Be Transfigured Ministries

A Bible Study on St Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, inspired by the Homilies of St John Chrysostom. This session was originally live stream Tuesday, February 15, 2022, in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

As we begin the Triodion, the time to prepare our soul for Holy and Great Lent, we must first and foremost look to our own sins rather than the sins of others. It is too easy to focus on the sins of those around us, but until we look at our own sins, we will not leave the Church justified.

A Bible Study on St Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, inspired by the Homilies of St John Chrysostom. This session was originally live stream Tuesday, February 1, 2022, in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

A Bible Study on St Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, inspired by the Homilies of St John Chrysostom. This session was originally live stream Tuesday, October 26, 2021, in Tarpon Springs, Florida.

“We have seen the Light, the true Light!” These words fill our mouths after we receive Holy Communion, but do we allow the Light to shine for others? When the blind man called out to Christ, the crowd tried to shut him out. It has become too easy for us to shut others out of the Church. The Blind Man had the Light in his heart, even though he couldn’t see. The crowd could see, but was blind to the Light. We must open our eyes to the Light of Christ, and let it shine for others to see.

The first sermon Christ spoke after His Baptism began with “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” We must learn to change the way we think about life and about the Church. The Kingdom of Heaven IS at hand. It is not just some future kingdom. The Church is the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, and we must change the way we think about why we come to Church. We don’t come just to hear a sermon and light a candle. We come to Church to commune with God in Heaven.

 

TRANSCRIPT

From the very moment Christ was born, the world declared war against God. Thousands of innocent children were slaughtered by King Herod because of his jealousy. God protected the Newborn Christ by sending Him with His Mother to Egypt. The war is still raging against God, and our children are still being killed. Either by drug abuse or temptation to stop believing what the Church teaches about God, the world continues to drag our children away from God and His Church. What are we doing to protect our children from this war? We must stop ignoring the war, and fight to protect our children. The only way to protect our children is to bring our children to Christ, not just GOYA and dance practice, but to Church and Divine Liturgy. The only way to fight the war, and to protect our children, is to teach them through our actions to love the Christian life. It is time to call our family back to Church!

When the Magi encountered the newborn Christ, they return home “another way” different than when they first arrived in Bethlehem. They were changed by God, no longer pagans, but worshipers of God. We are invited to be changed by God now that we have encountered Him at Christmas.

In the Gospel of the Great Banquet, we hear about the excuses used to avoid coming to Church. We hear them and we use them ourselves all the time. Unfortunately, the excuses are not enough because many simply don’t want to be with God in Church. The Creator of the Universe, God Himself, has invited us simple human beings to be with Him in Church and live with. Too bad all we do is make excuses and stay away. The time has come to want to be with God, and come into His Church.

When we look in the mirror, do we see God? We were created in the image of God, but we fall short of the glory of God. We WANT to think we are the most worthy, the most good, but God reminds us that we still lack something. We must become reflections of God, in His Goodness. God has given us His commandments to learn to live as God wants us to live, including giving everything away for someone else. We will have eternal life when we love as God loves.