Made to Be a Kingdom

We must understand that anything we do for Church is not doing God a favor. God needs nothing and has no favoritism--He has given the Church for our benefit as a gift for us to properly take care of. Again, Church membership is about one thing and one thing only, and that is building our relationship with God in the Church that He gave us as a gift. We are to give freely and with the attitude that we are only doing our duty, and that all that we do cannot possibly be a return for what God has given us, and therefore are to be cheerful and thankful in what we do and give (Luke 17.10).

Christ told us that where we put our money, there will our hearts be also (Matt. 6.21, Luke 12.34). The spending of money is a religious action (sacrifice), but very often goes to darker purposes. Giving to the local church should be a part of our tithe, which is money owed to God (tithing or biblical stewardship with a proportion of tithing). Likewise, the local church giving to the diocese is also a basic principle of Orthodox Christianity (1 Cor. 16.1-3). While tithing was a ritual element of the Law of Moses and the priesthood of Aaron, it was also a principle of the Priesthood of Melkizedek (Christ’s priesthood). This includes the priest-husband and priest-wife who do a full tithe (10% of the Priest/Pani income) as an example to the rest of the parish. As Scripture states, giving should not be done "grudgingly", nor mandatorily, but rather freely and cheerfully. Enjoy the show!

One can simply do this by paying attention to the Liturgy, paying attention to the sermon, self-study, attending Bible study, attending class in the hall, reading Scripture, reading books on the Faith, listening to online podcasts or videos on the faith, looking at the information on Christian Education websites, etc. Enjoy the show!

At any time of major sin, of prolonged or addictive sin, Orthodox Christians should partake of the sacred mystery of Repentance (Confession). Beyond this, the Church has put forward the four periods of repentance so that during these periods, or at least once during the year, we confess sacramentally. Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony talk about this and the frequency of and preparation for Communion as part of their series on the duties Orthodox Christians have. Enjoy the show!

Christ said, "love one another as I have loved you." The members of the parish are expected to care for one another and to visit one another in illness or affliction. Also, there is the responsibility to tell the priest and our fellow Church members when things happen that may cause our absence. Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony talk about this as part of their series on the duties Orthodox Christians have. Enjoy the show!

Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony continue discussing membership expectations, including the need to live according to what is right and wrong rather than what our feelings or the world suggest. Enjoy the show!

In this episode Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony discuss how expectations, orientation, and clarity are essential to church health and growth. They discuss how some parishes actually panic when they shrink and think that they should have less expectations of parishioners. However, as studies have shown, the opposite is true, and our Lord himself expects us to focus on the one thing needful. Enjoy the show!

Today Fr. Harry shares his experience as a Canonist and he and Fr. Anthony talk about the joy of living in a parish that gets ecclesiology right. Enjoy the show.

In this episode, Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony repond to a listener's concerns and talk about the "wellbeing of the holy churches of God," technological disruption of traditional institutions, and finding our particular ministries and modes of service. Enjoy the show!

Today Fr. Harry and Fr. Anthony use the prayer the bishop prays over the deacon when ordaining him to the priesthood to discern the central duties of the priest. Come to find out, it isn't a perfect match for many of the expectations we have of priests (and that priests have of themselves). Enjoy the show!