Category: Bible

  • Gospel Reading

    Today’s reading is the story of the Nativity of St John the Forerunner. LUKE 1:1-25, 57-68, 76, 80Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word,…

  • Epistle Reading

    ROMANS 13:11-14; 14:1-4Brethren, salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed; the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not…

  • Nativity of St John the Forerunner

    The phrase “St John the Forerunner” is different than the usual phrase “John the Baptist” used by Protestants. John was the one that came before Christ and announced His Coming was here. He appears at the beginning of the Gospel of St Mark. St Mark 1:2-8 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I…

  • This Generation

    MATTHEW 11:16-20 The Lord said, “To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, ‘We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.’ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’;…

  • John the Forerunner in Prison

    Gospel reading for today MATTHEW 11:2-15At that time, when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, “Are you he who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:…

  • Explaining the Gospel

    Father Stephen DeYoung Explains the Gospel to Gavin Ortlund The Nicene Creed Biblical Correlation

  • The Eucharist Explained

    Fr Jonathan Ivanoff explains the Eucharist to Pastor Tommy

  • God Hardens Those He Will

    The Epistle reading for today is ST. PAUL’S LETTER TO THE ROMANS 9:18-33 Brethren, God has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens the heart of whomever he wills. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, a man, to…

  • The Protestant Dilemma (Refined)

    Protestantism affirms Sola Scriptura: Scripture alone is the sole infallible rule of faith and practice. No tradition, council, pope, or individual interpretation possesses infallible authority. All human reception, tradition, and interpretation of Scripture is fallible by definition. The Church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim 3:15): Scripture itself declares that the…

  • Water Baptism and John 3

    Cyprian of Carthage AD 258 Since it is written, “Except a man be born again of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”. And therefore it behoves those to be baptized who come from heresy to the Church, that so they who are prepared, in the lawful, and true,…

  • The Torah and Sacrifices

    There are 613 commandments (mitzvot) in the Torah, according to traditional Jewish teaching. According to Maimonides in his Sefer HaMitzvot, about 100 of the 613 commandments directly concern sacrifices (korbanot). This excludes roughly another 50 commandments related to the Temple structure, priesthood duties, and related matters (which may indirectly involve or enable sacrifices but are…

  • Men’s Book Club

    Our Men’s group finished Fr Andrews Stephen’s book on St Ignatius of Antioch. Ignatius of Antioch (/ɪɡˈneɪʃəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἰγνάτιος Ἀντιοχείας, romanized: Ignátios Antiokheías; died c. 108/140), also known as Ignatius Theophorus (Ἰγνάτιος ὁ Θεοφόρος, Ignátios ho Theophóros, ‘the God-bearing’), was an early Christian writer and Patriarch of Antioch. While en route to Rome, where he met his martyrdom, Ignatius wrote a series of letters. This correspondence forms a central…

  • Neophyte in the Orthodox Church

    In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the term “neophyte” (from the Greek neophytoi, meaning “newly planted”) refers to a newly baptized and chrismated (confirmed) Christian — someone who has recently been received into the full life of the Church through the sacraments of initiation.Unlike the Roman Catholic tradition, which has a more formalized “neophyte year” (a…

  • Incense in the Church

    Yes, prior to the Reformation, the Christian Church (both in the East and West) consistently interpreted Malachi 1:11 as a literal prophecy fulfilled in Christian worship — specifically, the use of literal incense alongside the “pure offering” understood as the Eucharistic sacrifice. This understanding appears very early and remains uniform across the patristic period (roughly…

  • Joseph Adopted Jesus

    In the New Testament, Mary was initially betrothed (engaged) to Joseph (Matthew 1:18), a legally binding commitment in first-century Jewish custom—stronger than modern engagement and requiring a formal divorce to break. When Mary was found to be pregnant (by the Holy Spirit, according to the virgin birth accounts), Joseph considered divorcing her quietly. But an…

  • Orthodoxy and Forgiveness

    The Eastern Orthodox Church does not generally teach unilateral forgiveness in the sense of always requiring or mandating complete, unconditional forgiveness of others without any regard to repentance — but the teaching strongly emphasizes forgiving everyone from the heart as a personal spiritual necessity, even (and especially) when the offender shows no repentance. This is…

  • Did Calvin teach unilateral forgiveness?

    John Calvin did not teach unilateral forgiveness (i.e., a completely one-sided, unconditional granting of full relational pardon and reconciliation without any regard to the offender’s response or repentance). Calvin’s teaching on forgiveness aligns closely with the biblical pattern: Christians are commanded to maintain an attitude of love, forbear love, and readiness to forgive even toward…

  • Therapy for the soul

    Orthodox Christian “therapy for the soul” (often called Orthodox psychotherapy or the science of spiritual medicine) refers to the entire ancient tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church as a healing system for the human soul, mind, and body, wounded by the Fall, sin, passions, and death. This understanding is most famously articulated in the modern…

  • Prayers for the Dead

    Prayers for the dead were a Jewish practice in the Second Temple period, before the time of Jesus Christ (who lived circa 4 BCE–30 CE). The clearest evidence comes from 2 Maccabees 12:38–46, a Jewish text composed around 124 BCE during the Hellenistic era. In this account, Judas Maccabeus and his men discover that fallen…

  • First use of the word “Jew”

    The four earliest uses of “Jew” by the time(s) they describe are: 2 Kings 16:6: Describes events ca. 735–732 BCE (Syro-Ephraimite War, during King Ahaz’s reign), where Rezin of Aram drives the “Jews” (Yehudim) from Elath. Jeremiah (e.g., 34:9): References events ca. 588–586 BCE (Babylonian siege of Jerusalem). Zechariah 8:23 (chapters 1–8): Set in 520–518…

  • More Hannukah Details

    Continuing the Hannukah theme (Part 1) (Part 2) Looking deeper into Hannukah. During Hanukkah celebrations in December 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explicitly referred to the five brave brothers—the sons of Mattathias—who sparked and led the Maccabean Revolt. In a speech at the Western Wall while lighting Hanukkah candles with IDF soldiers and U.S.…

  • Happy Hannukah

    Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem for Hannukah, and the Jews there tried to kill Him. Recapitulating the slaughter of the innocent martyrs in Maccabees. The miracle that happened then was Jesus escaped their hands. John 10 portrays Jesus as fulfilling or surpassing the rededication theme, claiming divine unity in the very space rededicated…

  • Prayer Posture

    Posture during prayer during the time of Jesus involved various positions. It was common for full prostrations to be done in the First Century both in the Temple and in private prayers. This practice was phased out after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD by Judaism and later forbidden in the Talmud. This…

  • Jesus and the Jews

    Jewish Accusation of Sorcery Passages in the Babylonian Talmud refer to a figure named “Yeshu” (or “Yeshu ha-Notzri”) whom most scholars and traditional Jewish sources identify as Jesus of Nazareth, and they explicitly accuse him of practicing sorcery (kishuf in Hebrew). The key passages are: Sanhedrin 43a: Describes the trial and execution of Yeshu. It…