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Belonging to the Lord
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - July 10, 2022
What is the Lord’s? In a broad sense all things are the Lord’s: He created and sustains everything in the universe. Yet we also feel as if we are our own masters. There is an innate sense that what goes on in our minds and hearts is ours and ours alone. Yet even here all that is good and true belongs to the Lord. Miraculously, when we acknowledge that truth and live it, we can actually feel more, not less, ourselves. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (16m 31s)
Judgement and Charity: The Speck and the Plank
Worship Service: Informal Family - June 26, 2022
The Lord tells us that when we judge other people it is like trying to get a tiny speck out of their eye, while we have a plank in our own. The Word also tells we have to make judgements sometimes. Are we supposed to judge others or not? What kinds of judgements fit with living a charitable life, and which don't? | By Rev. Richard M. Glenn | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (37m 40s)
The Lord Bless You and Keep You
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - June 12, 2022
“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” We use this blessing at special times—baptisms, weddings, Holy Supper. This Sunday we will go through it phrase by phrase and reflect on how we can be most receptive of the Lord’s blessings and how we can be a part of sharing His blessings with others. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (20m 28s)
Spiritual Fatigue
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 01, 2022
Whenever something goes wrong in the world, there seems to be an outpouring of compassion. We almost get excited at the chance to leap into action and help. But as time passes the energy wanes. We can become fatigued; not just fatigued physically, but fatigued emotionally. It is impossible to keep up that initial level of care and energy. Above even the emotional there is the spiritual fatigue: we face exhaustion with ourselves and our own spiritual growth, and can push ourselves to the breaking point. We need to be able to truly address the issues, but to do so in a way that is sustainable. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (18m 52s)
The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 24, 2022
In the Gospel of John there are a number of intriguing stories about what Jesus and the disciples did after the Lord’s resurrection. When I preached about this four years ago I focused on the role and significance of Peter (read or listen to that here); this year I want to focus on John. John is called “the disciple whom Jesus loved” and he played a crucial role in the development of the Christian Church. In us he represents a crucial part of our spiritual development as Christians. What does he represent? Come and see. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 48s)
Faith: A Source of Death and Life
Worship Service: Informal Family - March 27, 2022
The internal sense of the story of Cain and Abel reflects the reality that religious knowledge can be both a source of death and a source of life. Why was Abel’s offering favored by the Lord and not Cain’s? Why was Cain protected even after committing a terrible act? | By Rev. Eric H. Carswell | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (22m 26s)
Even the Wind and Sea Obey Him
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 27, 2022
The disciples once found themselves in the midst of a terrible storm, out on the water in a little boat. The boat was sinking and they thought they were going to die until Jesus stood up and rebuked the wind and the sea and suddenly there was calm. This Sunday we will reflect on this story and what it can teach us about how the Lord can help us to find peace in the midst of the storms that we encounter in our lives. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 48s)
The Softening of Spring
Worship Service: Informal Family - March 20, 2022
In order for plants to grow in the spring, the ground needs to soften and the ice needs to melt into water. A similar process needs to happen in our spiritual lives. In 1 Samuel 26, the story of the hardened and resentful King Saul softening because of David’s mercy can symbolize a springtime state for us as well. | By Rev. Solomon J. Keal | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (35m 20s)
Picking and Choosing
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 20, 2022
Why don’t you care about people? That’s a harsh accusation, and hopefully it’s not true. But in one sense it could be: with over 7 billion people on this planet, we simply cannot actively care about everyone. Thankfully, the Lord does not ask us to throw ourselves wholeheartedly into every cause that crosses our paths. He gives us ways to care for mankind even us we pick and choose which causes we will invest in. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (16m 15s)
Speckled and Spotted
Worship Service: Informal Family - March 13, 2022
Jacob took all the speckled, spotted and black among the lambs, sheep and goats (Genesis 30:25-43). The Lord gathers all of us imperfect people into His flock. No one has pure goodness. Some evil can’t be mixed with good, and some can (Secrets of Heaven 3993:5-9). Wheat gets mixed with tares (Matthew 13:24-30). | By Rev. John L. Odhner | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (34m 06s)
War and Providence
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 13, 2022
With the conflict in Ukraine on so many people’s minds at the moment it feels like it could be useful for us to reflect on teachings from the Lord’s Word about war and providence. There are big picture questions to consider like, why does our loving God allow something as terrible as war? And there are also more day-to-day questions to consider like, how much time should we spend thinking about conflicts in other parts of the world and what, if anything, can we do to try to make things better? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 50s)
Washing Our Feet
Worship Service: Sermon only - March 06, 2022
The Gospel of John tells of how after the Last Supper Jesus washed His Disciples’ feet. In this act of humility Jesus showed us the nature of His love: that it extends to all, without exception, and that it lives to serve. This Sunday we will explore how we can better invite this love into our lives, as well as how we can pass it on to others. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (16m 28s)
Breaking Bread
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - February 20, 2022
This Sunday, as preparation for taking the Lord’s Holy Supper, we will be talking about the significance of breaking bread and sharing it. Particularly in Western culture there can be a lot of emphasis on individuality and working on our individual lives but the Lord’s goal for us is to be part of a larger whole in which we give and receive freely. How can we work towards that goal? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (20m 50s)
Self-Sacrifice
Worship Service: Informal Family - January 30, 2022
In Genesis 22, it appears that God wants Abraham to give up his son Isaac. Fortunately this is not actually the case. What does this symbolize in our own lives? | By Rev. Solomon J. Keal | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (26m 38s)
Daily Repentance
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 23, 2022
The last couple of sermons have dealt with how we address our own evils. In essence this is repentance: admit you did something wrong, stop doing it, and live a better life. Repentance happens on a grand scale when we have done something egregious or when we are battling a lifelong tendency. But repentance can also be something that we are working on in little ways every single day. That might sound daunting: repent every day?! But when we understand what it means we can embrace it as both a possibility and a blessing. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (21m 14s)
Coming Through the Fire
Worship Service: Informal Family - January 23, 2022
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego followed the Lord even when doing so meant they would be thrown into a fiery furnace. How can we find that kind of courage and confidence? | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (25m 36s)
OK and Not OK
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 16, 2022
Last week Joel preached about admitting you were wrong and it got me thinking about how important the time after we’ve done something is. How we think about what we’ve done—whether it was good or bad—really matters. When we’ve done something wrong, do we acknowledge it or try to justify it? When we’ve done something good, what do we think about the action or ourselves afterward? Each day we’re going to do a whole bunch of different things and likely some of those things will be somewhat good and some will be somewhat selfish. We need the Lord’s help to sort out what in all of that is OK and what is not OK. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 13s)
Admitting You Were Wrong
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 09, 2022
How do you respond when the Word tells you something that you don’t like? What if a way you see the world doesn’t fit with how the Word describes the world? How do you respond when you find out that something you’ve been doing for years and thought was fine is condemned in the Word? It’s a difficult question to answer. So today we are going to wrestle with how to listen to the Word and deal with the fear, sadness and embarrassment of admitting that you were wrong. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (18m 37s)
Opportunities for Growth
Worship Service: Informal Family - January 09, 2022
Most of us would acknowledge that for quite a long time normal life has been far from normal for many of us. What would the Lord like us to take away from these experiences? How can they serve the Lord’s goals for our lives now and on to eternity? | By Rev. Eric H. Carswell | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (20m 15s)
Where Have You Come From and Where are You Going
Worship Service: Informal Family - January 02, 2022
As we start a new year, it’s useful to reflect on the questions that the angel of the Lord asks Hagar in the desert: Where are you coming from? Where are you going? And what’s the matter? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (15m 07s)
Strength and Surrender
Worship Service: Informal Family - January 02, 2022
Spiritual life requires both “strength and surrender.” At the shore of the Red Sea, Moses told Israel to “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” and at the same time to “Move forward” (Exodus 14). Peter was able to walk on water, but then he wasn’t (Matthew 14:22-34). Why do we so often fail in self-control and resolutions? | By Rev. John L. Odhner | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (24m 42s)
An Eternal Perspective
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 28, 2021
As another year draws to a close and as many people are dealing with the stress of a manic time of year, let’s turn to the Lord’s Word this Sunday for passages about the Lord’s eternal perspective. Let’s zoom out for a few minutes on Sunday and think about what will still matter in a hundred years or a thousand years and then see if we can bring some of that perspective back into all that we’re trying to do before the end of the year. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 17s)
False Humility
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 14, 2021
Jesus teaches that the first will be last, and the last first. He also teaches that he who would be great must become a servant. To be meek and mild therefore seems like the goal we should all aspire to. And this is true! But sometimes our very pursuit of humility can be hijacked by pride and turned into just one more means of gratifying our pride. Humility can be falsified, and true humility may look far more boisterous and assertive than we imagine. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (20m 19s)
A Sermon about Sermons
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 07, 2021
One of the main things we do as part of our weekly worship services is have a sermon. But why? What is the purpose of a sermon? What makes a sermon good or not so good? How can you get the most out of even a mediocre sermon? Come on Sunday for a sermon about sermons. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (24m 43s)
Religion and Politics - 2 - Heavenly Leadership
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 31, 2021
It’s often taken as a given that politicians will be self-serving, corrupt, incompetent, or all of the above. They seem to rank just below lawyers as the butt of jokes. Yet the position of being a government official is in itself, or at least ought to be, a sacred one. Anytime someone enters into leadership they take on the responsibility to serve, and the higher the position, the greater the responsibility. This Sunday we will look at how leadership works in heaven (and by contrast, in hell) and see what we can learn both about our own governments and our own roles as leaders. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (20m 39s)