Fr. John talks about the impossibility of repentance without a changed life, from Luke 19:1-10.

Fr. John continues his series on the Sixth Commandment.

On Pentecost, Fr. John shares about the characteristics of the Holy Spirit.

Fr. John shares the story of David and Goliath from 1 Samuel 17.

Fr. John shares from 1 Corinthians 6:12-20.

Fr. John discusses the Epistle of St. Jude.

Fr. John uses the prophecy of Micah to relate the importance of being prepared to receive Christ.

Fr. John Whiteford comments on the role of Proverbs in Great Lent, by speaking on Proverbs 1:1-7.

Fr. John Whiteford discusses the need for perseverance as we struggle to get closer to God.

Fr. John Whiteford discusses the role of authority throughout the early Church.

Fr. John Whiteford speaks on Psalm 50:10-12.

Fr. John Whiteford speaks on the difference between earthly and heavenly judgment.

Fr. John Whiteford uses Acts 16 to describe for us the way we should glorify God in the midst of persecution.

Fr. John Whiteford's Sunday sermon, talking about how we need to anchor ourselves in God in order to make it through any hardship.

Fr. John Whiteford talks about happiness in this life, and learning to lose ourselves for the love of our neighbors.

Fr. John shares from Revelation 2:18-29.

Fr. John Whiteford uses the epistle from Theophany, Titus 2:11-15, to discuss the feast.

Fr. John Whiteford delivers a homily on the relationship of faith and depression, using the life of the Prophet Jeremiah.

Fr. John Whiteford preaches on the Sunday of St. John Climacus.

Fr. John Whiteford reflects on the victory over heresy, winning the spiritual war, by the Holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council (Psalm 149).

Fr. John Whiteford helps us to understand how to discern between the evil spirits, who seek our destruction, and those who worship the Holy Trinity and desire our good. (1 John 4:1-6)

Fr. John Whiteford tells of the life of St. Moses the Ethiopian.

Fr. John Whiteford's homily from Sunday, March 24, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from June 23, 2024.

Fr. John Whiteford's sermon from November 3, 2024.

The Feast of Pentecost celebrates the Coming of the Holy Spirit on the first disciples of Jesus. But why? As followers of Christ, we too, have been given the grace of the Holy Spirit in our lives as well. So, does the closeness of the Spirit in your life reflect a reality or an untapped resource?

The Good News of Jesus Christ invites us to such a radical departure from the fallen vision of our true purpose that confronting this message invariably challenges us. This challenge will be received differently by each person based on the true nature of their heart.

When Jesus heals a woman on the Sabbath Day, His act of love and mercy reveals the deep spiritual poverty of others whose hearts are gripped by mere rule keeping. This revelation is an invitation to you and me to examine our own attitudes towards our faith!

In a society where the noise factor of our lives threatens to drown out the loving Voice of God, learning to listen for that "still, small voice" that tells us who we really are is even more important.

What I’m going to reveal in this blog post is a strategy that will likely weed out a certain section of the ViperChill audience. In other words, I’m fully aware that this blog post will make a particular type of person unsubscribe from ViperChill and likely never return. It’s certainly not going to end up […]

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Michael explores the source of our inspiration when we create for the glory of God.

Michael examines the Star Wars phenomenon from an Orthodox Christian and sacramental point of view, and with a special focus on comparisons between the Force and the Holy Spirit.

In the Book of Genesis God says not to eat from the Tree of Life, yet in Revelation He invites us to eat from the Tree of Life. Michael explores the reasons why from an Orthodox Christian perspective. He discusses the sinfulness and sacredness of eating and hunger as taught to us through the Scriptures, specifically Genesis and Revelation, and our Holy Tradition; and what we are really doing when we fast and prepare for and receive the Eucharist.

Comfort, and feeling comfortable, is a desire all of us have and we strive to fulfill this desire. But it can come at a cost because the root of our desire and the means by which we achieve it are not always in our best interests. Join Michael as he explains why comfort can lead to spiritually harmful complacency and blind us to the real purpose of our faith.

One of the big challenges we face in today’s post-Christian era is the near complete erosion of seeing and understanding reality sacramentally. So how do we teach this reality to our young people who live in a society that rejects it? Focusing on the sacramental reality of sin, sickness and spiritual growth, Michael uses simple examples from everyday life and popular culture to offers strategies, thoughts and lessons that can help guide us to meaningful conversations with our youth.

Are we living now in the Divided States of America as opposed to the United States of America? Does the political divide we see and hear about it each day in the news speak to who we are now as persons and a society? What can it teach us about ourselves and our own hearts? Join Michael as he discusses wholeness and division from a spiritual point of view, and what we need to do to be Christ-like in today’s current climate.

Being spiritual and having no religious affiliation is a rapidly increasing segment of society. We hear people say they’re spiritual but religious all the time, but what does it really mean? How do people understand “spiritual” and “religious” when they describe themselves this way? Join Michael as he thoroughly explores this topic and shares personal examples and insights to help us understand this growing movement.

Drug related deaths due to heroin and opioids are on the rise. It’s becoming an epidemic. Why is this? What are the factors contributing to this crisis of life and death? Why is this crisis reflective of a deep spiritual disorder that demands that parishes and their members get engaged based on their resources and capacity? Join Michael as he attempts to address these questions and shares information from his Metropolis that can be useful to many.

So many people love a good conspiracy theory. But these theories do damage and harm to individuals, communities, and our society. Join Michael as he discusses the primary reasons people believe them and why doing so is antithetical to our faith.

Inner darkness. We all have it whether we admit or not. How do overcome it? How do we find our way to Christ the Light and master our inner darkness? Join Michael as he addresses these questions in-depth and shows we can find our way to the Light no matter what darkness we are in.

Join Michael as he examines the role expression of opinion plays in society today, how to guard ourselves against our own and other’s opinions that fuel our pride and cause anger and division, and what to do to maintain humility, thoughtfulness, and love of others.

Join Michael for a discussion on how to understand and overcome the subtle spiritual deafness and spiritual blindness we can suffer from that leads to spiritual heart disease.

Join Michael as he discusses the deep theological truths of simple hospitality and how it directly relates to our salvation.

If you go into a pilgrimage with humility and the belief that you understand very little—if anything—then by the end of it, something may be revealed to you beyond your own limitations.

Fr. Seraphim Aldea narrates the importance of struggle in the relationship with a spiritual father, through his own physical journey from his monastery to the Holy Mountain.

Fr. Seraphim Aldea delivers a talk in Atlanta, GA, about the power of our demons in those we meet, including the unborn.

Fr. Seraphim Aldea shares practical insights about developing a relationship with a spiritual father.

What is the Orthodox practice of total fasting? How do you keep it and why would you? What are the spiritual benefits of fasting for a period from all food and water for the love of Christ?

If your aim is to be 100% happy, 100% of the time, you can be 100% certain that you will fail into utter misery. We are constantly being fed ready-made recipes for happiness, impersonal visions of what happiness looks like, false idols of who we should be in order to be happy. We can grow from the darkness in our lives, as much as we grown from its light. Happiness comes from unexpected places and we should always be ready to embrace it. If we are blinded by these unreal visions of happiness, we might just let true happiness pass by unnoticed.