The “unnecessary” stories of the three youths (in Daniel 3 and The Song of Azariah) and of St. Joseph, husband of the Theotokos (Matthew 1) are illumined by God’s care for the humble in Deuteronomy 10:14-21.

This week we consider God’s actions, both as they fulfill our expectations of His righteous character, and as they astonish us. We remember the faithfulness of those who saw less of God’s revelation than we have, especially the three youths in the fire, and the holy ancestors of Jesus. Our readings for this Sunday, Luke 24:36-53, Luke 14:16-24 and Colossians 3:4-11, both respond to the desires of the ages, and shock us with the vibrancy and great extent of the new creation made possible through the Incarnation, Death and Resurrection of our LORD.

This week we consider the structure of LXX Esther in general, and hone in on its introductory and concluding vision and Interpretation (,Esther 1:1a-1l; 10:3a-3k) which put the agency of God front and center for us to praise! We are helped by considering parallels and differences with Job 40-41; Daniel 1, 7-8, Luke 1:46-55, Rev. 12, and Psalm 15 LXX/16MT: 5-7.

"Saint Gerasimos of Kefalonia," from The Lives of Our Saints, Illustrated Biographies Book 7 (Spiritual Fragrance Publishing, 2012)

Great Lent Unplugged: The Funny, Terrible, Wonderful Journey to Pascha, Preface, by Jean Hoefling (Regina Orthodox Press, 2007) Available on Amazon.

28. Book 1: Before You Were Born by Nancy White Carlstrom (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2002) Copyright© Used with permission from the author and Curtis Brown Ltd. Book 2: From I-ville to You-ville by Mersine Vigopoulou, part six (Uncut Mountain Press, 2006)

On St. Thomas Sunday, Fr. Ted reminds us that if we choose not to believe, no amount of miracles will convince us otherwise.

Fr. Ted reminds us to be grateful to God our Creator, the giver of all good things.

Fr. Ted warns us against forgetting that humility is an essential aspect of being a Christian.

Fr. Ted shares his reflections on the Transfiguration (Metamorphosis) of Jesus.

Fr. Ted calls us to a childlike gratefulness for the many gifts that we have been given by God.

Fr. Ted concludes his series on the House of God by reminding us of our need to be thankful to God for all of the undeserved gifts that He has given to us.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos encourages all of us to participate as fully as we can in the Nativity Fast as we prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ, saving our feasting for after our fasting.

Fr. Theodore Paraskevopoulos explains the meaning of Jesus' parable on the forgiveness. This episode brings the podcast iSermon to an end after 425 episodes.

On January 30, 2017, Dr. Lewis Patsavos delivered the 34th Annual Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture on the topic Reflections of a Canonist. He urged a holistic approach to the study of the church canons and a living application of them in the 21st century.

Dn. Michael begins a new series on living "in, but not of" the world. He is using four texts from the St. Vladimir's Popular Patristics series. This week he covers C.S. Lewis's introduction to the St. Athanasius work On the Incarnation.

Before communion we declare that we are the chief of sinners. But is that true? If so, how are we to interpret that claim? Dn. Michael Hyatt continues going through the book How to be a Sinner by Dr. Peter Bouteneff.

Dn. Michael Hyatt continues going through the book How to Be a Sinner by Dr. Peter Bouteneff. In this lesson, he speaks about the importance of self-awareness.

Steve returns to podcasting after five years of silence. He reflects on "the will of God for your life" in light of his recent life events.

Phones were very active as Fr. Evan Armatas answered questions from Australia, from inquirers, from skeptics, and more. You don't want to miss this one.

The Refuge is a place to refocus, pray, and plan, impacting the entire community associated with St. John the Compassionate Mission.

Fr. Nicolaie writes about language and communication--reflections on the Friday before Pentecost at St. John the Compassionate Mission.

Brother Luke reflects on Holy Week experiences in the community.

Martha shares some culinary and spiritual insights as she reflects back upon 2009.

they're asking people not to access NYT games or cooking apps until it's over, so give up that Wordle streak #

How the concept of punishment in the world to come was understood at the time of Christ.

Everyone presumably acknowledges that there is nothing wrong with children dressing up as fairies, Disney characters, Marvel superheroes, and (my own favourite when I was a child) black cats in order to go door to door with their friends after dark to collect candy. The argument against Halloween is that it also glorifies violence, gore, and death, so that it is unsuitable for Christians to participate in Halloween. Collecting candy is fine; it is the frightening stuff that comes afterward that is the problem. Halloween trades in things like graveyards and corpses and ugly witches on broomsticks and bats and cobwebs and Frankenstein monsters. So, the question arises: why do people delight in such scary stuff?

Fr. Apostolos addresses Christ's triumph through the elevation of the Cross.

Fr. Apostolos Hill shares Sunday's homily for the Holy Cross, at once a message easily understood enough but very challenging to accept.

Fr. Apostolos Hill delivers a homily about the 1st Ecumenical Council and how only the God-man Jesus Christ is the Bridge that unites Heaven and Earth.

On the Sunday after Pascha, we commemorate the Lord's appearance to His disciples and St Thomas's proclamation, "My Lord and My God!" In this practical and helpful message, Fr Thomas teaches us three important points from this story to help us turn unbelief into belief.

The Holy Myrrh Bearing Women were the first to proclaim the risen Christ to their incredulous male counterparts.

Fr. Gregory gives a sermon by Fr. Andrew Phillips on the Sunday of the Forefathers.

The Cross turns all our expectations on their heads; this is God, who is also fully human, suffering and showing utter love to His creatures.

When we are commanded by our Lord to be merciful even as our Heavenly Father is merciful this means that we must try by an entire reliance on God and His grace to become in this world as God is in this world, merciful.

The Annunciation is one of the most important announcements in human history. And the announcement—the message—is not only to Holy Mary that she is the Theotokos, but a message to each of us that our lives, like the life of Holy Mary, can be suddenly and unexpectedly changed because of the intervention of Christ guiding us to His purposes.

Fr. Gregory Hallam gives the sermon at the Vesperal Divine Liturgy for the Dormition of the Theotokos.