Uprooting Bitterness

September 12, 2018

In last week's post, I spoke about bitterness/anger of the heart and the damage it can do. I wrote “the most self-destructive thing you’ll ever do in life is to hold on bitterness. That is the quickest way to ensure that you live miserably and lonely for the rest of your life.”

So what’s the cure for bitterness? How do we get rid of it?

There’s only one way. You can try to ignore it (won’t work) or pretend it isn’t there (definitely won’t work) or convince yourself that you’re past it (YEAH RIGHT!). Our goal shouldn’t be to “get past” the bitterness, but rather to treat the bitterness and to heal it.

How? There’s only one way…FORGIVENESS!

THE CHAIR (sermon video)

September 10, 2018

What's the one, most important, most impactful, most needed, can't-start-my-day-without-it habit of all? That's a no brainer to me!

If there's one habit that I believe will impact your life more than other - one habit that I challenge you to take seriously as we wrap up summer and kick off Fall - it's simple: YOUR TIME IN THE CHAIR.

Nothing you do today will be greater than what you do there.

An Excerpt from "IF YOU LOVE ME"

September 7, 2018

This is a guest post from James Helmy, a deacon serving at St Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church in Delray Beach, FL. In this post, James shares an excerpt from the book, "If You Love Me: Serving Christ and the Church in Spirit and Truth" by Fr. Matthew the Poor - a man who James says is "an amazing example of spiritual formation and reformation for Copts living in modern times." If you too are interested in guest posting on my blog, please visit my Guest Post guidelines for more info.

Cancelling the Debt

September 5, 2018

It’s there. You may not want to admit, but you know it's there. It’s inside you. It’s behind the excuses… behind the rationalizations… behind the self-deception… behind all the ways we may “spiritualize” it… but it’s definitely there. And like termites within your house or cancer within your body, if you allow it to live within you, it’s just a matter of time before it eats you up and destroys you completely.

"It" is no joke. "It" is BITTERNESS.

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How to Know God’s Will

August 29, 2018

“Dear Fr. Anthony, my name is ________ and I need your help. I have a problem and I need to decide between option A, option B and option C. And I don’t know what to do. I need your help. How can I know God’s will for my life?”

Believe me, if I had a dollar for every time I received a question like that, I’d be a rich rich man.

That’s because it’s the most common question we ask: HOW DO I KNOW GOD’S WILL?

Designer Differences - HANDCRAFTED, Part 3

August 27, 2018

OUR differences are for MY benefit.

That's the key thought for the final installment in our latest series, Handcrafted. Throughout the series, we've been looking at how God made us each uniquely - as a masterpiece created for a specific purpose.

But in this week's message, we flipped the script a bit and saw that not only are WE masterpieces, the people who are different than us are also masterpieces as well.

And why did God make us all so different? OUR differences are for MY benefit.

The Lesson of the Rotten Banana

August 22, 2018

In case you didn’t know this about me, I love bananas! I love to eat bananas. I love to put bananas in my cereal. I love to drink banana smoothies. And I especially love my wife’s fresh-baked, homemade, banana bread! You could say I’m bananas for bananas [sorry… couldn’t resist].

But despite my love for bananas, there was a time recently where the last thing I wanted to see was a banana. Someone gave me a banana and it almost made me vomit. Why? BECAUSE IT WAS ROTTEN!

You see, even though I love bananas and would love to be given a banana at any time… I never ever want to receive a rotten one. And if you give me a rotten one, it might just make me sick.

So no matter how much I might be craving a banana, if the one you have is rotten, PLEASE DON’T GIVE IT TO ME!

MY PERSONALITY TYPE - Handcrafted, Part 2

August 20, 2018

Are you an I or an E? An N or an S? A T or an F? Are you a J or a P?

That was our topic yesterday at The Well as we're in week 2 of Handcrafted and this week we're talking about PERSONALITY TYPE. Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as our backdrop, we discussed the differences in our personalities and how those differences might play out in relation to one another.

Why? Because as St. Augustine said, "How can you draw close to God when you are far from your own self?”

Finding Your Sweet Spot - HANDCRAFTED, Part 1

August 13, 2018

I'm baaa-aack! That's right! After a 4-week preaching hiatus, I'M BACK and, as you can see from this week's message, I am PUMPED UP about our newest series, HANDCRAFTED.

It's been said that in order to know God, you must first know yourself. Each of us is designed as a masterpiece by God - a unique creation designed to fulfill a unique purpose. In this series, we'll learn more about ourselves using the renowned Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and discover how we can use that knowledge to uncover our "sweet spot" in life.

Why? Because as St. Augustine said, "How can you draw close to God when you are far from your own self?”

God is Love

August 10, 2018

God is love! The elementary school answer that I admittedly used well beyond elementary school. But hey, in my defense, the older I grew and the harder I tried to understand Christianity, the more I realized this simple statement carried heavier weight than it seems at first sight.

Does God Speak through YouTube?

August 8, 2018

If you haven’t yet seen the video above, I strongly recommend that you do now. The clip is only three minutes long but its impact could end up being much greater. I don’t know who made the video or what its original purpose was, but I know that it has gone viral on YouTube and has been viewed by hundreds of thousands and talked about by even more.

But after watching the video several times, one thought keeps popping into my head...

Recovering from Defeat - THE PROMISED LAND, Part 4

August 6, 2018

We wrapped up our series on THE PROMISED LAND and this week's guest speaker wrapped us up with a bang!

Special thanks to my dear friend and sister (in Christ) Maryan Farag, who taught us that defeat is not only possible in the Promised Land/Life, but it's also expected. Thankfully though, defeat isn't the end of the line; it's only a pit stop along the way when we understand the principles Maryan shares with us today.

Now go get those promises!

Dear Mr. Christian

August 3, 2018

Dear Mr. Christian,

Hi...I'm not like you. I'm no "believer" but I wanted to have a little heart to heart with you since you seem to be interested in wearing your God on your sleeve. I'll be candid so don't be offended. I'll try not to make fun of your Jesus fish or your cool Christian gear. This is just my open letter.

First, can you stop treating Christianity like an STD? I'm not scared of catching it from you. I know that sometimes you're so afraid to offend me that you sort of get paranoid and weird. Relax dude. There are times when I'm even a little curious by things you do (like why you practically live at church or have the weirdest & most fluctuating diet ever) but why do you get so awkward about it?

Simply Amazing

August 1, 2018

“Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were GREATLY AMAZED, and running to Him, greeted Him.” Mark 9:15

Ever notice how many times the gospel says that Jesus AMAZED the crowds? Or that everyone was ASTONISHED by His words? Ever count the number of times that Jesus performed a miracle and it says that all the crowds MARVELED when they saw it?

From start to finish, Jesus led a truly AMAZING life. There weren’t too many dull days with Him around. One day healing the sick; the next day feeding the multitudes. One day preaching in parables; the next day casting out demons. He was a Teacher and a Preacher; a Comforter and a Counselor. He was all things to all men. But apparently not everyone was impressed.

Preparing for Victory - THE PROMISED LAND, Part 3

July 30, 2018

It's Part 3 in our study of the book of Joshua, THE PROMISED LAND and in this week's message, we're getting ready for the victory that God promised us.

Special thanks to my good friend Peter Karras as he gives us four invaluable lessons on what it takes to move in and possess the land/life God promised us. We know it's there for the taking, but we need to do our part to turn the promise into a reality.

Any Divine Appointments Today?

July 27, 2018

Today's guest post comes from Uwe Bower, a core member of the STSA Church family and a dear friend of mine as well. In today's post, Uwe inspires us to think beyond what our eyes might see and our ears might here. God might be calling you into action in ways you might not notice if you don't pay attention. And you don't want to miss out on that!

FORWARD BY FAITH - The Promised Land, Part 2

July 24, 2018

Special thanks to Steve Messeh (yes, we're brothers) for delivering a fantasticly inspiring message this past Sunday: FORWARD BY FAITH.

In this message, we continue our study of the book of Joshua and the land God promised to His children in the Old Testament. But remember, we're not chasing a promised LAND the way they were; we're chasing a promised LIFE - a life that fulfills the myriad of promises God has given to us in His Word.

In Part 1, we set the stage for the Promised Life; this week, we move FORWARD BY FAITH!

How I Found God through Others

July 20, 2018

Today's guest post comes from Eritrea Ghebrehiwet, a member of the STSA Church family in Arlington, VA. In today's post, Eritrea challenges us to consider the consequence/reward of small acts of love and service. She shares her own story about how the actions of others impacted her spiritual journey and might also have saved her life.

Do Something About Your Faith

July 18, 2018

Imagine baking a cake and only using half of the prescribed ingredients. Imagine building a car and using only half of the needed parts. Imagine building a house and only using half of the lumber needed to build the house properly. No one in their right mind would ever expect that cake, or that car, or that house to turn out right…right?

But what if we do that with our Christian faith? What if we have the same approach toward being a follower of Jesus? What if we leave out half of the equation?

THE PROMISED LAND, Part 1 (audio only)

July 15, 2018

"What happened to last week's message? Where is the sermon?"

That's the question that I've heard a thousand times over the past week and unfortunately, even though I have an answer, it probably isn't what you want to hear.

Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties outside of our control, last week's message was NOT captured on video. The room we rent went haywire and we almost had to abandon ship midway through the message.

But the good news is that we were able to capture an AUDIO version - albeit a somewhat below average recording - including the moment when things went haywire (go to minute 32 and listen for yourself).