Sermons

Pentecost Sermon About Pentecost Sunday: This period my beloved is called the period of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended as tongues of flames and illuminated the Disciples of Christ making them all wise preachers of His teaching. On that day the Church was established, and for this reason Pentecost is considered The Church Birthday. How can we appreciate the grandeur of this day? When we feel inside ourselves the flame of the Holy Spirit burning every kind of sin, illuminating our intellects, putting the word of God in our mouths; then we can worthily praise the Greatness of this day. With the sacred duty we have, in spite of our inability and unworthiness to speak and explain the wonders of God with as much strength as we have; we shall dare to say a few words. The church, in the beginning was like a small stream; the number of all those men and women who believed in Christ as the Book of Acts tells us, wasn't more than a hundred and twenty. But on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came and Saint Peter spoke before thousands of people about Christ, the effect of his homily was such as three thousands souls believed. As the Fathers of the church explain, the Grace of the Holy Spirit started to flow like a river the day of Pentecost. After few days, the 3000 became 5000 and the five became ten and so on. The church swelled and became a river full of blessings and grace, and the progress of the church was a marvelous phenomenon. Christianity became the most important religion in many countries; today the Christians number became over a billion of faithful. The most significant is that this increase did not take place by force and wars but by preaching the Gospel. Wherever the teaching of the Gospel was believed and practiced, a true paradise blossomed and bore fruit, and a new Christian society was established. My sons in Christ, the River of Jesus didn't dry-out; it continues to flow to supply water and refresh the humanity.   It is our holy faith, our holy Orthodox Church. "Oh thirsty travelers on this earth will we hear this invitation and go to the river of the Holy Spirit?" If we do, then our souls will become a paradise. If we do not, then how awful it is for us to die of thirst next to this inexhaustible River. So stick to the River of life and don't let it flow in front of you without coming to it and drinking the Water that will stop your thirst forever. Amen. HAPPY PENTECOST                   +Father Anastasios   Easter Sermon All things New in the Resurrection The Resurrection of Christ is the one of the most important and central aspects of our Christian faith. In three of the Gospels, an event is described in which Jesus Himself was challenged by the leading Sadducees, who rejected belief in the Resurrection. Jesus countered their denials with an affirmation of Resurrection (Mark 12:18-27); (Matthew 22:23-33); (Luke 20: 27-40) saying "You are quite wrong!" (Mark 12:27). In (John5:29) Christ taught that "Those who have done good, will come to the Resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the Resurrection of judgment." Elsewhere he declared: "I am the Resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live" (John 11:25). So on the third day after his crucifixion and death, Jesus Himself became the Victor over death, sin, evil and the devil, by conquering death through His Resurrection. The biblical words are still powerful and striking: "He is not here; for He has risen as He said. Come; see the place where He lays. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that He has risen from the dead, and behold, He is going before you to Galilee, and there you will see Him. I have told you" (Matthew 28:6-7). It was the first sermon of the church - "He has risen from the dead!" Later, when Judas had to be replaced among the twelve Apostles, and one of the conditions of his replacement was that the candidate "must become with us a witness to His Resurrection"(Acts1:22) At Pentecost, St Peter proclaimed the Resurrection of Christ: "This Jesus, God raised up and of that we all are witnesses"(Acts 2:32). The Apostles began their preaching by "proclaiming in Jesus the Resurrection from the dead" (Acts 4:2). We learn that the preaching on the central importance of Christ's Resurrection continued in the church: "With great power, the Apostles gave their testimony to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all" (Acts 4:33). In Saint Paul's apostolic ministry, the Resurrection of Christ was central. In describing his message to the Christians in Rome, of greatest significance was his preaching of Christ, who was the "Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by His Resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 1:4). When some of the Christians in Corinth raised doubts about the Resurrection of the dead, St Paul responded with a vehement argument:       "Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no Resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that He raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, and then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:12-19). So it is, that St Peter declared this core affirmation of the Christian faith where he wrote "Blessed be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy, we have been born a new to a living hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." (1Peter 1:3). In our Orthodox church, the Resurrection of Christ is central, especially in worship. Every Sunday is a little Pascha, commemorating Christ's Resurrection. At Pascha we read St John Chrysostom's Easter sermon where it is proclaimed, "O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Christ is Risen, and you are annihilated...Christ is Risen, and life is liberated...for Christ having risen from the dead has become the first fruits for those who have fallen asleep. Brothers and sisters, Christos anesti - Alithos anesti. Christ is risen - Truly is risen.             +Father Anastasios. Christmas Sermon Christ is born: Glorify Him Christ came from heaven, meet Him It is with great joy that our church calls us to glorify God for His loving and personal presence on earth in Christ Jesus, one of the three persons of the Holy Trinity. We must therefore, examine very carefully the true and life-giving significance of the Incarnation of the Son and Word of God. First, it reveals to humanity that God is personal and is made manifest to us as a person, just as He has also created us as persons. Second, it reveals to us that God embraces us with His love. Let us therefore, turn our hearts toward the new born Christ in the manger, so that by considering how much He loves us, we might love Him with all our heart, mind, and being. It is only through the love of Jesus Christ that we may become partakers by grace in His divine nature. For this reason, Jesus Christ who out of love for us and for our salvation became human. As we celebrate Christmas anew this year again, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and wise men, the angels and animals direct our attention to the Lord Jesus, He who is truly “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:1), who reveals Himself in the humble circumstances of a cave in Bethlehem. He did not enter this world in all of the trappings of royalty and might. It would appear that He came in weakness and obscurity and that His beginnings would be no match for worldly authority. But in His humility was His power. In entering our humanity our Lord exalted what had been made low by sin and death. As the Son of God incarnate, He affirmed the divine imprint of our creation and our lives. Through His birth, life, teachings, and miracles, He baffled the so-called wise of this world, brought down pride and spiritual arrogance, and illumined the path of truth, so that all might enter His kingdom. The offering of our Lord was one of peace. His compassionate sacrifice of Himself was not accomplished through violence. His birth signified that His cause was life, and even through His death He revealed His power to give and uphold life. The peace offered by Christ is an enduring peace that is experienced and sustained not by the sword, but through faith and love. The story of the birth of Christ is often clouded by the commercialism of the season. The stores tempt us for weeks without end to buy this thing or buy that thing. Some of us prefer to speak of the “Holiday Season” rather than of Christmas. Many schools have forbidden the remembrance of Christ’s birth in the classroom. Yes, throughout our society many fail to remember that the coming of Christ is truly at the heart of the Christmas celebrations. Let us remember that the season celebrates the love of God revealed in the coming of Christ. For those with faith, the colored lights, the green trees, the flowers are the symbols of the joy of Christmas. Let us celebrate to gather the joy of Christ’s coming! Let us share their love especially with the poor and less fortunate among us. We can be sensitive to those who cannot easily celebrate because of a loss in their lives. Let us seek the Lord with an open heart as the shepherds and wise men did. This means that we find opportunities for prayer and meditation, for reading the scriptures related to Christ’s coming, this means that we make Christmas and Christ special in our lives by participating in the Divine Liturgy and by receiving Holy Communion with reverence for God, with faith, and with love every Sunday we have a scheduled service. To Christ our Lord, be glory, now and forever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Saturday of the Souls   | History | Mission | Parish | Schedule | Church Groups | | Stewardship | Special Events | Photos | Contact Us | Home | © Copyright 2001-08, All rights reserved Designed by GlobeInt.com, Inc.