by Fr. John Hainsworth In this installment, Fr. John shows clearly answers the question: Is infant baptism Biblical? Yes, infant baptism is Biblical. While there is no description of an individual infant being baptized, the Bible describes five separate household baptisms: The Household of Cornelius, Acts 11:13–14: “Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname […]
Infant Baptism in the Orthodox Church
September 24, 2015 By
by Fr. John Hainsworth On Infant Baptism in the Orthodox Church. This excellent extended article will be presented in six installments. Every night my family gathers around the dinner table. We pray, dish out the food, laugh, argue, and ask and answer questions. The scene is sometimes chaotic, sometimes serious, sometimes silly, but this scene […]
What Year Was Jesus Born? The Answer May Surprise You!
December 2, 2013 By
by Jimmy Akin You might think that Jesus was born in the Year Zero–between 1 B.C. and A.D. 1. You often hear that Jesus was born around 6-7 B.C. The evidence from the Bible and the Church Fathers, however, support a different year. Here’s what the evidence says . . . Not in Year Zero […]
The Ass and The Ox in The Nativity Icon
December 1, 2013 By
By Jonathan Pageau There is no ass or ox in the Biblical narratives of the birth of Christ. Yet, besides the Christ Child himself, the ass and the ox are the most ancient and stable elements in the iconography of the nativity. In fact the earliest example of a nativity known to us contains only the swaddled Christ in the manger […]
Jesus’ Birth and When Herod the Great *Really* Died
December 1, 2013 By
by Jimmy Akin The Gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus Christ was born in the final years of the tyrant known as Herod the Great. He tells us that when Jesus was born, Herod panicked and had all the baby boys in Bethlehem killed. Fortunately, the Holy Family escaped to Egypt and remained there […]
Why You Should Write Your Sermons At Least Two Weeks In Advance
October 8, 2013 By
by Bob Hostetler Saw this and thought to myself – “Self, could you do this? I mean, week after week, successfully?” Early in my ministry, Thursdays were my sermon prep day—for the coming Sunday (I’ve never been a Saturday guy; just can’t live that close to the edge). And when we started Cobblestone, eight or […]
Restoring The Resurrection Gospel To The Orthodox Parish
October 6, 2013 By
by Fr. John A. Peck When we prepare to preach the Gospel, the Orthodox priest is almost certainly hogtied by one weakness – the Orthodox lectionary calls for the Resurrectional Gospels to NOT be read during Sunday Divine Liturgy, the only service most of his parishioners are going to attend. The problem, of course (for […]
The Death Of God and The Transfiguration Of Man
August 5, 2013 By
by Fr. Stephen Freeman The story of our creation in Genesis is interrupted. The Divine Council says, “Let us make man in our own image,” and the work begins. But man’s creation is not like the creation of anything else. For the stars and trees, the earth and the sky, God says, “Let there be…!” […]
