In this homily from 2008 preached on the Feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste (which was also Forgiveness Sunday), Fr. Pat reminds us of the great cloud of witnesses surrounding us. The text is Hebrews 12:1-10.

Both Saint Paul and Faust, the man who sells his soul to the devil, have something to say about faith, hope, and patience. Fr. Pat considers the great divide between these two men.

The 9th chapter of the Gospel of Mark opens with the account of the Transfiguration, then is immediately followed by the the story of Jesus healing a boy possessed by an unclean spirit, a spirit which Jesus’ disciples were unable to cast out. Fr. Pat makes three observations about faith which we can learn from this story. The painting Fr. Pat refers to is The Transfiguration by Rafael.

On the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Fr. Pat reminds us that the Cross ought to be the lens through which we examine every question and regard every problem; it is what gives godly shape to the Christian life.

Elder Porphyrios has been recognized as a saint! Are the rest of us called to be saints, too?

We all struggle with doubt sometimes. Is that a problem, or something that can help our faith?

Coming together with amazing Orthodox Christians from across the country is a powerful reminder that there's no "me" in "bee."

It's a brand new year, a chance to look back on where we've struggled and look ahead to how we can improve. How can we draw closer to God in 2015, and share Him with the world?

Faith needs to be something we put into action. A wonderful example of this is the life and person of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. The Christian Faith teaches the equality of all people—and Dr King acted on that belief.

"On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18) You'll never look at this Bible quote, or the Church, in the same way again. Hell isn't invading the Church; instead, the Church is invading Hell. Christ has broken down the gates of Hell, and our job as Christians is to join Him in bringing light to even the darkest corners of existence.

Faith is often treated as a secret, private thing. But if we really believe that we know the way to eternal life in Christ, would we really keep that hidden from others?

Is faith alone enough to save us? Father Barnabas Powell, an Orthodox priest and former Protestant, joins Steve to consider this important question.

Christians don't need to be afraid of Halloween. We can celebrate it as a day for fun, friends, and family, and use it as a chance to grow closer to God and each other.

Recognizing National Bullying Prevention Month

"O Gregory the Miracle Worker, light of Orthodoxy, support and teacher of the Church, comeliness of Monastics, invincible defender of theologians, the pride of Thessalonica, and preacher of grace, intercede forever that our souls may be saved." (Apolytikion for the Sunday of Saint Gregory Palamas) Is it possible to know God? How could a perfect God have anything to do with His imperfection creation? These are some of the questions Saint Gregory Palamas faced in the 14th century. And they're questions the Church faces today. We dedicate the Second Sunday of Great Lent to this important saint because he taught an important theological truth that's at the core of the Christian life: That God is both knowable in His Energies and unknowable in His Essence. And this mystery is shown to us when Jesus heals the paralytic in Mark 2. As always, we've prepared a FREE downloadable workbook to help you act on what you'll learn: https://mailchi.mp/goarch/bethebee170

“I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9: 24) We often think of faith as meaning either "certainty" (confidence that some idea is true) or "religiosity" (participation in a group's activities). But the Fourth Sunday of Great Lent is dedicated to Saint John Climacus, and the top rung of his "Ladder of Divine Ascent" describes faith. The Church presents faith in much deeper terms than we often admit. We'll learn by looking at how Abraham was faithful to God, while the disciples weren't. Because real faith is about placing ourselves in God's hands. As always, we've prepared a FREE downloadable workbook (https://mailchi.mp/goarch/bethebee172) to help you act on what you'll learn. You'll find a coupon code for "Effective Christian Ministry" in this week's workbook.

“If you cross the Jordan, you will find glorious rest.” (Life of Saint Mary of Egypt) Jesus tells us that He came to shed His blood and "give His life as a ransom for many.” But what exactly does that mean? What does the Orthodox Church teach about atonement? We're going to learn about the redemption and atonement that Jesus offers us. And this redemption isn't simply *from* something, but also *for* something. And Saint Mary of Egypt (who we celebrate on the Fifth Sunday of Great Lent) is a perfect example of what that looks like. Christ saves us *from* sin and death so we can be *free* to live as Christians, loving and serving both God and neighbor. As always, we've prepared a FREE downloadable workbook to help you act on what you'll learn. https://mailchi.mp/goarch/bethebee173

Guest: On this day before US "Tax day," Fr. Michael Tassos and Kevin discuss the role of money and finance (and financial planning) in the Orthodox Christian life. Fr. Michael is a Senior Priest and Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Kevin Allen's guest is Fr. Barnabas Powell, a former Pentecostal pastor and now an Orthodox priest. On this show, they take questions on doubts and struggles in our faith. What do we do when our faith wavers?

Kevin's guest is Fr. John Parker, the Chair of the Department of Evangelization in the Orthodox Church in America (OCA). How does the Orthodox Church "do" evangelism and what do we need to do better to introduce people to Christ and His Church?

Kevin's guest is Dn. Michael Hyatt, former Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers and the host of the AFR podcast "At the Intersection of East and West."

Amir Azarvan, progressive economic political science lecturer at Kennesaw State University and William Hinkle (SbDn Basil), Minority Whip in the Washington state house, speak about how their shared Orthodox faith has shaped some very different political thinking.

Kevin talks with five-time Emmy Award-winning actor Jonathan Jackson—who can currently be seen on the ABC primetime drama Nashville—about his faith journey to the Eastern Orthodox Church, how he balances his faith life with his daytime job, and why he gave a public "shout out" to the monks of Holy Mount Athos when he received his recent Emmy Award!

Elissa D. Bjeletich, author of In God's Hands - A Mother's Journey Through Her Infant's Critical Illness as well as the AFR podcast Raising Saints, and Elizabeth White, author of Following A Sacred Path - Raising Godly Children, join host Kevin Allen to discuss how to develop the spiritual nature of children and raise them to love and experience God.

Kevin's first guests were Fr. Hans Jacobse, President of the American Orthodox Institute, and Dr. John Mark Reynolds, philosopher, author, and newly appointed Provost of Houston Baptist University. The subject was The New Atheists and their claims against Christianity

One of the great evils of all times is slavery and in this time human trafficking. Unknown to many an Antiochian Orthodox Christian has dedicated his life to educating the public and ending this evil practice. In this episode host Kevin Allen speaks about human trafficking with Tony Nassif Jr, the President of the Cedars Cultural and Educational Foundation. He also produces national Preventing Abuse Conferences which focuses on preventing human trafficking and child abduction.

In both of these Gospels St. Peter gets out of the boat. Would you? Matthew 14:22-34, John 21:7

How great is your faith? Smaller than a poppy seed? Then bring the problem to The Lord and God and Saviour Jesus Christ and He and you can move all sorts of mountains together. Matthew 17: 14-23 The healing of the moon-stuck boy.

In this inaugural episode, Fr. Philip says that Saint Paul talks about faith as an endurance race where the Lord is the starter and finisher of the race.

How to become a Saint. Focus on Jesus Christ.

Yuk! Horrible people from horrible places! Acts 11: 19 - 30, John 4: 5- 42

What sort of person becomes a saint and what do they all have in common? Hebrews 11: 33 - 12:2, Matthew 10: 32 - 38, 19: 27 - 30

The Requirements of the Law written upon their hearts. ROMANS 2:10-16 MATTHEW 4:18-23

And His Righteousness and all this will be added to you. Romans 5: 1- 10, Matthew 6: 22- 33.

Galatians 6:11-18, John 3:13-17 The Exultation of the Cross.

Second Sunday in Great Lent. The Sunday of the Paralysed Man. Hebrews 1:10-2:3, Mark 2:1-12

Mark 9:17-31 And the Lord will lift you up too.

Conversion copywriters follow a simple 3-step process to get the ‘yes’ in email campaigns: First, they dive deep into understanding their audience, figuring out exactly what makes them tick. Then, they craft emails that are not just engaging but hit right at the heart of the reader's needs and desires. Every word is fine-tuned for clarity and impact. Finally, they test and tweak, ensuring the message not only resonates but also drives real action.

The post How To Write Emails: The Conversion Copywriter’s Approach appeared first on Coaching and training to scale your copywriting business, plus programs for new copywriters, startups, and marketers.

“We have 0% customer churn.” – said no SaaS marketer ever. Instead, what I hear all the time is: “If only we could keep growing without churn growing with us.” “If only we could get new trials to actually USE the product, they’ll see how great it is.” And even this story someone shared on […]

The post I spent 60+ hours analyzing onboarding emails for 127 SaaS trials. This is how the top SaaS retain users. appeared first on Coaching and training to scale your copywriting business, plus programs for new copywriters, startups, and marketers.

Today, I sit down with the Head of Deliverability at ConvertKit, Alyssa Dulin, to shed some light on the often mysterious game of getting your email into the right inbox. Alyssa’s expertise about what creators need to focus on and the most recent developments in the email marketing space can truly take your company’s reach […]

Now when you search for restaurants on Google Local (formerly Google Maps), you get details about the restaurant (location, food, reviews) along with its location. (example)

There sure are a lot -- everything from ZipCars to urinals.

You could also buy equipment to extend it into your house. (proposal)