Today we begin a series on the use of the Old Testament in the early chapters of the Gospel of St. Matthew. We will examine his citations in his narrative of Christ’s birth, childhood and adulthood up to the time He settled in Capernaum, bringing a great light to the tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali and to all the world. St. Matthew (either the actual author of the Gospel or the one under whose blessing and authority it was first disseminated) took care to present Jesus as the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament, and by examining the use of the Old Testament in this Gospel we can see how deeply and creatively the Church used those Scriptures.

We continue our series examining St. Matthew’s citations of the Old Testament. Today we look at his citation of Micah 5:2. “In the Masoretic Hebrew it reads, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you will come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.” The LXX reads similarly: “And you, Bethlehem, house of Ephrathah, you are very small to be in the thousands of Judah, from which for me will come out to be for a ruler of Israel, and his goings out are from the beginning, from the days of eternity.” It is all the more surprising therefore that St. Matthew’s version reads a little differently from either the Hebrew or the Greek. It reads, “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you will come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.”

We continue our series examining St. Matthew’s citations of the Old Testament. Today we look at his citation of Jeremiah 31:15. It reads, “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are not.” The LXX renders it more or less the same way, though the order of the chapters is different. In the LXX the text is found in Jeremiah chapter 38, not chapter 31. But the meaning of the text is the same.

We conclude our series examining St. Matthew’s citations of the Old Testament. Today we look at his citation of Isaiah 40:3, which reads, “A voice cries, ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of Yahweh! Make straight in the desert a highway for our God!”

Every so often one encounters something that breaks the head as well as the heart. By that I refer to things that not only wring the heart with grief, but also confound the head because they are so perversely stupid. One such thing is the recent conversion of a Tasmanian Orthodox priest by the name of David Gould who had been Orthodox for 45 years and who then converted to Islam two years after becoming a priest. He now goes by the name of Abdul Rahman.

In his book Reflections on the Psalms, C. S. Lewis wrote a chapter on praising which began with him saying that “It is possible (and it is to be hoped) that this chapter will be unnecessary for most people”. In the same spirit, I hope that this and subsequent episodes on the topic of predestination will be unnecessary for most people.

In my last episode, I examined Paul’s words in Romans 9 and their bearing upon the classic Reformed teaching about predestination—i.e. the notion that before the creation of the world God had already chosen some to be saved and some to be damned, and that these choices were based solely upon His sovereign will, and that furthermore, our human choices to accept or reject Christ were simply the outworking of God’s primordial decisions. Those whom He chose to be saved He would draw to Himself so that they would accept Christ, and those whom He had chosen for damnation He would harden so that they would reject Christ. Those teaching this often refer to Paul’s words in Ephesians 1 in support of their views, so we will examine that passage here.

In this final episode on this topic, I would like to conclude my extended look at a Reformed view of predestination. There are certain aspects of it that fly in the face of much Biblical teaching.

On Labor Day weekend, Fr. Apostolos shares about the tyranny of being BUSY (Being Under Satan's Yoke) and entering into God's rest.

Fr. Apostolos speaks about the importance of attending and participating in the divine services. "No matter how many theological books we read or classes we attend, the treasure of Holy Orthodoxy can only be revealed in and through the medium of divine worship."

Fr. Apostolos shares from the first epistle from Apostle Paul to the Corinthians. "Trying to overcome our passions, we often feel like our best is not going to be good enough. If that's the case, you should take heart, because you are not the first, nor will you be the last. You are not alone in that feeling."

Fr. Apostolos Hill gives an exposition on the nature of the Holy Priesthood in the Church.

Fr. Apostolos Hill challenges us with reflections on the Gospel reading of St. Peter's impetuous faith on the Sea of Galilee.

Part two of a two-part series on prayer.

Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

God uses even the difficult circumstances of our life for our salvation. Fr Tom reminds us that in these tests of life, God wants us to persevere and draw closer to Him. (Thirty-sixth Sunday after Pentecost)

The scriptural readings for the eighth Sunday after Pentecost reveal a clear picture of who we are to be in Christ. St Paul teaches us that we are to be of the same mind, while St Matthew records the miracle of feeding the 5,000. Fr Thomas teaches us that we must consciously reject the choices the world presents to us, but rather fully immerse ourselves into the Church's life, which is transforming us into the likeness of God.

The Resurrection of Christ destroys death, division, and despair. And though the Lord provides proof of His Resurrection to destroy doubt in us, our hearts must be unlocked from the inside through faith.

How do we love God with all of our heart, with all of our mind, and with all of our soul? Fr. Tom shows us that Cross serves as the paragon example of fulfilling the greatest commandment of our Lord.

Leading into the feast of Theophany, Fr. Tom calls to remembrance the Forerunner and how he points us to repentance in order to see clearly our Savior in the Holy Trinity.

We're all familiar with the high priestly prayer of Christ, but what are its implications for us here and now? How does it dictate our worship, our service, our unity? Listen as Fr. Tom unpacks the prayer of our Lord.

Tying together the Gospel readings from this week and the week prior, Fr. Tom lays out the reality that the One who prays, the One who walks on water, the One who gives us Himself in the Eucharist is always present . . . especially in our trials.

Fr Thomas shows us the amazing examples of caring in the Myrrhbearers, explains the purpose of questioning with trust in God, and challenges us to go out and call others to the Truth. (Mark 15:43-16:8) Myrrhbearers Sunday, April 30, 2023.

The Nativity is a present reality for us Orthodox Christians. It’s not just that we celebrate a past event now; there’s more to it than that. Christ is eternally born for all generations in the same way that he is both referred to in the Scriptures as “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8] and also eternally risen and alive in the Cosmos.

Fr. Gregory reads the sermon "Pascha in the West and the East" by His Eminence, Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos.

Find Christ where creation sings, where love reigns and where death is no more.

Fr. Deacon Emmanuel says we are not celebrating the birth of baby Jesus. We are celebrating the birth of Christ—the birth of “the Anointed One,” the Messiah.

Fr. Gregory gives extracts from St Gregory of Nyssa's orations on the feast of the Nativity of Christ. He intersperses these reflections from contemporary life as the context in which both the promises and the challenges of the gospel are to be worked out by each one of us.

This Sunday, December 13, is the Sunday of the Forefathers. This is the day on which in all Orthodox churches throughout the world that we honour those men and women in the Old Testament who prepared the way for Christ and for us, because of their search for God. The preacher is Fr. Emmanuel Kahn.

How can I be more of a part of the work of Christ and His Church here on earth?

Fr. Gregory Hallam gives the sermon for Sunday, February 10, 2019.