St. Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church Bible Study

The rich man in the parable builds bigger barns, makes careful plans, and dreams of a life of comfort, but God says to him, “This night your soul is required of you.” That is not just his story. It is our story too, especially in the middle of the Nativity Fast. We pour our energy into plans, food, gifts, and schedules, and we forget that our soul is eternal and that the kingdom of God is the only...

In this study we look at one of the most comforting truths of the Orthodox faith. Christ did not stay far away from us. He entered every part of our human life and made it holy from the inside. He took on our growth, our work, our friendships, our suffering, and even our death. Nothing in your story is outside His reach. He has walked your path before you, and He walks with you now. We also turn t...

When we cross ourselves in church, we are not doing a small routine gesture. We are bowing before God. The sign of the cross is a tiny prostration that teaches the heart to worship with humility. It brings the mind back to prayer, reminds us of the Holy Trinity, and shapes how we stand before the Lord. In this episode we look at why the body matters in worship and how this simple movement draws us...

In this study, Fr. Stephen Osburn reflects on the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 and how Christ uses this parable to show the heart of the Father. The younger son falls into sin because he believes freedom is found far from God. Yet the real change comes when he faces the truth and chooses to return. The Father runs to him with mercy before he can speak a single explanation. This is how God meets every r...

In this study, Anthony Ally invites us into a deeper look at the Incarnation as God’s healing gift to humanity. Instead of rushing toward Christmas worn out by the world, we learn how the Church gives us a sacred forty day journey that restores the heart. Christ entered every part of human life, from conception to death, so that He could heal every part of our story. This truth, known as Anakephal...

On Sunday, November 16th, 2025, Fr. Stephen preached about the Good Samaritan and a hard truth. Other groups are often out-serving us in charity, even when they do not have the fullness of the faith. The Lord does not just tell us to believe the right things, He tells us to see our neighbor, to stop, to give, to sacrifice, and to love in action. If we want people to come to the true Church, they n...

In this study we looked at the Parable of the Talents and how Christ uses this story to reveal something essential about the Christian life. God gives every person real gifts, and these gifts are meant to be offered back to Him for His glory. The servants who received five and two talents acted with trust. They put their gifts to work. The servant with one talent hid his gift out of fear and mistr...

This class explores the heart of Orthodox hierarchy and how it mirrors heaven’s order here on earth. Fr. Stephen walked through the ranks of clergy, the meaning of ordination, and why every Divine Liturgy assumes the bishop is mystically present. He also unpacked the complex history of overlapping jurisdictions in America and the ongoing vision of one unified Orthodox Church. His message was both...

In this homily, Fr. Stephen Osburn reflects on Luke 8:41–56, where two lives intersect through desperation. Jairus pleads for his dying daughter, and a woman suffering for years reaches for the hem of Christ’s garment. Both find healing, not because they were strong, but because they were desperate for Him. Fr. Stephen reminds us that church is not about comfort but transformation. It is where we...

In this Bible study , Fr. Stephen Osburn explores The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13–21) and the call to live with holy urgency. Comfort is the enemy of mission, and complacency is the quiet death of the soul. Drawing from the life of Fr. Anthony Karbo of blessed memory, Fr. Stephen reminds listeners that the Christian life does not retire. The Church must never say, “We have done enough.” O...

In this homily, Fr. Stephen Osburn reflects on the healing of the Gadarene demoniac from Luke 8:26-39. The man freed from a legion of demons stands as a sign of Christ’s victory over the powers of darkness—yet the townspeople, rather than rejoicing, beg Jesus to leave. Why? Because His miracle cost them their comfort. They cared more about their pigs than about the salvation in front of them. Fr....

In this Bible study, Fr. Stephen reflects on the Good Samaritan as a living icon of Christ. We are the wounded traveler, and the Lord is the One who comes near, binds our wounds, and carries us to the inn of His Church. The oil and wine point to grace and healing, and the inn becomes the place where the Physician entrusts souls to our care. The study turns from theory to practice. Real evangelism...

In this homily, Fr. Stephen Osburn reflects on Christ’s parable of the rich man and Lazarus. He reminds us that we live in a time of abundance, so much so that comfort has become our greatest temptation. When comfort becomes normal, awareness of God fades. We stop seeing the Lazarus at our gate, and we stop realizing how much we depend on Christ. Fr. Stephen calls us back to the life of the Church...

In this study, Dn. Vassily Kocher walks catechumens through the Orthodox theology of icons. He explains why the Church venerates but never worships icons, how Scripture itself shows God commanding sacred images in the tabernacle and temple, and how Christ points to the bronze serpent as a sign fulfilled in the Cross. We look at the victory of Nicaea II and the Sunday of Orthodoxy, then learn to “r...

In this study, Anthony Ally explores what it means to be created in the Image and Likeness of God. The discussion centers on how that divine imprint gives every person unshakable dignity and meaning, even in a fallen and fractured world. The Fall is not only the breaking of a commandment but the breaking of communion itself, something Christ came to heal by taking on our humanity and restoring the...

In this sermon, Fr. Stephen Osburn reflects on St. Paul’s pastoral wisdom to a restless city like Corinth and shows why the apostle’s personal testimony is not self focus but a doorway to Christ. Paul names the real battles of the heart and then turns the Church toward the Lord, teaching that the problem with pride is not only that it is bad, but that it replaces God with the self. The cure begins...

Fr. Stephen unfolds the Parable of the Dragnet and asks a practical question: what makes people remain in the Church and grow holy rather than drift away. The Lord says the net gathers every kind, and the Fathers teach that the good and bad are found within the Church herself. Separation at the end is real, and the warning about gnashing of teeth is not theater. It is mercy that urges us to build...

In this Bible/Adult study, Anthony Ally presents a clear path to theosis, the Orthodox vision of becoming partakers of the divine nature by grace. Drawing on 2 Peter 1:4, John 17, and 2 Corinthians 3:18, he shows how Scripture and Holy Tradition belong together, how icons serve as windows to heaven, and how confession, fasting, and Holy Communion heal the heart and form the soul in Christ. Hearpra...

In this sermon, Fr. Stephen Osburn reflects on Luke 7:11–16, where Christ meets a funeral at the gates of Nain and turns mourning into resurrection. Drawing on St. Cyril of Alexandria’s image of Nain as a “city of death,” he shows how the Lord’s touch is not defiled by death but conquers it. The miracle becomes a preview of Pascha and a sign for every person who feels trapped by grief, sin, or des...

In this adult study, Anthony Ally invites us to rediscover the living reality of Orthodox Christianity through humility and inner stillness. Drawing from the theology of St. Dionysius the Areopagite, we explore how the wisdom of the early Church Fathers continues to guide us in the pursuit of true transformation. Summary: The session begins with the call to “Attend to thyself,” the first step towa...

October 5th, 2025: In this sermon, Fr. Stephen addresses a quiet temptation of modern life: moral agnosticism that mistakes convenience for goodness. Drawing on the baptismal vision of humanity made in the image and likeness of God, Fr. Stephen teaches why Christians do good, how to love enemies without endorsing sin, and how practical acts of mercy reshape the heart. He concludes with simple prac...

In this Bible study we reflected on two short but powerful parables: the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price from Matthew 13:44–46. At first glance they seem simple, but they carry a profound challenge for us as disciples of Christ. Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, worth selling everything to obtain. He also says it is like a merchant who dis...

Today we are exploring an ancient command with urgent modern relevance: Attend to yourself. Saint Basil the Great reminds us that this practice, called Nepsis or watchfulness, is the key to healing our anxious, distracted lives. We live in a world that constantly pulls us outward into endless scrolling, productivity pressures, and carefully curated online personas. The Fathers would not see this s...

In this sermon delivered on September 28th, 2025, Fr. Stephen reflects on Christ’s call to become “fishers of men.” Drawing from the witness of the early Church, he challenges us to move beyond lukewarm Christianity and live the Gospel daily through faithful worship, quick repentance, tangible service, heartfelt forgiveness, and joyful invitation. With practical guidance on watchfulness (nepsis),...

In this week’s study, we reflected on three of Christ’s parables that reveal the mystery of the Kingdom of God. The parable of the Wheat and the Tares reminds us that good and evil grow side by side in this world, and that final judgment belongs to God alone. We are called to be patient, to remain faithful wheat, and to resist the temptation to uproot what we think is tares before the Lord Himself...