Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church
McKinney TX Homilies, scripture commentary, spiritual reflections
?He that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out of His belly shall flow rivers of living water?.
So our Lord said on a feast of Pentecost — before the feast of Pentecost that we celebrate, during His earthly ministry when He promised the Spirit; because the living water is the Spirit, and concerning it we hear this wonderful image: “Out of his belly shall flow forth rivers of living water.”
Now what is the belly for, what does the belly signify? …
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:
This reading has particular significance for me, as it caused me to search for the true church; thank God that God revealed it to me! During this search, I was in Campus Crusade for Christ, ?witnessing? in the student union at Purdue University on a regular basis, and even went to Daytona Beach one Spring break to evangelize all the motorcycle riders, and to Cape May Courthouse, New Jersey for about two months to evangelize the New Jersey boardwalk.
I have ?Campus Crusade? to thank for leading me to Orthodoxy. They are quite serious, and also quite inconsistent in their faith. They basically agree that ?We all believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and must invite Him into our heart? in order to be saved. They do not have any significant theological precision about WHO Jesus Christ is, and belief in any or all of the following is ?optional?: …
http://www.orthodox.net/sermons/pascha-sunday-04_2000+the-paralytic.html 4th Sunday of Pascha John 5:1-5 In the name of the Father, and the Son and the holy Spirit Amen. Today we see a man who is healed … twice. The man’s healing was completed in stages, as it is for us also. And we Orthodox Christians must recognize how God heals us,… Continue reading The Paralytic “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk!”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Christ is risen! Today is the second Sunday of Pascha already. It is the Sunday of St. Thomas. Today we read about, as the church calls it, St. Thomas’ "believing unbelief."[1] There is a theme… Continue reading St Thomas Sunday. “My Lord and My God”
Bright Thursday Illumination by degrees, but only if we stay in the kitchen! The story of Nicodemus meeting with Christ is our story. We are Nicodemus, and Peter, and Mary Magdalene, and Thomas, and the Blind man, and the Paralytic, and all the rest, whom we have read about or will read about in… Continue reading Bright Thursday 2009. Nicodemus meets Jesus.
LISTEN NOW Other Homilies on this Sunday: 1st Sunday of Great Lent (HTML format) Triumph Orthodoxy Come And See 2002 1st Sunday of Great Lent (mp3 format) Triumph Of Orthodoxy 2004 1st Sunday of Great Lent (mp3 format) Triumph Orthodoxy 2004 1st Sunday of Great Lent (mp3 format) Triumph Of Orthodoxy 2007 1st Sunday of… Continue reading 1st Sun of Great Lent 2009. How do *we* partake in the triumph of Orthodoxy?
LISTEN NOW Holy Fathers Of The First Six Ecumenical Councils (celebrated on the Sunday on or after July 13) The High priestly prayer of Jesus Christ contains not only sublime dogmas about Jesus Christ, but also a two-fold definition of salvation, and an example of how to attain it: we must care for others as… Continue reading The High Priestly prayer of Jesus Christ.
LISTEN NOW John 7:37-52; 8:12In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake… Continue reading Pentecost 2008 – If any man thirst… 3 Important things
LISTEN NOW John 17:1-13 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given… Continue reading 7th Sun of Pascha 2008 – What is heaven? >John 17:1-13
LISTEN NOW John 9:1-38And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of… Continue reading 6th sun of Pascha – The Blind Man – It really is about character too.