Fr. John Whiteford preaches from Colossians 2:6-15.

Looking at verse 13 of Matthew 6, Fr. John Whiteford concludes his series of the Lord's Prayer.

Fr. John Whiteford talks about distractions during Great Lent.

Fr. John Whiteford reminds his congregation to turn to the lives of the Russian martyrs for inspiration to stay strong in the faith.

Fr. John Whiteford continues discussing Psalm 65, reminds the congregation about joy and suffering.

Fr. John Whiteford reminds us why God hears the prayers of the repentant.

Fr. John Whiteford discusses the lives of Sennacherib and Hezekiah from passages 2 Kings 18:1-19:37 and Isaiah 36:1-37:38.

Fr. John presents the first of a brief series of homilies on Psalm 67.

Fr. John Whiteford uses the life of New Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth to encourage the listeners to live a life of perseverance in the faith. Nothing is won without struggle and sacrifice.

Fr. John Whiteford reflects on the miracle of the feeding of the multitudes, reminding us that God provides heavenly food for us.

Fr. John Whiteford encourages us with the words of Psalm 26:1-6.

Fr. John Whiteford relates the story of the Martyrs Michael and Theodore of Chernigov.

Fr. John Whiteford preaches from Psalm 18:7-14.

Fr. John Whiteford preaches from Ephesians 5:15-16.

Fr. John Whiteford prepares us as we enter the Triodion period.

Fr. John Whiteford commemorates the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian. (1 John 3:18-24)

Fr. John Whiteford recounts the significance of the family life in making saints.

Fr. John Whiteford explains the purpose and importance of the Hymns of Ascent. Psalm 119 is featured.

In the context of Mark 8:34 and Matthew 7:13-14, Fr. John Whiteford discusses how churches should be places of moral challenge, rather than marketing ploys.

Fr. John Whiteford discusses Israel through the lens of Romans 11:1-5,16-29.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from September 22, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from October 13, 2024.

This season of The Nativity, or Advent, is busy for us. Preparation is our watch-word, but too often our attention is co-opted by the commercial side of things– shopping, gatherings, tree trimming. How do we find the space and time we need to truly prepare our hearts for the feast?

We’ve all heard about helicopter parents. I’m more of a lawnmower parent. I want to make straight the paths before my kids. I do not want to see them hurt. And of course, that’s natural– no parent wants to see their child injured– but when I make the path so straight and the field so even that they do not seem to engage the “struggle” then I’ve gone too far. How do we teach our children to embrace the struggles of life, to see the beauty and the reward in it?

In this reading from Angela’s latest book, “The Wilderness Journal: 365 days with the Philokalia” she explores the reality of what brings color to our lives.

As we move close to glorious Pascha, Angela takes a few moments to reflect on the common threads between Poetry, Liturgy, and Holy Week.

The prayer of St. Ephraim is a familiar one for Orthodox Christians, especially during Lent. This season offers us the chance to practice the prayer and to come face to face with our own inner “construction” as we come closer to Pascha. What roads are we paving? What bridges are we building?

In troubled times, some people turn to binge watching television shows, some to food, some to drink. Angela turns to poetry. In this episode we explore how poetry and Liturgy intersect because in a technology laden, short attention, sound bite driven world we are often unaware of the deep poetry and lasting peace that Liturgy offers.

The Roman Centurion, a Gentile, shows more faith than all of Israel, according to the Lord's observation. How is it an "outsider" without all the benefits of centuries of religious education can see more clearly than the whole of israel shaped by centuries of examples and theology? Turns out being an insider is no guarantee that you won't end up outside!

The message of the Cross is God's invitation to you and me to break the destructive patterns of our lives and embrace the wise pattern of Purgation, Illumination, and Union in a perpetual growth and maturity pattern of becoming like Christ! It is a pattern that gives life instead of the slavery of the destructive patterns of selfish living!

There wasn't a Jew within the sound of Jesus' voice when He said if any man would be my disciple, he must take up his cross... You see, there's only one use for a cross, and that's for an execution. The Christian message invites us not only to follow Christ but to die to everything that isn't like Christ in our lives. That's what it means to "bear your cross!"

The Gadarene Demoniac was possessed by a "Legion" of demons. His spirit was so fractured and divided that he was not only his own worst enemy, but he was a threat to all around him.

On the Sunday of the Synaxis of the Archangels, we confront the challenge of hearing the Message from the Messengers of God. But to be able to hear, we must first want to hear. Do you want to hear what the Messenger says to the Churches?

On the Third Sunday of Pascha we are called to remember the healing of the Paralytic 38 years sick. Jesus asks him a question and confronts him with a command: "Do you WANT to be healed?" and "Take up your pallet and walk." The power of desire and obedience challenges us to allow the grace of God to transfigure our past from a burden to a badge of grace and mercy.

On this Forgiveness Sunday, the Church draws our attention to a passage in Matthew's Gospel that offers us a Warning, some Wisdom, and the Way! Entering Great Lent without these insights will hamper your ability to truly celebrate the Resurrection. Suffice it to say it has everything to do with being forgiven and extending forgiveness!

Every year before Great Lent we hear the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee. But each year we should. All because it is so easy to allow the Power, Purpose, and Perspective of Great Lent to be lost in either a mere religious habit or, worse yet, total disregard. And that's because we humans are so very vulnerable to hiding from the truth that we need God and His transformative Presence to continually make us like Him.

When Jesus shares the parable of the man who invited his friends to a banquet and they all made excuses as to why they couldn't come, the Lord put's these words in the man's mouth: "None of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet." When God invites you to be at His Banquet, will you make an excuse?

Father's homily today deals with the invitation to "Come and See." This is a dynamic and involved participation in the living out of the Faith. This is a purposeful Orthodoxy that demands not mere observance but actual practice of our faith. Tow men answer two different questions with "Come and See" and today we are invited to find out why!

St. Paul warns the Corinthians not to receive the grace of God in vain.

On the Sunday of St. Gregory of Palamas we celebrate the wisdom of the Orthodox Faith to marry the physical and the spiritual and escape the false dichotomy of the created and the Uncreated. In other words, no more cubbyholing our lives into the sacred and the secular!

On this Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, the Lord Jesus gives us an insight into a sober and humble way of life. But our world is intoxicated by anger and fear, and all our choices are hampered by anger and fear. What's the way out? The Way of Repentance.

On Forgiveness Sunday we remember Adam and Eve being sent out of the Garden of Eden. Why? For Punishment? The answer may surprise you!

On the first Sunday of Great Lent the Church calls us to recall the victory of Orthodoxy over the heresy of an invisible God! Now that God has become visible for our sake, we are invited to Come and See!

As this site slowly crumbles and falls apart, it’s about time I made a small announcement as to where you can find me. 99% of my audience should know I’ve already moved to Detailed.com and Gaps.com, but if you didn’t, then here we are. I’m secretly hoping this might go out to some RSS feeds […]

The post I No Longer Blog Here: Please Join Me on Detailed.com and Gaps.com appeared first on ViperChill.

Michael speaks to the layman about the way we see ourselves in the structure of the Church.

If we are honest, we will all admit that we struggle from time to time with doubt. Michael reflects on that reality and helps us understand the meaning of doubt as well as faith.

Michael says all deep and lasting stories, truth or mythical, are echoes or reflections of the true story of The Greatest Story Ever Told.