 Sunday sermon on the Epistle reading from Ephesians 6:10-17 In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, by land, and by air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalog of human crime. That is our policy.”
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 Sunday sermon on the Gospel lesson from Luke 10:25-37 The parable of the Good Samaritan In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“And who is my neighbor?” This is such a loaded question. English language is somewhat limited here because when we think of a neighbor, we often imagine those who live next door to us or on the same street or on the same block. But that’s not what the word ‘neighbor’ means here.  If there is one secular holiday that Christians can totally sign up for, it is Thanksgiving Day. One of the most important things we do in our Christian life is give thanks to God, and give thanks to each other.
We do it first of all during the Liturgy. In fact, one of the names for Liturgy is Eucharist. Which comes from a Greek word that means thanksgiving. We don’t have to wait for one special day in the year to give thanks. We do it every day. But to have one day as a reminder that all things belong to God, and give thanks to Him, isn’t a bad idea. Below is a sermon that was delivered by the late Father Alexander Schmemann, who did a lot in terms of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ on American soil. He died in December 1983 from cancer. The last Liturgy he celebrated was on Thanksgiving Day that same year. And this was his last sermon. It’s in the form of a prayer, a thanksgiving prayer of a man, who knew his journey on this earth was coming to an end. The sermon was edited slightly for the use in our parish, where Father Aleksey reads it every year the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day. Here are the words of Father Alexander Schmemann:  Sunday sermon on the Gospel lesson taken from Luke 16:19-31 The parable of Lazarus and the rich man In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The parable of Lazarus and the rich man on its surface seems to be about what happens after we die, about heaven and hell, about the future life. The bad, rich man is tormented in hell, while the poor Lazarus is comforted in Paradise next to Abraham.  Sunday sermon on the Gospel lesson from John 3:13-17 Sunday before the Elevation of the Cross In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today's Gospel lesson, which is for the Sunday before the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross has an interesting reference to a story in the Old Testament and to Moses, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believe in Him may not perish but have eternal life.”  Sunday sermon on the Epistle of Saint Paul to Corinthians (1:21-2:4) In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“He Who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, Who has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” This is the first sentence of the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians that we just heard Matthew read. This sentence will also be the focus of today’s sermon, specifically the establishment in Christ, the sealing with the Holy Spirit, and the guarantee given.  Ever since the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown there has been a lot of talk about the normal and the new normal. People have been wondering when (if ever) we will return back to the normal. There are also those who warn that we need to be ready for and embrace the new normal.
 Click on the image for the article As we begin the Dormition Fast, here is an excellent reflection on why the Orthodox Christians honor Mary.
 Sermon delivered on Sunday, July 26, on the feast of the Holy Archangel Gabriel.
The sermon looks at the ministry of angels.  A sermon combining a common theme from the Gospel lesson from Matthew 10:32-33, 37-38; 19:27-30 and the Epistle reading from Hebrews 11:33-12:2.
Brothers and sisters, Glory to Jesus Christ! If you are staying home today, below is today's service for you to pray. It's only 3 pages. And also attached are the two prayers in time of coronavirus that I posted on the website on Friday. Later today or tomorrow I will send out another email with some more announcements. In the meantime, stay safe and if you need anything, let me know. God bless. 
O Lord our God, Source of life and immortality, Creator of all things, both visible and invisible. You have appointed seasons and years by Your power, and You direct all things by Your most-wise and most-gracious providence: We thank You for Your generous gifts, which You have given us during this passing year and our whole life. And we ask You, O Most Compassionate Lord, to bless the coming new year with Your goodness. Grant us to grow stronger in faith and in love toward You and one another. Remember our parents and loved ones, those who have gone to their rest with hope and faith in the Resurrection, and grant health and length of days to those still living. Bless our children and our efforts in raising them to be good Christians and light of the world. Guide us as we strive to glorify You, our Good God, in our daily lives and in our communal worship. Teach us to be good servants to those in need around us, following the example that You Yourself have set for us. Instruct all the nations and their leaders in the ways of justice and peace. Protect us from the evils of injustice, prejudice, exploitation, conflict, and war. Help us to put away mistrust, bitterness and hatred. Make us to end the storing and using of the devices of war. Unite us in the making and sharing of tools of peace against ignorance, poverty, disease, and oppression. Also, we pray that You make Church schisms to cease. Send Your Holy Spirit to guide our hierarchs, that they may rightly teach the word of Your truth, and that they may bear witness to the unity of the Church in all their decisions. Preserve us, O Lord, from the Evil One and all his attempts to divide us, from the machinations of the governments, from the ambitions of fallen people, and from the sin of pride. Throughout the new year and our whole life, count us worthy to always offer thanksgiving to You, the Father, Who has no beginning, together with Your Only-begotten Son, and Your Most Holy, Good, and Life-giving Spirit, God glorified in one Essence unto ages of ages. Amen. Dear brothers and sisters,
Stephen Perry, a dear member of our parish family, has fallen asleep earlier today. May he rest in peace and rise in glory with our Lord Jesus Christ! Visitation for Stephen will be on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2-7pm at M. John Scanlan Funeral Home 781 Newark Pompton Tpke Pompton Plains, NJ, 07444 A Panikhida (memorial service) will be served at 5pm during the visitation. A Funeral Service will be held on Monday, Dec. 23, at 10am at the church. And Burial, right after the Funeral, at Laurel Grove Memorial Park, 295 Totowa Road, Totowa, NJ, 07512 You can read his obituary here. Memory eternal! |
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Jesus said to the crowds about John, “I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John the Baptist. Yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.”
(Luke 7:28)
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