Speaker: The Rev. Nathan Stomberg

We need Advent to remind us of these responsibilities as we wait for Christ to return. And for that reason, Andrew is the perfect saint to start the Advent season. He also (unsurprisingly) embodies the call of John the Baptist in today’s Gospel reading for the second Sunday of Advent to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.”

The Rev. Stomberg and the Rev. Galloway discuss the importance of Christian responsibility. If Jesus tells us the world will get worse before he comes, then why should Christians try to make things better? Is secular culture responsible for the decline of the Church in the West, or is it actually Christians?

There is only one Kingdom that will last forever! And that Kingdom is the only place we can take refuge. Until Christ comes again, earthly kingdoms will rise and fall. Christians will face persecution, but our hope is in the one who reigns forever.

The Rev. Stomberg and the Rev. Galloway discuss uncommon types of stewardship. Did you know we are stewards of our emotions and intellect? And should Christians use Tik Tok?

You can give all the money in the world to the Church and still not be right with God! True stewardship consists of giving God the best of our time and talents, as well as our treasure. Most importantly, right stewardship starts with the condition of the heart. And if we are spiritually fatigued, then our stewardship is going to be limited. We can’t give our best to God if we are running on spiritual fumes!

The Rev. Stomberg and the Rev. Galloway answer the question: what is a hero? The two discuss heroes vs. antiheroes, the Saints, and why we need them in our lives.

For every Saint whose name we remember, there are a thousand more who silently served and suffered for the sake of the Gospel, and they are as much responsible for the advance of the Gospel as the great heroes of the faith whom we celebrate. We forget this so easily, and this is precisely why we need the heroes of the faith – to encourage us in the ordinary work of Sainthood. The ordinary life is a beautiful thing, because God ordains the ordinary to accomplish His divine and perfect Will.

The Rev. Stomberg and the Rev. Galloway discuss the dignity and value of human life, and how our end-of-life arrangements can serve as a Gospel witness. The discussion also covers assisted suicide, burials, funerals, living wills, caring for sick and dying relatives, and more.

It is said that our issue as Christians is not that we ask God for too much, but that we ask God for far too little. The same is true of our frequency in asking. Our problem is not that we come to God too much, but that we hardly come to him in prayer at all. Listen as the Rector encourages us to be persistent in prayer.