Displaying 61 - 90 of 181 in total
Spiritual Gifts Being Used With Love
We began today by addressing the division among members of the church in Corinth. We then moved to where Paul speaks about spiritual gifts and emphasized that these gi...
Do Not Be Anxious - Dealing with Anxiety & Anxiety Disorders
Today’s reading led us into a discussion about anxiety in general, as well as anxiety disorders. Fr Aaron shared with us his own story of dealing with an anxiety disor...
Give Expecting No Return & Love Your Enemies
Today we discussed some practical implications of Jesus’ teaching to give and lend without expecting anything in return. We began by discussing the meaning of financia...
Paul at the Areopagus
Today we discussed Paul's defense of his faith at the Areopagus. We highlighted the radical nature of Paul's teaching, one that was at first both foreign and "foolish"...
Acts 15 and the Old Testament
Today, in discussing the decisions made at the "Council of Jerusalem" in Acts 15, we highlighted the importance of the Old Testament to the early Christian community. ...
The Reception of Communion & Biblical Teaching
Today we discuss Jesus talking about being "the bread of life" and instructing His disciples to "eat [His] flesh." We tried to discern what Jesus means by looking back...
The Funeral Gospel and the Judgment
Today’s discussion revolved around the passage from John 5 that is read at every Orthodox Christian funeral service, which distinguishes between those "who have done g...
Paul's Warning to the Corinthians
During Lent we will be re-running some of our most popular episodes. This week is a re-run of Week 53, in which we discussed the context of the Epistles to the Corinth...
Justification Is Just the Beginning
During Lent we will be re-running some of our most popular episodes. This week is a re-run of Week 51, in which we discuss what it means to be “justified.” Fr Aaron ex...
Homily on Ukraine & Russia
This week we are sharing Fr Aaron's homily on the current war in Ukraine. Fr Aaron focuses on how we can often overlook or demonize those we see as enemies and invites...
In The Beginning Was The Word
During Lent we will be re-running some of our most popular episodes. This week is a re-run of Week 28, in which we discuss why John 1 is read at Pascha rather than an ...
Why Does Jesus Teach In Parables?
During Lent we will be re-running some of our most popular episodes. This week is a re-run of Week 49, in which we examined the role of parables in Scripture. We began...
Food Does Not Commend Us To God
Right before we begin the Lenten fasting season, the Orthodox Church appoints a reading from St Paul that begins: "Brethren, food does not commend us to God." We discu...
Are We The Prodigal Son?
In analyzing the parable of the Prodigal Son, Fr Aaron argues that most of us should identify more with the faithful son. After explaining why this is the case, we dis...
The Publican & Pharisee
The parable of the Publican & Pharisee is appointed at a pivotal time in the Orthodox Church. By discussing the historical reputation of each of these characters and t...
The Meeting of the Lord in the Temple
The Orthodox Church today celebrates the great feast of The Meeting of the Lord in the Temple. The feast, on the 40th day of Christmas, commemorates Christ being prese...
Chief Among Sinners
We discuss St Paul's reference to himself as "chief among sinners," and how we each confess ourselves to be not only sinners, but the "chief" among them. How can this ...
Jesus Christ The Same Forever
In discussing Hebrews 13:7-16, we noted the importance of Jesus' teaching being of eternal value. We further highlighted how the traditions and practices under the Old...
The Beloved Disciple & Jesus' Napkin
In discussing our reading from John 20, we highlighted the importance of understanding Scripture as literature, and clarified this does not imply that Scripture is not...
Church Hierarchy as "Overseers"
Based on our reading from 1 Timothy 3:1-13, we discussed the qualifications of the clergy, and how their primarily role is as "overseers," who themselves have no autho...
The Importance of Endurance
Jesus said: "By your endurance you will gain your lives." We discussed the importance and value of endurance in the Christian spiritual life. We also highlighted what ...
The Importance of Thanksgiving
With most Americans celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, we discussed the central theme of thanksgiving as part of the Divine Liturgy. We then discussed the need for Chr...
Leave The Dead To Bury Their Own Dead
Today we discuss three different men who wish to follow Jesus and Jesus' comments to them. We note the similarities to the Parable of the Great Supper, and how the exc...
To Whom Much Is Given, Much Will Be Required
“Everyone to whom much is given, of him will much be required.” We discussed this passage from two angles. First, those who have been given much in this life have a gr...
No Pain, No Gain: Suffering for Christ
We discuss the implications of what it means to "have been granted for the sake of Christ to suffer." In short, if we never suffer, then we do not have the opportunity...
The Sending of the Seventy
In today’s episode we discussed the significance of the seventy apostles that are mentioned explicitly in Luke’s Gospel and how they also relate to the twelve disciple...
God's Commandments vs. Our Natural Instincts
We discuss the sharp contrasts between God's commandments as taught by Jesus and our natural human instincts. We explored how the acts of initiation (i.e. circumcision...
The Sermon on the Plain
We discuss several key aspects of the sermon on the plain, including the deeper meaning of the location of the sermon, the use of the term Son of Man, and the number (...
Galilee & The Great Commission
Jesus gave the "Great Commission" to go forth and baptize the nations from Galilee. Today, we discussed why it is significant that Jesus gave this command in the same ...
Godly Grief vs. Worldly Grief
Today’s episode briefly recounted I Corinthians, in which Paul attempts to deal with the notion that salvation has been fully received without recognizing that repenta...