“The Prayer Team” is a daily devotion written by Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis, written every day since February 2015. Fr. Stavros is the Parish Priest at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Tampa, Florida. It began in February 2015 as an opportunity to write more on the subject of prayer and now has branched into other subjects.
Sunday Epistles and Gospels Saturday, June 5 Being an Authentic Christian Will Bring Both Conflict and Peace In those days, as we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by soothsaying. Read more
Jesus said, “I AM the light of the world.” John 8:12 Jesus said, “You are the Light of the world.” Matthew 5:14 The concept of “Light” plays an important role in the Bible. In Genesis 1:3, we read that light was the first thing God created. And at the beginning of the Read more
I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. I Corinthians 7:35 We began our discussion of I Thessalonians 5:23 by reflecting on being sanctified until the coming of our Lord Read more
May the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I Thessalonians 5:23 In September 2019, I began writing a series of reflections on “The Heart of Encouragement.” This was disrupted Read more
This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance forever. Exodus 12:14 Christ is Risen! Today’s verse from Exodus was told to Moses by God at the time of the Read more
So He came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as He was with His journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Read more
Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to none except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Greeks also, Read more
Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” Jesus said to Read more
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time He said to him, “Simon, son of Read more
After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and He revealed Himself in this way. Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I Read more
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark Read more
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When He had said this, He showed them His hands and Read more