"One of the most effective ways to heal people and draw them close to God is through teaching and preaching." -Saint John Chrysostom

The ultimate goal of a sermon, as well as any teaching in the Church, is not simply to increase our knowledge of the faith but to inspire and motivate change in our lives. This is what St John Chrysostom meant when he talks about the most effective way of healing people. The purpose is to help people encounter the living God so that they invite His Spirit into their lives to guide and direct them, to inspire and empower them, to comfort and heal them, to lead them to repentance and change, and to recreate each person more and more into the likeness of God. Here lies my hope for this book.

We live in a day and age where our lives are filled with busyness and superficial nonsense. We need to remember the advice of the Psalmist to "Be still and know that I am God." In silence and stillness we encounter God. In dedicating time to dwell in His Presence we nourish our souls. We need to consciously choose to take time each day to fill our minds with spiritually uplifting words which enrich our hearts. My prayer is that you will find such words in this book that will bless your heart and nourish your soul.

About the AuthorFr. Luke A. Veronis has served as a Greek Orthodox priest for 26 years. For the past 16 years he has been pastoring Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Webster, MA. Simultaneously he directs the Missions Institute of Orthodoxy Christianity at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, where he teaches as an adjunct instructor at both Holy Cross and Hellenic College. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Orthodox Christian Mission Center. Fr. Luke has been involved in the Orthodox Church's missionary movement since 1987. Together with his wife Presbytera Faith, he served as a missionary in post-communist Albania for ten and a half years, and in East Africa for eighteen months. He has led nine Project Mexico mission teams to Tijuana, Mexico where his church group has built homes for needy families while supporting the St. Innocent Orphanage. He also has offered a course at HCHC for the past 10 years on "The Missiology of Archbishop Anastasios of Albania" which includes taking students on a mission practicum to Albania.

His published works include Go Forth: A Journal of Missions and Resurrection in Albania, Lynette's Hope: The Witness of Lynette Katherine Hoppe's Life and Death, and Missionaries, Monks, and Martyrs: Making Disciples of All Nations.