High quality pieces. Used it for Vacation Church School - the kids loved playing it!

Very important for a true Scriptural view of sacrifice. A "must read."

Finding out about the rapture and millennium has been an eye opening experience! I highly recommend this book to anyone who is still waiting to be taken out of this world before the Second Coming.

Yet another great book in Fr John's Paradise and Utopia series!

Before I became Orthodox, when I was still a Protestant, not only did I not know Christian history, I didn't even know Protestant history. This book helped open my eyes and fill in the gaps.

Fr Stephen does a great job of explaining a lot of Scriptural passages that I've always found problematic.

This book was wonderful! I was eagerly awaiting its release after Fr Jeremy's Ancient Faith special podcast on sacrifice. This book was even better than I expected. I am pondering whether to send this to all my friends who are still in the Protestant world that I came out of who have a very different view of sacrifice.

Father Jeremy is a gifted writer and presents the topic of sacrifice in a way that is engaging, understandable, and eye opening. He offers a paradigm shift that takes us back an ancient view of the concept of sacrifice, one that is more focused on gratitude and on recognizing the presence of God in our daily activities. This is especially useful in modern times and culture so far removed from the original context of these concepts.

A great convenience to have all the prayers in one dedicated place. The booklet is well-made, too.

It is beautiful!

This is a wonderful collection of prayers laid out in a very approachable way. I keep mine in my car and often use it throughout the day. Id recommend it to inquirers and catechumens despite their age although this one is truly geared toward teens/young adults. I find some of the information to be a little abbreviated for the sake of approachability, and it could be longer for the price, but all in all i do recommend it.

Secret Turning, a collection of short stories, by Fr. Stephen Siniari, offers a unique insight into the parish of St. Alexander the Whirling Dervish. Some stories are happy, some sad but they all reflect the daily lives and struggles of the parishioners. It’s not meant to be read in one sitting, although I was tempted to do just that, but rather I recommend you take your time and read and reflect on each story and the secret meanings behind it.

I admit I skipped a couple, but I read others more than once. I highlighted quotes and paragraphs that forced me to reflect on my spiritual journey.
In “Others to see”, Miriam who was married to a non believer was told by her confessor, “Be a wordless icon, .. silently be Christ in your household.” And she did until the end which had a great impact on her life and household. This is just one example but there more that made me stop and think and pray.

Beautifully bound Bible with lovely added prayers.

Very nice icon for the price point.

This book is transformational. I plan to reread it.

This is truly a beautiful book, reminding one of the amazing possibilities when God is involved in relationships between humans and His animal and natural creation.

If you are the least bit seriously interested in the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, the. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

I've read some writings on the Divine Liturgy before, but this will likely be the book I recommend. Though it may no seem like much in the amount of words, it overflows with content to ponder again and again.

This is likely to be not only a recommendation, but a reference tool as well as required annual reading.

See for yourself.

I loved it. Many aspects of the Easter week were more clearly clarified.
I received a clearer understanding of Jesus. Up to this time, I thought He was just swept along by circumstances but He was in control at every step.
I plan to read the book again because I loved the way it explained the events and Jesus.
Thank you!

Welcoming Gifts, Sacrifice in the Bible and Christian Life, basically uprooted my entire theology about Sacrifice --- including Old Testament sacrifices, Christ’s death on the cross and the Eucharist that we continue to celebrate in modern times. Fr. Jeremy Davis changes the paradigm of sacrifice from one of an offering to an unknown or angry God, to one where sacrifice is more correctly the act of gift giving to enter a deeper relationship with God. In the first chapters, he outlines how biblical sacrifices all had the “metaphors” of sacrifice of food, sacrifice as aroma and sacrifice as a gift. He emphasizes that the act of the sacrifice was not the “killing” of the animal (because grains, fruits and nonliving foods were acceptable), but rather emphasized “heartfelt contrition, praise, fulfillment of vows, righteous action, mercy and humility.”

Fr. Jeremy has a great discourse on gift giving as relationship building. When we meet people whom we want to know better, we offer gifts, and they show their interest in the relationship by offering reciprocal gifts. In this continuing exchange of gifts, relationships become stronger and more meaningful. The same is true of sacrifice or “gift-giving” with our time, talents, and money in our response to the gift of the birth, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.

The book also goes into detail concerning the failure of the Mosaic sacrifices and how the sacrifice of Christ brings Salvation. Additionally, he carefully explains how the Orthodox liturgy, the Eucharist and the elements of our worship are the sacrifices we continually offer to God. But just as with the Old Testament offerings, our sacrifices of praise, prayer, incense, candles, and homilies are meaningless if we do not enter the Liturgy and partake of the Eucharist with the right mindset. Early in the book he attributes that God did not accept Cain’s sacrifice because he gave what was convenient, while Abel gave from the first born of his flock.

This book is so full of information and food for thought, and I have barely even scratched the surface in my review thus far, but I think one of the most poignant points that Fr. Jeremy makes is that we have changed the meaning of the word “sacrifice” to have a negative connotation to mean suffering (such as I sacrificed my career for my children, or it was a sacrifice to move into a smaller house). Fr. Jeremy posits that we should only use the word sacrifice in a religious context and should only use it when we mean an offering to deepen our relationship with our God.

The handle gets too hot to use very quickly. Otherwise it's fine.