St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church Bible Study

Work often feels like something we endure, but the Orthodox Church teaches that it can become one of the primary places where God transforms us. In this episode, we explore how our daily labor reveals the passions within us while also becoming an offering of love to God.

Whether you’re an employee, business owner, tradesman, student, or retiree, you’ll discover practical ways to unite your work with prayer, serve your ne...

Saint Paul’s teachings about men and women are often quoted without their biblical and historical context. This sermon examines difficult passages concerning headship, women speaking in church, head coverings, marriage, and worship. It asks whether Paul viewed women as inferior or whether his true concern was restoring order and communion within divided Christian communities. The sermon begins with the Orthodox Christian unde...

Many people think vocation simply means choosing the right career. The Orthodox Church teaches something much deeper. Our first and greatest calling is to know God, grow in holiness, and live a life of repentance. In this Bible study, we explore the Orthodox understanding of vocation through Scripture and the life of St. Symeon the New Theologian, discovering how God’s calling shapes every part of our lives.

Anthony Ally expla...

In this sermon, Fr. Stephen reflects on the Gospel account of the demon-possessed men and the swine. The passage shows more than a dramatic miracle. It reveals how the human heart can become attached to possessions, comfort, and control. Orthodox Christianity teaches that the spiritual life begins when our desires are turned back toward God.

The people in the Gospel witness a man being healed, yet they focus on the loss of their swi...

This Bible study looks at self-denial, humility, and the difference between repentance and self-hatred in Orthodox Christianity. The Orthodox Church teaches that self-denial does not mean rejecting the person God created. It means rejecting the false self, the selfish ego ruled by pride, fear, and the passions. Drawing from St. John Cassian and the Desert Father Abba Paphnutius, this discussion helps explain what true humility look...

This sermon examines the healing of the centurion’s servant in Matthew 8 and what the encounter teaches about faith, authority, and obedience. The centurion understands that he is both under authority and responsible for others. He also recognizes the limits of his own power. His humility allows him to trust the divine authority that can bring healing.

The sermon explains why spiritual authority exists within the Orthodox Chur...

What does it mean to be pure in heart, and does purity require a person to be sinless? In Matthew 5:8, Christ promises that the pure in heart will see God. The Orthodox Church understands purity as the healing of a divided heart. It means learning to seek God above success, approval, pleasure, and control. This Bible study taught by Anthony Ally considers what the Desert Fathers can teach us about this struggle.

Abba Moses and St. J...

In this sermon, Fr. Stephen Osburn reflects on Matthew 6 and the command to “seek first the Kingdom of God.” The Gospel teaches that the heart cannot serve two masters. Orthodox Christianity understands this as a direct call to turn away from self-rule and place God at the center of life. This sermon asks a simple but serious question: are we seeking God first, or are we still trying to serve ourselves?

The sermon explai...

This Bible study looks at Orthodox spiritual discernment through the example of the Holy Theotokos. Discernment means learning how to recognize what is from God, what comes from our own passions, and what may be spiritual deception. The Orthodox Church teaches that discernment is not built on private feelings alone. It grows through humility, confession, obedience, prayer, Scripture, and the life of the Church.

Anthony Ally reflects...

This sermon reflects on the Sunday of All Saints of America and what it means to become holy in Orthodox Christianity. The Orthodox Church does not teach that saints are only people from ancient times or distant lands. Saints are real people whose lives have been healed, changed, and filled with the grace of God. This sermon asks a simple but serious question: what story will our life tell?

Through three personal stories, the sermon...

This Bible study focuses on discernment, stillness, the Jesus Prayer, confession, fasting, and the daily struggle of the Orthodox spiritual life. Discernment means learning how to recognize what leads the soul toward God and what pulls it away from Him. In Orthodox Christianity, spiritual growth is not about doing the most impressive thing, but about walking the path of repentance with humility. The study draws from St. John Cassia...

This sermon reflects on the meaning of Orthodox baptism and what it means to be brought fully into the life of the Church. At the heart of the sermon is Saint Paul’s teaching in Galatians: “As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Baptism is not treated as a private religious custom or a sentimental family moment. It is the beginning of new life, the restoration of the person, and entrance in...

In this Orthodox Christian sermon, Fr. Michael Matsko reflects on the deep meaning of Holy Baptism and the “robe of light.” Baptism is not presented as a bare symbol or a private religious moment, but as the entrance into the life of the Orthodox Church. The sermon explains how the baptismal service reveals the Gospel through prayer, water, renunciation, confession, Chrismation, and the white garment placed on the newly...

This sermon for the Sunday of All Saints reflects on what the saints teach us about priorities, worship, and the life of the Orthodox Church. In Orthodox Christianity, saints are not distant religious figures, but living witnesses of what happens when the grace of God heals and transforms a person. Their lives show that holiness is not reserved for the perfect, but is the calling of every Christian. The sermon also connects this fe...

This Bible study focuses on stillness, the Jesus Prayer, and spiritual discernment in Orthodox Christianity. Stillness means learning to quiet the heart before God through prayer, attention, and repentance. It is not about emptying the mind into nothing, but about returning the mind and heart to God. Anthony Ally also introduced St. John Cassian’s teaching on discernment as the gift that guides the whole spiritual life.

The st...

In this sermon, Fr. Stephen reflects on Pentecost and what it means to become truly Christian. Pentecost is not only a feast about something that happened long ago. It is the revelation of the Holy Spirit forming the Church and changing ordinary people into saints. The sermon connects the ancient life of the Orthodox Church with the personal call to put on Christ and be made new.

The sermon explains why many people are drawn to Orth...

This sermon reflects on the Sunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council and why the Orthodox Church teaches that truth matters. The sermon focuses on the warning of Saint Paul in Acts 20, where he tells the leaders of the Church to guard the flock. The danger he describes is not only outside persecution, but confusion that can arise from within the Christian community. This is a sermon about Orthodox Christianity, doctrin...

In this Bible study, Anthony Ally teaches about St. Conan the Palestinian and the Orthodox Christian understanding of spiritual struggle. St. Conan’s life shows that temptation is not proof that God has abandoned us. The Orthodox Church teaches that struggle can become a path of healing when we bring it honestly before God. This study also introduces the practice of stillness, or hesychia, and how Christians learn to pray wit...

In this sermon, Fr. Stephen reflects on the Gospel of the blind man and what it teaches about Orthodox Christianity, spiritual sight, and life in the Church. The healing of the blind man is not only about physical sight. It also shows what happens when God opens a person’s eyes and leads them into a new way of life. Many people today are searching for deeper faith, ancient worship, and a real spiritual home, and the Orthodox ...