5000 in the New. What does it mean when we have to feed our gods? Full Article
f The Acceptable Year of the Lord (Sept. 1, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:41:25+00:00 With the Church New Year (the Indiction), Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick discusses why the Church set Sept. 1 as its new year and also what time means for the Christian and how we use it for our growth in the knowledge of God. Full Article
f Freedom from False Gods to Worship the One True God (Sept. 8, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:43:04+00:00 Using the images of the Exodus, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick shows how the Hebrews were freed from slavery not just to the Egyptians but to their gods. And with that freedom, they worship the one true God by using the Ark of the Covenant within the Tabernacle, prefigurations of the Holy Theotokos, whose Nativity is being celebrated. Full Article
f A Star of Hope (Sept. 29, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:44:39+00:00 Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick asks: Is it any wonder that, since the shaping of the world into order from formlessness and void in Genesis was begun with a light shining in the darkness, that the coming of Christ into this broken world of chaos and horror would also be begun with a star shining in the darkness? Full Article
f The Visitation of God (Oct 6, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:47:03+00:00 Speaking on the raising of the son of the widow of Nain, Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick gives us the 'backstory' on what it means when God visits His people and about how we can be prepared for this visitation. Full Article
f Christ the Cheerful Giver (Oct. 20, 2019) By www.ancientfaith.com Published On :: 2020-01-23T22:50:21+00:00 'God loves a cheerful giver.' We might take that as an ironic thing to say, especially since we usually don't feel like giving -- especially our money. Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick opens up what this 'cheerfulness' is about and Who it comes from and why. Full Article