As the Church celebrates the victorious entrance of Christ into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, we are forced to rethink how we think of kings. Unlike the secular kings of the world, our King is a different King. Unlike the modern examples of kings and other political leaders, our King is a different King. Our King leads His people to heaven, rather than dictating and oppressing them.

When Jesus sees the faith of four friends, who bring to Him their paralyzed friend, the Scriptures tell us “Seeing their faith,” that Jesus forgave sins and healed the man. Friends matter, and as The Church, we have the power to help each other, and to bring others to Christ for healing. We are all bound to each other. It is because of Church that we are able to help each other.

On the first Sunday of Great Lent, known as the Sunday of Orthodoxy, the Church commemorates the truth of Christ’s incarnation. We hear the story in the Gospel of John of Philip’s great joy as he ran to Nathaniel crying “We have seen the Lord!” This invitation for us to come and see for ourselves is rooted in this truth of God’s incarnation for our salvation. We have seen the Light, and it is now our turn to run to our friends, neighbors and family, “We have seen the Lord. Come and see Him for yourself!”

On the last day before Holy and Great Lent, the Sunday of Forgiveness, Saint Paul reminds us, “Salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” His urgent message for us should remind us that the time is now for us to get ready for the kingdom of heaven. Our Lord says, “If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father also will forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Don’t put it off any longer. The time is NOW.

A Bible Study on the Book of Romans based upon the homilies of St John Chrysostom in Tarpon Springs, Florida. This session originally LIVE STREAMED on Tuesday, March 5, 2019.

http://www.LiveANewLifeInChrist.org/romans

When Christ returns, He will separate the sheep from the goats – the righteous from the condemned. The righteous will inherit the kingdom of heaven because they served others as if they were serving Christ Himself. The condemned, the goats, were only willing to help Christ, but couldn’t see Him in others. Each human being is created in the image of God, and only when we can see each other as Christ and serve others as if we are serving Christ, will we be able to enter into the kingdom of heaven. That is judgment.

One truth the Parable of the Prodigal Son teaches us, is that no matter what we may have done in our past, God will never stop loving us. Too often, we hesitate returning to God and His Church, thinking we are no longer worthy of God’s love. Unfortunately, we cannot experience God’s love remaining in the foreign land of sin, and the decision to return home to God and His Church will always be welcomed with open arms.

A Bible Study on the Book of Romans based upon the homilies of St John Chrysostom in Tarpon Springs, Florida. This session originally LIVE STREAMED on Tuesday, February 19, 2019.

http://www.LiveANewLifeInChrist.org/romans

Being honest about who we are and how we live is a crucial part of every Christian journey. We are fooling ourselves with sinful pride if we think we are any better than other person in the Church, or anywhere else we may encounter them. Being honest with ourselves, which is pure Christian humility, is the center of the first Sunday of the Triodion and Great Lenten Journey. Rather than calling out, “Thank you God!” that we are not like the other sinners out there, it would be infinitely better for us to cry, “Have mercy on me a sinner!”

A Bible Study on the Book of Romans based upon the homilies of St John Chrysostom in Tarpon Springs, Florida. This session originally LIVE STREAMED on Tuesday, February 12, 2019.

http://www.LiveANewLifeInChrist.org/romans