“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.
But as for me and my house, we will SERVE the Lord. Joshua 24:15 As we discussed in yesterday’s reflection, most New Year’s resolutions are not only not kept, but are quickly forgotten. Ask someone today if they kept their resolution from 12 months ago and most people won’t even Read more
As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s grace. I Peter 4:10 For the past several years in the parish where I’ve served, we’ve encouraged parishioners to choose a word to define their year. Instead of making New Years’ resolutions that most Read more
Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift! II Corinthians 9:15 Two points to make today. First, at some point in the next 10 days or so, we will take our Christmas decorations down. In our house, we leave them up until Epiphany and sometimes even a little beyond that. But at Read more
In those days, Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called) and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia; arose and disputed Read more
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory. John 1:14 The Gospel accounts of the Nativity are limited to a mere forty verses. In the Gospel of Matthew, there are 19 verses about the Nativity. The Gospel of Luke has 20. The Gospel of Read more
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East, and have come to Read more
But when the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our Read more
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, Read more
In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in these last days He has spoken to us by a Son, Whom He appointed the heir of all things, through Whom also He created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the Read more
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the Read more
By faith Abraham sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. And what more shall I say? Read more
But Peter said to him, “Your silver shall perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!” Acts 8:20 Several years ago, when our son participated in a Christmas program at his elementary school. It was more of a contemporary take on Christmas. There Read more