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Finding Jesus in the Lives of the Prophets - Isaiah
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 07, 2021
The teachings of the New Church say that the whole of the Word relates to the Lord Jesus Christ and what He went through while on Earth. And so we’ve done sermon series in the past on finding Jesus in the life of Abraham, Joshua, and Elisha. This time we’re going to focus on three of the major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. This will be a chance to learn a bit about these prophets, about what the Lord went through on Earth, and about the role of a prophet in difficult times. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
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Challenging Kindness
Worship Service: Informal Family - February 28, 2021
For week four of the “Practicing Kindness” series, we’ll talk about times when showing kindness can feel like a challenge. Ham pointed out Noah’s faults, but Shem and Japheth paid little attention to his faults and graciously helped their father. | By Rev. Kurt Hyland Asplundh | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
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False Virtues
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 31, 2021
We put great pride in certain virtues, both as individuals and as a society. When we embody these virtues it is a sign that we are spiritually growing. But virtues are not as easy to identify as we like to believe. Certain qualities that we view as virtuous are in fact unrelated to meaningful virtue. To take a simple example, many people take busy-ness to be a virtue, as if always being busy reflects on their character. In actual fact, being overladen with work says nothing about one’s character: it may be a sign of love for others, but it could just as easily be nothing of the sort. We need to evaluate where we put our worth, and if it is in false virtues then we need to look to the Lord to find the virtues that truly reflect a good spiritual life. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 17, 2021
It’s bad enough to not be in a great place, either outwardly or spiritually. But it’s much worse to not just be in a bad place, but to actually be going backwards, undoing any progress that has been made. When things are going the wrong direction it can lead to hopelessness about the future. It would be nice if the Lord said going backwards was fine, but He doesn’t: in fact, He makes it clear that it is dangerous and damaging thing to experience. Rather than accepting backsliding as just another part of life, the Lord can give us hope that our prior progress has not been lost and that a better future is possible. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Taking Refuge in the Lord
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 10, 2021
Things do not feel particularly safe or secure in the world these days. There are many reasons for people to feel upset, fearful, and anxious. This Sunday we will reflect on passages from the Word about taking refuge in the Lord. How can we take refuge in the Lord? And then, from that place of security and peace, how can we move back into the world to face whatever we need to face? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
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Re-Creation
Worship Service: Informal Family - January 10, 2021
As we begin a New Year, we will look at the story of the beginning of all things in the depiction of Creation in Genesis. How does each day of the Creation story describe aspects of new beginnings in our spiritual growth and resolutions that we may focus on in the new year? | By Rev. Solomon J. Keal | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
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Keeping to a Spiritual Timeline
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 03, 2021
Transitions are a useful reminder to reflect on where we have been and where we are going. We see this most prominently with the New Year: it is a time of appreciating all that has happened in the previous year and looking forward to what the next year has to bring. Or in the case of 2020, trying to forget most of the previous year and hoping things improve in the new. But deep down, we all know that the changing of the calender does not actually change anything. Covid is still with is, the problems of yesterday are mostly the problems we still face today. Although these natural-world cycles are useful reminders, the reality is that spiritually, any moment can be a new day, a new year, a new opportunity for change. Instead of being chained to the steady march of time, we can make our own beginning at any point, when we look to the Lord and His spiritual goals for us. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Stages of Life - Part 4 - Old Age
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 18, 2020
Old age can be a time of great reflection: looking back on what has been, looking forward with wonder to what is to come after death. It can also be a time of trial and tribulation: as the body and mind fail, doubt and despair can creep in. Moses, at the end of his life, was able to reflect on the past and from that gracefully hand over his wisdom to the next generation. As we look at this concluding stage of life in this world, we will look at how we too can gracefully age and handover to the next generation. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Stages of Life - Part 3 - Adulthood
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 11, 2020
In our series on the stages of life, this Sunday we come to the stage of adulthood. We will follow the story of Moses as he is called by the Lord to do something great. And we will also see how he tries to get out of it any way that he can. Moses eventually grows into one of the greatest leaders of the Children of Israel but he also experiences a lot of ups and downs, victories and defeats along the way. Such is adulthood and the Lord’s Word can help us to find our way through it. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
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Stages of Life - Part 1 - Childhood
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - September 27, 2020
Are you an adult still trying to figure out what it means to be an adult? Are you a teenager or young adult trying to figure out where you fit in the world? Or, are you feeling like you might actually be getting old now? Over the next few weeks we’re going to be using the story of Moses as a way of exploring the challenges and opportunities of the different stages of life that we go through in our lives. This Sunday we’re going to start with the story of baby Moses being put in a tar covered ark in the Nile river and what this can teach us about the first few years of our lives. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
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Technology - Useful Tool or Useless Distraction
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - September 20, 2020
We live in a world of technology, all the more so since the advent of COVID-19. This pandemic has highlighted the blessing of technology, as it allows us to carry on work safely, to connect with loved ones around the world, even to attend church while not being able to attend in person. But it has also highlighted the downsides of technology, as we yearn to get back to in-person connection and struggle with the frustrating limits of technology. As with any tool, technology will be useful or useless depending on how much it is used in the service of what is spiritual. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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What Becoming Like a Little Child Means
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - August 16, 2020
Jesus said that we must become like a little children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Elsewhere He says that we must be born again. We investigate what it means to become the type of humble and wise child who can be part of His kingdom. | By Rev. Garry B. Walsh | Sarver, PA
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Beyond the Prayer
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 09, 2020
Over the last three weeks we have looked at the Lord’s Prayer. In our services, we often follow the Lord’s Prayer with the familiar phrase, “Lord, forgive us our trespasses; as we forgive those who trespass against us.” This is based on the teaching that Jesus gave immediately after giving His disciples His Prayer. Having prayed, it is a useful reminder that we must also live the words that we have spoken; that we must actively work on repentance from sin so we can forgive and be forgiven. So this week we leave the Prayer behind as a spoken conversation with the Lord and turn to how we live it in our daily lives. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Jonah - Part 3
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - August 09, 2020
The final section of the Jonah story focuses on his hatred of the people of Nineveh. The question here is, why would we hate people when the Lord encourages us to feel joy when another person feels joy. Or, put differently, to look for reasons why we should love others rather than despise them. | By Rev. Garry B. Walsh | Sarver, PA
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Jonah - Part 2
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - August 02, 2020
Jonah after being rescued from the sea by the sea creature that the Lord prepared, went to Nineveh as commanded. The people of Nineveh heeded the warning and showed their remorse. This is a message about how we all should be listening to both the Lord and the people in our life who help us to see that something about our life is harmful and needs to change. | By Rev. Garry B. Walsh | Sarver, PA
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