Tag Archive for: Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 26:26-56

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St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church

Adult Bible Study-Gospel Of Matthew

Matthew 26:26-56

Sampson Kasapakis

Text:

Jesus Institutes the Lord’s Supper

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new[b] covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’32 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”

33 Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.”34 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” 35 Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples.

The Prayer in the Garden

36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless[d] I drink it, Your will be done.” 43 And He came and found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy. 44 So He left them, went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then He came to His disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.”

Notes:

  • We will be discovering the true meanings of some of the verses by looking at the original Greek. When we do this we can understand the text better because the original language has beauty that gets covered by translations.
  • Within this text we will discuss the fact that we have sin within our lives, the power of prayer and watchfulness so that we do not fall to temptation and sin, and the foretaste of the Kingdom of Heaven.
  • Weekly Challenge: Christ is Risen! Let us continue to remember Pascha and the power of God conquering the devil and sin so that when we pray to Him we can pray as Jesus did and say “Thy will be done.”

Matthew 26:14-16; 20-25

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The Gospel of Matthew

Session 58th – 4/26/2014

Fr. John Codis

26:14-16; 20-25

The Traitor’s Bargain and Love’s last appeal

 

The Traitor’s Bargain

We can pinpoint three real reasons why Judas betrayed Jesus:

  1. It may have been of avarice
  2. It may have been because of bitter hatred
  3. It may be that Judas never intended Christ to die.

It’s not Jesus who can changed by us, be we who need to changed by Christ.

“Rabbi , is it I?” (Matt 26:25)

There is no question that Judas went about his deceitful business with complete secrecy. He had to conceal his plans from his fellow disciples but could not conceal them from Christ.

Christ knows always what we have in our hearts and minds no matter how hard we try to hide or forget.

The only weapon that Christ will ever use is the weapon of love’s appeal.

When Christ seeks to stop us from sinning he does two things:

  1. He confronts us with our sin.
  2. He confronts us with Himself.

“He sees a man to become aware of the horror of the thing he is about to do, and of the love which yearns to stop him doing it.”

“Our hearts revolt against the son or daughter who cold-bloodedly breaks a parent’s heart – which is what Judas did to Jesus – and the tragedy is that this is what we ourselves so often do.”

 

 

 

Matthew 25:31-46

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St. Demetrios Bible Study

3/22/15

Matthew 25:31-46

Sampson Kasapakis

1) Text: Judging the Nations (Gospel Reading on Judgment Sunday)

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy[a] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’44 “Then they also will answer Him,[b] saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

 

2) Sheep VS Goats Recap: Remember one of our previous bible studies? What does it mean to be a sheep?

3) How do we stay on the right hand side that gets to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven?

4) “Even as Christ is healthy in the souls that are healthy, he is ailing in the souls that are ailing”- Unknown

5) New York City Rescue Mission Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6jSKLtmYdM

6) My challenge to us for the rest of this Lenten season. Change how you see people, not just the ones in this church but everywhere! See Christ in everyone and everything and more importantly allow Christ to come alive within us so when others look at us they may see Him.

Matthew 25: 14-30

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Adult Christian Education
Rev. Christopher T. Metropulos
Matthew 25:14-30

We must be good stewards- A third parable!
1. Each of us receives talents- what are we doing with them?
Time, Talent, Treasure, Trust

2. Be diligent in our spiritual lives and wait for Christ to return.
3. God’s gifts to us are many- talent was worth 6,000 denarii.
4. Second Coming- Settling of accounts will be done with each person by the Lord.

5. “Well done, good and faithful servant! You were faithful over a few things, I will appoint you over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

6. Gifts we receive- are they ours or are they given by God’s Grace?
7. Punishment of not utilizing our talents seems harsh.

Matthew 25:1-13

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The Gospel of Matthew

Session 54 – 3/8/2015

Fr. John Codis

25:1-13

Ready or Not, Here I Come!

 

Some things cannot be borrowed, some things cannot be put off, and we can miss out on great opportunities.

Being ready has to do with doing the right things. Actively living in faithfulness to God. It’s more than a name or a title, it is a way of life.

Spiritual readiness, preparation and growth does not just happen at the snap of ones fingers. It comes as a result of one’s intentional habits built into their life.

Do we let our lives control us and let it lead us? Or do we take life by the horns and prepare ourselves?

Make sure you take your bodies to the mechanic and that they fill up your oil tank!

  1. You must be spiritually ready.
  2. No one can do it for you.

The Gospel has encourages us with these words: “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first” (Hebrews 3:12-14). God has made this promise to us: “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).

 

Matthew 24:1-31

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The Gospel of Matthew

Session 52 – 2/22/2015

Fr. John Codis

24:1-31

The Vision of Things to Come

This chapter shows us the things that Jesus said about the future and give us the vision of the things to come. This chapter comes after the pronouncement of Judgment when Jesus speaks to the scribes and Pharisees.

The Siege of Jerusalem

Christ is speaking about the destruction of the Temple in 70AD. This is what Jesus foresaw; these are the things he forewarned. We must never forget that not only men but nations need the wisdom of Christ. Christ laid down the laws by which alone a nation can prosper, and by disregard of which it can do no other than miserably perish.

The Day of the Lord

God has not abandoned the world and we must not be discouraged at the crescendo of evil within the world. Destruction is a prelude to recreation.

We cannot take the pictures in their details word for word. They are only symbolic and which use the only pictures which the minds of men could conceive.

The basic meaning is this, whatever the world is like, God has not abandoned it.

The Persecution to Come

Christ is brutally honest. He never promised his disciples an easy way; he promised them death and suffering and persecution. The real church will always be persecuted so long as it exists in a world which is not Christian.

Christ offers us the following:

  1. A New Loyalty
  2. A New standard
  3. A New Example
  4. A New Conscience

Weekly Sunday Bulletin – Judgement Sunday

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Judgement SundayFebruary 15, 2015

“It is the aim of the holy Fathers, through bringing to mind that fearful day, to rouse us from the slumber of carelessness unto the work of virtue, and to move us to love and compassion for our brethren. Besides this, even as on the coming Sunday of Cheese-fare we commemorate Adam’s exile from the Paradise of delight — which exile is the beginning of life as we know it now — it is clear that today’s is reckoned the last of all feasts, because on the last day of judgment, truly, everything of this world will come to an end

Parish Council on Duty

George Georgakakis, Manny Daskos, Eleni Varvoutis, Mihali Haralambis, Michael Fossler, Juanita Antley, Marion Koliniatis

Weekly Sunday Bulletin – 16th Sunday of Luke

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Publican and PhariseeFebruary 1, 2015

Publican and the Pharisee

Let us flee from the boasting of the Pharisee and learn through our own sighs of sorrow the humility of the Publican. Let us cry out to the Savior, “Have mercy on us, for through You alone are we reconciled.”

The Lenten spring has come!

the light of repentance;

Let us, brothers, cleanse ourselves from all evil,

crying out to the Giver of Light:

Glory to Thee, O Lover of man.

Parish Council on Duty

George Georgakakis, Manny Daskos, Elenie Varvoutis, Mihali Haralambis, Michael Fossler, Juanita Antley, Marion Koliniatis

Matthew 22:1-15

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The Gospel of Matthew

Session 49 – 2/1/2015

Fr. John Codis

22:1-14

Who Enters into the Kingdom

Joy and Judgment

The Jews ages ago were invited by God to be his chosen people. Yet when God’s Son, Christ, came into the world, and they were invited to follow him they disrespectfully refused.

  1. Invitation of God is joyous.
  2. Distractions are not necessarily bad.
  3. A sense of loss
  4. Invitation of Grace.

This resulted in God going out to the highways and byways, to the sinners and Gentiles, inviting all by His grace to the Wedding Feast.

The repeated sending out of servants shows Gods great desire to have His people with him in the Kingdom.

We are too often contemptuously refusing Gods call. He always takes a back seat to our lives. Sometimes not out of our own desire, but out of our own neglect. It is the grace of Christ, which allows us His invitation, and we must not make our lives so busy, being preoccupied with things that are seen but to refocus us on things that are unseen.

The Scrutiny of the King

“The door is open to all people, but when they come they must bring a life which seeks to fit the love which has been given to them. Grace is not only a gift, it is a grave responsibility.”

The door is not open for a sinner to come in and remain a sinner, but for the sinner to come and become a saint.

Garment of Mind – Expectation

Garment of Heart – Humble Penitence

Garment of Soul – Faith and Reverence

We need to enter God’s house, His Church, with a preparedness which we lack at times. A little prayer, a little thought, and a little self-examination would go a long way, then worship would be worship indeed!