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An Open Invitation, Part 3, Empty Words and Empty Worship
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 11 Jun, 2017
Over the past couple of weeks we have been looking at the letters to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation. Each one describes a group of people that the Lord wants to bring into His church. This week we will look at Thyatira and Sardis. Thyatira represents us when we find excuses to not live our faith. Sardis represents us when we act spiritual but don't back it up with actual charity. In both cases the Lord offers a way out for us so that we can become part of His kingdom. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
An Open Invitation - Part 2: The Misled and the Willfully Ignorant
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 4 Jun, 2017
The letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation reveal seven different kinds of people that the Lord calls to be part of His church - their good qualities and their potentially fatal flaws. This Sunday evening, in Part 2 of this series, we're talking about people who do good things but lack a true understanding, either because they're in false thinking or because they can't be bothered to think about what's true. Come and see what the Lord has to say to people like this. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
An Open Invitation, Part 1: Goodness vs. Rightness
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 28 May, 2017
What does it take to be part of the New Church? Being part of the New Church takes many forms but at heart it is all about looking to the Lord and repenting of evils. As we approach the celebration of the New Church's birth in June, we will explore how we look to the Lord and repent, and so become part of His Church. Specifically we will explore the letters to the seven churches, each of which reveals some new quality of the Lord and some new evil that we can work on. This Sunday we will look at the letter to the Church in Ephesus, which urges those who put great weight in being right to focus more on doing good. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
6 Ways the Jewish Ingathering is Relevant Today
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 21 May, 2017
"O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good for His mercy is forever." This Sunday the topic for the service will the harvest and gratitude. To celebrate this important topic we are inviting all children to bring fruit and vegetables up to the altar at the beginning of the service. All food collected will be donated to The White House Community Care Centre, which is our current outreach focus. Any non-perishable items will also be gratefully received. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Finding Jesus in the Life of Abraham, Part 3
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 14 May, 2017
This Sunday we continue with our exploration of the Abraham story and how every detail speaks directly to the heart and mind of Jesus Christ. As our final entry in the series we will look at the near sacrifice of Abraham's son Isaac. While horrendous on the surface, the deeper meaning reveals the trauma that Jesus faced as He fought to embody Divine Love in everything that He did. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Finding Jesus in the Life of Abraham, Part 2
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 8 May, 2017
This Sunday evening we'll be exploring a difficult story—the story of Abraham bargaining with God and asking Him if He will still destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if even just a few good people are there. The teachings of the New Church say that, in this strange and somewhat disturbing story, we can actually find a glimpse into the heart and mind of Jesus Christ when He was in this world and gain a better understanding of His incredible love for people who are trapped in evil. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Finding Jesus in the Life of Abraham, Part 1
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 2 May, 2017
What can the life of a man, dead now for thousands of years, teach us about our God? The story of Abraham, called to leave his home, tasked with producing a new nation, a people for God, may seem a distant fable. Yet in the details of Abraham's life we can find, if we look deeply enough, insight into the life of God Himself. This Sunday we will look for some of these insights and find a deeper understanding of our Lord. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
The Hazards and Blessings of Comparing our Spiritual Lives with Others
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 23 Apr, 2017
One of the ways we evaluate how we are doing spiritually is by comparing ourselves to how other people seem to be doing. This can be a positive thing: being in community with other people who are striving to uphold the same values as us can inspire and encourage us to do better. And it can be a negative thing: comparing ourselves with other people can lead us to be envious or judgmental or it can even lead us to the absurd situation of trying to prove that we're more spiritual than other people. Let's talk about how the Lord can help us to deal with these challenging dynamics. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Failure is an Option
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 16 Apr, 2017
Failure is an option. In fact, it's inevitable. From our point of view anyway. If the Lord hadn't "failed" the expectations of His followers, He never would have achieved His goals. He needed to face hell, be crucified, and die in order to achieve the greater victory of the resurrection. We cannot avoid the apparent failures that come our way. We can, however, trust that in letting us fail the Lord has a greater plan for us, and if we are willing we will find something better than any of our expectations. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
A Humble Mind, a Joyful Heart
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 9 Apr, 2017
Palm Sunday represents a crucial turning point in the Lord’s ministry: It was the point at which He went from preaching in the outskirts of the countryside to directly challenging those at the heart of religious life. It also led to His death and eventual resurrection. There is also a turning point for us when we submit to the Lord as King: as He enters we find new challenges, unseen evils, and deep spiritual struggle. Yet ultimately it is all for the good: just as Palm Sunday points through the Crucifixion to Easter Sunday, the Lord’s presence with us cuts through temptations and brings us to eternal peace. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Making Choices
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 2 Apr, 2017
When confronted with hard choices the easiest thing to do is to make no choice at all. Yet this choice is often the worst choice of all: in trying to keep our options open we lose out on all of them. The Lord is adamant that we make a committed choice: He sets before us life and death and urges us to choose life. Commitment to a choice is the only way to succeed spiritually. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Mindful Communication Challenge - 5 Are You Willing?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 26 Mar, 2017
In our last service of the Mindful Communication Challenge program we're going to be looking at the question that underlies all the different ways of improving our communication that we've talked about: am I willing? Am I willing to try to improve how I communicate? Am I willing to put in the work that it will take to change the way I typically act? So.... are you willing? And if the answer (honestly) is no, what do you do about that? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Mindful Communication Challenge - 4 - Is it Useful?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 19 Mar, 2017
We have spent time exploring the questions "Is it true?" and "Is it kind?" This week we ask "Is it useful?" At the heart of this question is putting truth and kindness into action. Truth and kindness without use are simply airy ideas. By asking "Is it useful?" we bring our focus to the actual impact that our words will have on the people around us. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Mindful Communication Challenge - 3 - Is it Kind?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 12 Mar, 2017
Communication well takes more than just figuring out if what we want to say is true; we also need to go deeper and ask, "Is it kind?" Do I want to say this because I love and care about this person or is it something else? These questions are often hard to answer but learning how to pay attention to our motivations is an essential piece of learning how to communicate better. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Mindful Communication Challenge - 2 - Is it True?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 5 Mar, 2017
Truth matters a lot. Without it we would have no direction or guidance in life. We can however use truth as a bludgeon. I'M right, YOU'RE wrong. The truths that matter most are not the ones that prove us right, but the ones that give us the Lord's perspective on things. When we seek this higher truth the Lord can fill our communication with wisdom. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Mindful Communication Challenge - 1 - Am I Listening?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 27 Feb, 2017
This Sunday we have the first topic of the Mindful Communication Challenge program: listening. As the person talking, really feeling heard by someone can mean a lot to us. As the listener, there are a lot of things that can get in the way of our being able to listen fully. Let's learn from the Lord about how to get better at listening to Him and to other people. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Watching our Words
Worship Service: Informal Family - 19 Feb, 2017
This Sunday we are celebrating the founding of Kainon School and so will have the whole primary school community joining us for worship. The topic of the service is the school theme for the year: "Watching Our Words." On Sunday we're going to be exploring what needs to be in place for us to be able to watch or pay attention to anything. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
How Well Do We Know the Lord
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 12 Feb, 2017
A number of people in Scripture had the opportunity to see God. Moses saw Him. So did some of the prophets. And of course the Lord's own disciples saw Him when He walked on earth. This is what the Word of God is for: it is the way we come to see and know our God. How is this working out for us? Do we see and know our God from His Word? Is it making a difference in our lives? Let's look at some of the ways the Lord is revealing Himself to us. | By Rev. Louis D. Synnestvedt , Westville, RSA
The Great Parable of Genesis
Worship Service: Sermon only - 5 Feb, 2017
The Story of Joseph is the revealing of life's purpose. This Sunday we take another look at the story which may appropriately be called the Great Parable of Genesis. It starts with Joseph, a youth, who receives a very personal and Godly message in the form of dreams which forever shape his life and the life of those around him. When we read about this young person and his extraordinary experiences, bad and good, the Lord is doing amazing things: He shapes our inner thoughts and reveals our heart's desires. | By Rev. Louis D. Synnestvedt , Westville, RSA
Dining with Joseph
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 29 Jan, 2017
Joseph, the son of Jacob, had amazing dreams in his youth, like the one where the sun, the moon and the eleven stars would bow down to him. Clearly his dreams were signs of a future greatness. But the envy of his brothers led to Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt. In time, a great famine covered the earth. Joseph, recognised for his wisdom, rose to power. In a curious turn of events, the brothers of Joseph, who simply traveled to Egypt to buy grain, found themselves guests at the royal palace. They dine - unbeknownst to them - with Joseph! Yes, if you think about it, this relates to how, in Providence, we come to dine with the Lord, who is the Heavenly Joseph. | By Rev. Louis D. Synnestvedt , Westville, RSA
God is Love
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 22 Jan, 2017
Love is a word that means so many things. It can refer to something that causes the most mundane pleasure or to something of the most profound motivation for goodness. We say God is love. Let's take some time together to explore what this common expression can mean for our relationship to the Lord. | By Rev. Louis D. Synnestvedt , Westville, RSA
Let the Lord Decide What Burden You Bear
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 15 Jan, 2017
What are you carrying? Did you put down some stuff at the end of last year that you're now picking up again, along with some new things? What about things from the past-are you carrying guilt about things you did or didn't do in addition to guilt about things you are or aren't doing now? The Lord says, "Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give your rest ..... For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Let's talk about what burden the Lord wants us to carry and how to let go of the rest. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Unless the Lord Builds the House
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 8 Jan, 2017
A Bryn Athyn College Talk by the Rev Thane Glenn (originally preached 3 Feb 2016) adapted slightly into a sermon by the Rev Malcolm G. Smith. A sermon on how we can get stuck on the idea that if we just work hard enough we can control the outcome of things. What if we can trust we don't need to prove ourselves? The Lord is always working towards our highest good. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Where Are You Coming From and Where Are You Going?
Worship Service: Informal Family - 1 Jan, 2017
As we start a new year come and listen to the story of Hagar and the questions the Lord asks us. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
God is Love
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 25 Dec, 2016
Love is a word that means so many things. It can refer to something that causes the most mundane pleasure or to something of the most profound motivation for goodness. We say God is love. Let's take some time together to explore what this common expression can mean for our relationship to the Lord. | By Rev. Louis D. Synnestvedt , Westville, RSA