Search Results
Individual Events Matching Your Search Query
Accept the Gift
Worship Service: Children & Adult - 20 Jan, 2019
The difference between payment and a gift is that we are entitled to payment for the work we have done, while a gift is freely given. So if the Lord freely forgives and saves us, why does it seem like we have to work so hard for it? What do we get credit for and what do we have to acknowledge is the Lord's? If we can clearly see how the Lord freely gives us what we need to work with, we'll be able to accept that gift in every situation through the choices we make. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
We Have Come to Worship Him
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 16 Dec, 2018
Worship is not something we think of as difficult. Yet there is a lot more to worship than meets the eye. The deeper meaning of worship shows up in the story of the wise men. These men did not simply worship the Lord from where they were. They got up and traveled to find the Lord and give him unique gifts. Likewise, if we want to truly worship the Lord, we have to seek Him out, and offer Him gifts of love, faith, usefulness. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
The Two Gates
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 25 Nov, 2018
This Sunday we have the privilege of witnessing and taking part in the two sacraments: Baptism and Holy Supper. In some ways these two rituals seem worlds apart. In one, water is poured over a child's head as he is dedicated to the Lord. In the other we eat bread and drink wine, symbolic of taking in the Lord's love and wisdom. Yet these two rituals contain the whole span of spiritual life. Baptism represents the very first introduction to the Lord, the first glimmers of spiritual life. Holy Supper represents the fulfillment of that life, as we take in the Lord Himself to dwell within us. They are like two gates, and when we have gone through both, we are in heaven. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Heaven is Not Transferable
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 11 Nov, 2018
Wouldn't it be nice if someone else could do all the work of getting into heaven for us? In traditional Christianity this idea takes the form of "substitutionary atonement," the idea that because Christ suffered for our sin, we don't have to. This idea is rejected in the New Church, but it is still appealing to believe we don't have to do spiritual work because the Lord is doing it for us. While we could do nothing without the Lord, we actually need to take full responsibility for our spiritual lives. After all, no one else can do it for us. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Heaven is Not for Sale
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 28 Oct, 2018
You can’t buy your way into heaven, no matter how much wealth you amass. That won’t come as a surprise to most of you. Yet somehow, subconsciously, we end up trying. Every time we feel entitled to reward because of our good deeds, we have diminished good deeds to a mere currency with which we can buy a slice of heaven. Every time we feel slighted for the ill fortune that befalls us in spite of our goodness, we have reduced God’s living Providence into a mere balance sheet of good countered by evil. It is only when we realize that goodness is its own reward that we can be free from the allure of heaven as a reward. Heaven is not a reward; heaven is the natural result of a life of goodness. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Repenting from False Witness
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 14 Oct, 2018
The Ten Commandments forbid saying things that are not true; or do they? The 8th commandment is often summarized as "you shall not lie," but it actually reads, "you shall not bear false witness against your neighbour." This wording is significant. It implies something broader then just telling facts or lies. Even the "truth" can be used to bear false witness against someone. We are called to heed our thoughts and our words, making sure that they are not only factually correct, but that they bear witness to the true goodness of character of the people around us. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Seeing the Light
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 30 Sep, 2018
The past two Sundays Malcolm talked about reading the Bible, sharing techniques for how to do it and how to know if you're doing it right. This week we carry on with the same theme but with a slightly different perspective: not so much how to read the Bible but what happens when we do. Or to put it another way, moving from what we need to actively do to what the Lord does to us in response. If we prepare well, then reading the Bible becomes a source of light and guidance in our lives. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Our Spiritual Journeys - Looking Forward
Worship Service: Sermon only - 2 Sep, 2018
Last week Malcolm talked about what we can gain from looking back into our pasts. This week we will talk about going the other way, looking forward into our futures. The challenge with the future is the unknowns. It is easy to see how the Lord led us even in hard times when we look back. It is more of a challenge to look forward and trust that the Lord will continue to lead us. And this is as it should be: the Lord asks us to plan for an uncertain future, and work towards it, so that He can direct us down the right path. When we find the right balance of planning and trust we can face what is to come with confidence. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Our Spiritual Journeys
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 19 Aug, 2018
We all have a story. It is a story of our life, the ups and downs, the highs and the lows, the winding ways that we have come from where we were to where we are now. These stories are not just a dry account of our past. The story of our life is the story of the Lord's power and guidance, if we are willing to see it that way, and through retelling our stories we share that power with others. This Sunday we will look at the command given to the Children of Israel to constantly retell the story of how the Lord had saved them from slavery, so that generations to come would know the Lord's power and love. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Singleness and Marriage
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 5 Aug, 2018
Last week Malcolm talked about how we can hold ideals, especially around marriage. Next week he'll carry on with that theme. But this week, we are going to take a break from talking about marriage and put the focus on the other side: on singleness. Some of you are single yourselves; some of you are recently married; and some of you probably can barely remember what it was like to be single. In any case we will look at what the Lord has to say about this state of life and what even the long-time couples can learn from it. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Spirit of the Law
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 15 Jul, 2018
We all break rules from time to time. We speed. We tell a little lie. We browse Instagram at work when no one is around. We always tell ourselves that it is justified. But then someone else does the same, and our righteous indignation bristles: well if they speed, I can cut them off! They lied, so I can bad mouth them to others! They slack off at work, so I can too! What we fail to see is that we are using the technicality of breaking a rule to justify us harming someone else. The Lord calls us to something greater: to look beyond just the letter of the law and focus on the spirit, and from there to have compassion on those who perhaps don't stay within bounds as much as we might hope. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Eternal Waters
Worship Service: Sermon only - 8 Jul, 2018
We all have times when we thirst. We thirst for understanding, for insight, for justice, for knowing how to get through. We thirst for a better life or a better job or a better family. The kind of thirst we're going to look at this Sunday is the thirst for truth. Now you might not feel like you have a strong thirst for truth. But we all have a thirst for the truth that teaches us how to navigate the challenges of life and that leaves us feeling satisfied; the kind of truth that when it hits you suddenly know everything is going to be OK. If we are willing, this is the truth that the Lord will feed us with and satisfy our longing. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Face to Face with God
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 24 Jun, 2018
If we were to fully comprehend the love of God in a moment, it would be like standing in the sun itself. Its immensity and power would blow us away and consume us. Yet just as the light and warmth of the sun finds its way to our little earth and gives us life, the Lord finds a way to bring His immense love down into our lives. He did, and continues to do this, by showing us His humanity. When we look to God and think of Him as a person, we have an opportunity to connect with that endless, boundless love that is His heart. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Unveiling Our Hearts
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 17 Jun, 2018
When we are proud of ourselves there is nothing that we want more than for other people to know it. When we are ashamed we hide and hope no one notices. But when we hide our evils even from ourselves and the Lord there is no way to be healed of them. The Book of Revelation invites us to go through the painful process of exposing our own faults, so that with the Lord we can overcome them. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Where Did We Go Wrong?!
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 3 Jun, 2018
Have you ever found yourself in a bad place and wondered how on earth you got into this mess? Things were once so great! Life was sailing along smoothly and you were proud of how much growth you'd seen in yourself. Yet here you are, back to your crabby, unhappy, selfish self. What went wrong? This pattern is common not just in individuals but in communities and even across history. Luckily, it does not happen by chance. This Sunday we'll look what Revelation can tell us about this cycle and how we can avoid it. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
A Friend in Need
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 27 May, 2018
How do you love someone who is committing evil? What about when that person is your best friend? Is it our place to correct him? Do we distance ourselves from him? Jesus, through His teaching and His example, calls us to remain close with those who do evil (which is frankly all of us), and also to have the courage to stand up for them by opposing what they are doing. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Finding Jesus in the Life of Joshua - Part 2 - The Turning Point
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 13 May, 2018
Joshua was the military commander of the people of Israel, who led them across the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, where he violently claimed the land in the name of Jehovah his God. Jesus was a spiritual leader, who came to the Jordan River to be baptised and begin His ministry of love and repentance. Yet these two stories, so different on the surface, are the same story. This Sunday we will explore what Joshua crossing the Jordan can tell us about Jesus and His ministry. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Freedom from Anxiety
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 22 Apr, 2018
Fear and anxiety are inevitable in life. Nor is that a bad thing. Fear of failure motivates us to succeed, anxiety brings our attention to problems that we need to overcome. But when we are crippled by these things, and our choices are limited by our fears, we cannot grow the way we would want. The Lord tells us what we can do then: seek first the kingdom of God. If we manage to get our priorities right, then our anxieties, although still present, will be longer control us. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
What Dreams May Come
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 15 Apr, 2018
Dreams play an important role in many stories of the Word. Joseph, Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, and others had dreams sent by the Lord that revealed His will to them. Today we rarely put much importance on dreams. And yet they remain a universal experience. Is there a way that dreams still connect us to the Lord and the spiritual world? This Sunday we will explore what dreams can mean for us today and how they can reflect a spiritual influence on our lives. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
An End and a Beginning
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 1 Apr, 2018
Jesus mission in life was both incomprehensible massive and truly simple: to save all people, for all time, from the threat of hell. Throughout His life He accomplished this mission by fighting against and overcoming every last evil impulse that hell could throw at Him. By the end of His life, on the cross, He had so completely overcome hell that nothing of it remained in Him. On Easter Sunday we celebrate this victory because of what it means for us today: just as Jesus overcome hell in His own life, He can overcome every bit of hell that shows up in ours. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Practicing Forgiveness - Being Forgiven
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 11 Mar, 2018
We have all needed to be forgiven at one time or another. It's tempting at these times to think a simple "I'm sorry" will suffice. But when it comes to forgiveness "sorry" just doesn't cut it. Although when we say sorry it may be heartfelt it does nothing to change us or our situation. It is when we recognise our fault and make an effort to change that we can receive real forgiveness. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Putting Others First
Worship Service: Informal Family - 18 Feb, 2018
The world tells us that to be great we must be better than others. We must be stronger, richer, more skilled and so on. If someone is ahead of us we are not, obviously, the best. The Lord redefines greatness. Greatness is not to excel others. Greatness is putting others first. Not only does putting others first make us great; it removes the competition. When we put others first we do not need to feel superior to anyone. We can be content that we have done our part to make the world a better place. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Your Life is Not Your Own
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 4 Feb, 2018
Who does your life belong to? We know that at least some of it belongs to the Lord so we make man effort to give Him His due share. But what if all of your life, every last bit of it, belongs to the Lord? At first this might seem like a constraining idea. But in fact it can be freeing. We do not have to balance out whit is mine and what is His; when we give it all to Him we free ourselves to live our best lives possible. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Rebuilding the House of the Lord - Part 3 - Taking it to Heart
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - 28 Jan, 2018
When we have made the Lord a priority and started to work on living better we often expect things to change dramatically. Sadly, that is not the case. Changes in our external lives are an important beginning but we will not see real change until the change happens in our hearts. When the children of Israel built a house for the Lord not just as a place of worship but also as a state of mind, then the Lord could begin to bless them again. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA
Forgiveness as Opportunity
Worship Service: Informal Family - 7 Jan, 2018
No matter what you have done or will do in your life, the Lord has already forgiven you. So what's the point of thinking about the Lord's forgiveness? He has already given it to us. That does not mean we have it yet though. The Lord's forgiveness comes in the form of never-ending opportunities to repent. It is up to us to take advantage of those opportunities and make changes. That is how we take in the Lord's forgiveness. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn , Westville, RSA