Author: Fr. Barnabas Powell

Fr. Barnabas is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, Georgia. He is also host of Faith Encouraged Live on Ancient Faith Radio and author of the Faith Encouraged podcast.

Simple Or Easy But not Both

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“It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones, after all.” So says the author of Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder. But life is so very often not simple. It’s complicated and difficult and filled with so many motivations all mixed together and hard to tease out the good from the bad. I was having a recent discussion with my daughter and we were talking…

Christ Has Set Us Free

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
I’ve never yet heard a politician boldly proclaim “Vote for me and I’ll take away your freedom!” They are always going on about “protecting democracy” “restoring your freedom” or “protecting your rights.” Even those politicians bought and paid for by special interests are desperate to tell you they aren’t bought and paid for by special interests! The older I get, the more comical in the classic sense this appears. But, to be…

As Sheep Among the Wolves

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Don’t kid yourself, the spiritual life is no cakewalk. And by that I mean there is a real struggle involved. To put it like our Orthodox Fathers said – it is war. But not the war we think of nowadays. No, this is a “war” with myself where I have to commit to a purposeful, attentive, struggle against the tug of my passions toward slavery to my desires. I have to “fight”…

If I Be Lifted Up

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
The old saying is “There ain’t no way to put lipstick on a pig.” It meant that no matter how hard you try, you can’t make a horrible situation better by pretending it isn’t “all that bad.” It just doesn’t work. It’s like the awkward conversations with those who have had a family member pass. It seems all our words to “make everything OK” just sound shallow and even dismissive. It’s that…

The Power of a Firm Foundation in Christ

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
Why do you think the way you think? In other words, what forms your opinions, priorities, and actions. Why do you choose what you choose? All of these questions go to the foundation of how you live your life. And if we don’t periodically examine the foundational formation of how we think and live, we will find ourselves being lived by life instead of living life as a free person. For instance,…

“One Man Should Die for the People”

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Have you ever heard of the story of the donkey who saved a prophet’s life by talking to him? And you thought your dreams were strange! Seriously, this powerful story in the First Testament is worth your time! Read the whole story in Numbers 22. To make a long story short, Balaam is something of a prophet and some enemies of the Jews in the area want to hire him to curse…

Cure for the Troubled Soul

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In our nihilistic age, with all the turmoil of our society from pandemics to politics to violence in the streets, we moderns seem to be having a crisis of purpose, a crisis of meaning! I was having a conversation the other day with a dear, educated man, who also happens to be an ordained clergyman in one of the many Protestant denominations in our fair city. The conversation turned, as it often…

Thinking Like Jesus Thinks – Happy Marymas!

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How do you think? Or, a better question is, What has formed the way you think? SDcientists call this question “epistemology” from the Greek word “episteme.” How you think flows from what has shaped how you think. So, what do you allow to shape your thinking? Because how you think, and what you think shapes your choices, attitudes, and decisions. It’s the reason why the Church’s wisdom on repentance is so foundational…

Knowing Your Freedom in Christ

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There was a day when I relished a good theological argument. Jousting with this or that “opponent” over this or that doctrine was as much fun as it was challenging. My favorite fights were over questions about the Trinity or predestination or even the very question about what was salvation anyway. I’d pour over scriptures read books about apologetics and hone my “arguments” until I thought they were ironclad! And then I’d…

The Stone Rejected Has Become the Cornerstone – Sunday Homily

· Fr. Barnabas Powell
Your life is a gift from the God Who loves you. The Creator has allowed you to be His tenants of His world, and all He asks is that we remember that our life is gift and return gratitude to the Creator, not for His benefit (He needs nothing) but for our benefit. When confronted with the ugly unfaithfulness of ungrateful “tenants” the shortsighted leaders attacking Christ condemn themselves. Learn the power…