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The Grace of God as the Atmosphere of Heaven

Fr. Apostolos talks about the key of humility that unlocks God's grace.




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Treasures in Heaven

It being the parish's Stewardship Sunday, Fr. Apostolos speak about the means whereby our resources can be sacralized and our financial lives brought under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, through tithing.




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Our Oneness in Christ Precludes Bigotry

Working from the Epistle reading in Colossians, Fr. Apostolos underscores the basic spiritual truth that our oneness in Christ precludes every possibility for bigotry of any kind and that we, as Light-bearers, must light the way out of the fear and ignorance that gives rise to such base and passe divisions.




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The Distance of Sin

Fr. Apostolos shares from the Parable of the Prodigal Son




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Pig Pen and Clean Week

Fr. Apostolos shares encouragement for the start of Great Lent.




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O Lord and Master of My Lifeā€¦

Fr. Apostolos introduces the Lenten Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, "O Lord and Master of my life..."




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The Centrality of the Cross

Fr. Apostolos helps us understand the centrality of the Cross for salvation.




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Holy Week

Fr. Apostolos reviews the services of Holy Week and the opportunity the faithful have to enter deeply into the mystery of God's demonstrated love for us.




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Now What?

Fr. Apostolos reflects on the importance of Thomas' faith and the strength of our faith through the Paschal Season.




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Spiritual Eyesight

Fr. Apostolos reflects on the story of the Blind Man (John 9:1-38), and how it should remind us not to become spiritually blinded.




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Divine Worship: Series Introduction

Fr. Apostolos introduces a miniseries of sermons about the spiritual depths of Divine Worship and starts by explaining the word leitourgia.




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Divine Worship: Blessed is the Kingdom

Fr. Apostolos addresses the Sacrament of Kingdom invoked at the opening of the Divine Liturgy followed by a treatment of "Peace" as the precondition for prayer.




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Divine Worship: the Small Entrance and Scripture

This is lesson three in Fr. Apostolos' series on Divine Worship; this installment addressing the historical development of the Small Entrance and the significance of the Readings in view of the centrality of Holy Scripture in the lives of Christian believers.




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Divine Worship: the Gathering of the Faithful

Fr. Apostolos continues the series on Divine Worship, discussing the beginning of the Synaxis of the Faithful and of the prayers leading up to the Great Entrance.




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Divine Worship: the Sacrament of Offering

Fr. Apostolos continues the homily series on Divine Worship, addressing the Sacrament of Offering and the potential that exists to redeem our work-a-day lives through the offering up to God of a portion of our labors, in this case the bread and wine of Holy Communion.




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Divine Worship: the Holy Eucharist

Fr. Apostolos examines John Chapter 6 and the Holy Eucharist in the Epiklesis and how that, unlike our Western counterparts, we Orthodox leave off trying to explain the mysteries to the satisfaction of our intellectual curiosity, content to accept the words of our Lord as plainly stated (and thrice repeated!) in the Gospels. A brief review of the Epiklesis in the liturgy ensues.




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Divine Worship: Wrap Up

Fr. Apostolos concludes the miniseries of sermons about the Divine Liturgy. He encourages the faithful to work through their understanding about the intricacies of the Liturgy in the laboratory of corporate prayer in the Church.




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On the Mount

Fr. Apostolos speaks about the feast of the Transfiguration and the New Life in Jesus Christ which transforms us into the glorified Image of God He revealed on Mount Tabor.




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The Light of Christ

Fr. Apostolos speaks of the Light of Christ as the only light capable of dispelling the darkness we witness in the world around us today.




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The Coming Change

Fr. Apostolos connects the gospel on the Rich Young Ruler with the change in church attendance, exhorting us not to get waylaid with the cares of this world.




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Dressing the Vine

Fr. Apostolos delivers a timely reminder to bear good fruits and tend the garden that we have been given.




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Embracing the Suffering of the Cross

Fr. Apostolos talks about the importance of embracing the Cross of Christ, despite the challenges that go along with it.




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Good Enough

Fr. Apostolos discusses the importance of remembering the love of Christ in our lives, and that we are good enough.




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Less than Human

Here is this morning's homily on the risks to ourselves, both personally and collectively, if we choose to remain in the darkness of life outside the Kingdom of God.




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The Money Trap

Fr. Apostolos delivers a homiletic overview of the many Scriptural passages describing the "money trap" and the strict charges given by God in Holy Writ regarding justice and equity.




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The Grace of Thanksgiving

Fr. Apostolos addresses how to walk in the grace of thanksgiving and gratitude in our day-to-day lives.




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Being Good Stewards

Fr. Apostolos talks on stewardship and addressed the role that Christian stewardship plays in bridging the gap between the material and immaterial aspects of our faith. By consecrating the material resources of our lives to God we can escape the trap of reducing our faith in Jesus Christ to a disembodied philosophy.




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Star Wars and Christmas

Fr. Apostolos addresses the inner meaning of the Feast of the Incarnation, through the perspective of the latest Star Wars film.




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Writing the Books of Our Lives

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a short homily on what we will all write in the New Year on the pages of the books of our lives.




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Hoping in God

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily based on St. Paul's exhortation to Timothy about hoping in God.




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Why Should I Come to Confession

Fr. Apostolos Hill discusses the role of confession in maintaining a healthy spiritual life.




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Saying No to Cheeseburgers

Fr. Apostolos Hill discusses the Sunday of the Cross and the importance of learning to pick up our cross in the simple day-to-day choices we make.




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The Knuckle Song

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily on the Sunday of St. John of the Ladder, discussing the need for growth and progress in the spiritual life just as we anticipate growth in every other aspect of our lives and of our children's. The opening illustration referenced a song from the Dr. Demento Show.




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Finding our Place in the Crowd

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily on finding our place in the crowd that greeted Jesus in His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.




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If You Knew the Gift

Fr. Apostolos Hill addresses the joy of the many gifts Jesus gives us and how to combat our forgetfulness in sometimes taking them for granted.




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Are You in An Open Marriage?

Fr. Apostolos Hill unpacks the story of Hosea and Gomer, contrasting the covenant between God and Israel and Gomer's infidelity in her pursuit of an "open marriage." Jesus' words in the Gospel reading today about the exclusive nature of our union with Him in the New Covenant ("whoever loves father, mother, son, daughter more than Me...") indicates that our fidelity to Him cannot be divided.




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Stay Alert, Stay Alive

Fr. Apostolos Hill gave a recap of the vitality of our young ones' faith alongside the pitfalls awaiting those whose spiritual development is neglected in the home or parish. Stay Alert, Stay Alive was the theme of All Saints Camp (Arizona) this past week.




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Dispelling the Darkness

Fr. Apostolos Hill reflects on the verses of the Gospel of Matthew about the eye as the light of the body and how we might dispel the darkness around us with the Light of Christ.




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A Love You Can't Buy

Fr. Apostolos Hill shares a homily about love based on the Epistle reading from 1 Corinthians 13.




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Crew Members, Not Passengers

Fr. Apostolos Hill shares a homily centered on the Epistle reading and St. Paul's admonition that we exercise the spiritual gifts given to us for the building up of the Body of Christ.




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Beyond Atta Boy

Fr. Apostolos Hill speaks on moving past the staid "good boy" mis-characterization of salvation and toward the inner transformation exhibited in the feast. St. Athanasius wrote about the "fire in the sword" to describe the process of becoming by divine grace what Jesus is by divine nature.




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How to Believe

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily about the belief that leads to salvation as opposed to a nominal "belief" that does not.




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The Struggle is to Win

Fr. Apostolos Hill discusses on the struggle for salvation as evidence that we are on the right path.




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Bricks and Mortar, Flesh and Blood

Fr. Apostolos Hill addresses the difference between the view of the Church as a building and the view of the Church as souls.




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The Threat of Faith

Fr. Apostolos Hill reviews the life of St. Haralambos and the threat his faith, as a 113 year-old man, represented to an Empire.




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Meaningful Youth Ministry

Fr. Apostolos Hill exhorts us to embrace a new paradigm for parish youth ministry that focuses on spiritual development and less on entertainment.




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Too Far Gone

Fr. Apostolos Hill preaches on the Prodigal Son and how easily we write off others and ourselves from the reach of God's love. Another impassioned plea that mostly falls on deaf ears in our fraught times.




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Cultivating a Hunger for Heaven

Fr. Apostolos Hill speaks on the theme of the Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise and how we acquire a thirst for the Kingdom.




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Knowing God

Fr. Apostolos Hill likens the experience of knowing God to that of meeting his bride. The effort we put into spending time together is a blueprint for entering more deeply into our union with Jesus.




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The Redemption of Suffering

"If you're suffering today, know this: you are on the right path. If you're not suffering, that's when you should be worried. If you are suffering in this life, God is with you. If you don't find life easy and comfortable, you're doing it right." On the Sunday of the Cross, Fr. Apostolos shares about the redemption of our own suffering through the suffering of Christ.