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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
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
The Spiritual Connections in Music and the Lord's Word
Worship Service: Informal Family - 4 Dec, 2016
This Sunday before the Carol Sing there will be a brief worship service for the whole family in the church. The theme of the talk will be trying to understand the spiritual reasons why music can have such a powerful effect on us. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Part 2 - What's the point of me?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 2 Oct, 2016
Last Sunday we talked about the purpose of life in this world and got into ideas about heaven and working to bring heaven to earth. This week it gets more personal - and potentially more difficult. Yes, we're supposed to be useful and bringing heaven to earth but what does that mean about what a person does on a Monday morning? What if a person hates their job or is just entirely uninspired about doing their job? Should they quit or stick it out? What if a person knows what they want to do but can't due to bad health, injury, old age, or any number of other factors? How can the Lord help each of us to answer the question, "What's the point of me?" | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Part 1 - What's the Point of Life in This World
Worship Service: Sermon only - 25 Sep, 2016
Sometimes, in the midst of all the busyness, bizarreness, and belly-punches that life in this world can involve, we need to take a step back and ask what’s the point? Why are we here? What are we spending all this time and energy for? The Lord can help us with this—if we’re willing to take the time to listen. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Why We Have Sacraments 1- Baptism
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 18 Sep, 2016
This Sunday we have the privilege of witnessing an infant baptism. And so, in the sermon, we’re going to be talking about baptism and Holy Supper. Here’s a passage to get you thinking about the topic. Have you ever had thoughts along these lines? If the spiritual meaning of the Word had not been disclosed,… [people] might mutter and say to themselves, “What is baptism but pouring water on a baby’s head? What does that do for the baby’s salvation? What is the Holy Supper but taking bread and wine? What does that do for our salvation? For that matter, what is holy about these rituals, other than the fact that the ecclesiastical hierarchy has traditionally accepted them as sacred and divine and has commanded us to observe them? Although the churches claim that when the Word of God is brought near the elements they become sacred, these rituals are essentially just ceremonial.” … Yet from the point of view of their spiritual meaning, these two sacraments are the holiest acts of worship. (True Christianity §667) When we understand the significance of baptism and Holy Supper they can become a very meaningful part of our spiritual lives, rather than just arbitrary seeming rituals. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Why and How to Pray for Other People
Worship Service: Sermon only - 31 Jul, 2016
When someone we know goes through something difficult or tragic we often say that we will hold them in our thoughts and prayers. Why? What is the value in our prayers? Are we hoping to change the Lord's mind on what should happen? Don't get me wrong: there is real power in prayer for others but when we don't have clarity about what we should pray for and why we're praying it can be hard to do it. Let's talk about why prayer for others matters and how to build the habit of praying for others into our lives. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
As We Also Forgive Our Debtors
Worship Service: Sermon only - 5 Jun, 2016
Have you ever wondered why people in the New Church say the Lord's prayer a bit differently from a lot of other churches? One of the differences is that we say, "and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors." Do you know what that means? How are debts different from trespasses? This sermon puts them in context. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Holy Supper and Repentance
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 29 May, 2016
This Sunday we will have Holy Supper or Communion at the end of the service and we will be talking about the meaning of this sacred practice. We have just finished a sermon series on repentance and so we will be talking particularly about the power that taking the Holy Supper can have in the process of repenting. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
The Steps of Repentance 4 - Begin a New Life
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 22 May, 2016
For the past 3 weeks we've been looking at the steps of repentance, the spiritual process the Lord calls us to go through to reject what is evil and harmful in our lives and begin a new life. This week we come to the final step: actually beginning a new life. Scared? Does it even seem possible to make a real and lasting change in your life? Join us this Sunday to take an honest look at the challenges of beginning a new life and to learn how the Lord makes it possible for us to do this. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
The Steps of Repentance 3 - Pray to the Lord
Worship Service: Sermon only - 15 May, 2016
The teachings of the New Church outline 4 steps of repentance. This Sunday we're digging into the 3rd step: praying to the Lord. Prayer can sometimes feel pointless and ineffectual but that's why I love the chance to get to think about it and talk about it in the context of repentance because then we can really see its importance and power. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
The Steps of Repentance 2 - Recognise and Acknowledge Sin
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 8 May, 2016
(By Coleman Glenn read by Malcolm Smith)The teachings of the New Church outline 4 steps of repentance. This Sunday we're digging into the 2nd step--a step that is easy to overlook but essential to real repentance: recognising and acknowledging our sin. Sin is a scary word but learning how to recognise and acknowledge it in ourselves in a healthy way is a key step in moving beyond it. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Steps of Repentance 1-Examine Yourself
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 1 May, 2016
The first thing Jesus said when He began public preaching was, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). But how do we repent? The teachings of the New Church outline 4 steps of repentance. Can you guess (or remember) what they are? And, more importantly, do you know how to use them to repent? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Worshipping the Lord in Spirit and Truth
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 17 Apr, 2016
What is worship? What makes worship genuine or fake? What's the purpose of worship? These are some of the questions we’re going to be exploring this Sunday. We’re going to try to get to the heart of internal side of worship. (This was actually recorded in Stanford, Western Cape for the New Church Cape Town Circle.) | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Evaluating and Improving Your Spiritual Health
Worship Service: Sermon only - 3 Apr, 2016
How are you doing? How's your life going? How's your spiritual life going? These can be hard questions to know how to answer and hard questions to want to answer. Especially if things aren't going well we can feel a lot of shame and resistance around directly thinking about how we're doing. But, the first step in getting healthier is to take an honest look at how we're doing right now. That's what we're going to do this Sunday. This Sunday, during the adult sermon, I will give a short talk and then give people about 10 minutes to privately fill out a series of pages called the "Spiritual Health Snapshot" and "Spiritual Health Plan." It's a tool for evaluating how you're doing spiritually, picking an area to focus on, and then making a plan to work on it. These will be available on www.newchurchwestville.co.za/snapshot . You can download and print from there. If you've done it before, it can be useful to do it again and see how things have changed since the last time. If you haven't done it before, I hope you'll give it a try. Let's each do our individual work so that we can become more healthy as individuals and as a church. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Who Does Not Believe Will Be Condemned
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 27 Mar, 2016
This year, as we celebrate Easter, we are focusing on the Gospel Mark. One of the features of the account from Mark is a strong emphasis on belief—people who believe that Jesus has risen, people who do not, what will happen to those that do and do not believe. This Sunday will be an opportunity for each person to reflect on what they believe about Jesus and the Easter story and how the Lord can strengthen each person’s belief. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Living Gratefully 5 The Gift of Inspiration
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 6 Mar, 2016
We've talked in previous weeks about how the Lord leaves us in freedom and how He doesn’t force us to do anything. If that's the case, what does He do for us? How does He lead us and guide us and what can we do to recognise His guidance in our lives? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Living Gratefully 3 - “The Gift of Change"
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 21 Feb, 2016
This week we're going to be reflecting on what is involved in the process of changing. Do we change ourselves? Does the Lord change us? Understanding how this dynamic works can help us to focus our attention appropriately and change for the better with the Lord's help. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Memorial Service For Caroline Royale Lester
Memorial Service - 17 Feb, 2016
Memorial Service for Caroline Royale Lester written by Rt. Rev. Peter Buss Sr., originally delivered on 13 February in Canada, and delivered by Rev Malcolm Smith at New Church Westville. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Living Gratefully - Part 1: The Lord's Goals
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 7 Feb, 2016
This Sunday evening we begin our Living Gratefully program. “Living gratefully” - it sounds good but does it feel like something you could do or just like something for really spiritual people? Is it possible to live gratefully in the midst of the mess of a normal person's life? What does that look like? What difference can it make? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Gathering in the Lord's Name
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 24 Jan, 2016
This Sunday we're going to think about people gathering together. What different reasons do we gather together for? What changes when we gather together? How can we gather together in the Lord's name? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA
Seeing Patterns by Eric Carswell
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 10 Jan, 2016
This Sunday we will be hearing a sermon by Eric Carswell called “Seeing Patterns.” It takes a funny and not very well-known story from the Old Testament and uses it to explore how we can come to see negative patterns in our lives, even when we don’t particularly want to. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith , Westville, RSA