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Warriors for the Lord
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - June 01, 2025
What does it mean to engage in spiritual warfare? What does it take to become like one of the angels of Michael and fight for our Lord? These questions are important for us to explore because spiritual life is not always easy or peaceful. There are times when we struggle to follow the Lord and when it takes real effort to treat people the way He commands us to treat them. If we want the New Church to descend into the world then we must prepare the way by engaging in this conflict: before the Holy City can descend, the dragon must be confronted and defeated, and we must each do that as individuals if we want that Holy City to be present in our lives. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 41s)
Here I Am. Send Me
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - June 01, 2025
Isaiah’s words are in response to the Lord’s, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” (Isaiah 6). Within them is an invitation to step forward ourselves to serve in the ways the Lord asks. We will explore our responsiveness to the Lord’s constant call to show up as a good person who strives to make a difference. | By Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss, Jr. | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (14m 58s)
Clear Truths
Worship Service: Ordination & Sermon - June 01, 2025
Ordination of Daniel Calvo and Thomas J. Jackson into the first degree by Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss, Jr. Readings by Daniel Calvo. Sermon by Thomas J. Jackson. Elijah retreated to a cave in a state of overwhelmed sadness when Jezebel sought his life. While there the Lord came to him and asked him the key question, “What are you doing here?” He then provided the perspective and guidance he needed most. He offers similar guidance to us, urging us to consider our situation and our next steps in light of the clear truths of His Word. | By Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss, Jr. | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (40m 36s)
Unintended Consequences
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 25, 2025
Intentions matter more than actions. In other words, someone who is good hearted but makes mistakes is better off than someone who is malicious even while doing the right thing. Yet even the most well-intentioned person can cause harm. Their good intentions do not negate the damage they can cause in ignorance. Rather than justifying ourselves or others by saying, “they meant well,” we must find ways of addressing the harm and correcting it, even as we support and acknowledge the good intentions lying behind it. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (31m 16s)
Our Spiritual Reality: We Also Have Bodies
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - May 25, 2025
This Sunday we will pick up the topic of our spiritual reality again by reflecting on a curious and inescapable aspect of our spiritual reality: we also have bodies. Why did the Lord create our spirits to be embodied in these complex, frail collections of bones, muscles, and organs? And how can we better navigate our spiritual reality when we take our bodies into consideration? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (19m 47s)
Our Spiritual Reality: We Also Have Bodies
Worship Service: Sermon only - May 25, 2025
This Sunday we will pick up the topic of our spiritual reality again by reflecting on a curious and inescapable aspect of our spiritual reality: we also have bodies. Why did the Lord create our spirits to be embodied in these complex, frail collections of bones, muscles, and organs? And how can we better navigate our spiritual reality when we take our bodies into consideration? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (27m 30s)
Strong in the Lord
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 18, 2025
The Lord lends strength to those who rely on Him, the strength to resist temptation, to overcome hardship, and to do what is right and good. But when we claim credit for that strength, and take pride in ourselves over the Lord, the strength is lost and we falter. Even so, through hard work, we can turn back to the Lord and again find strength in Him. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (29m 49s)
“I Will Remember…” Psalm 77:11
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 18, 2025
The Scriptures urge us to remember – the Sabbath, the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, many important things. And yet we forget, not in the sense that these truths are lost or wiped from our memory but in the sense that their value can be forgotten. Thankfully, “remembering” is an act of mercy, done by the Lord alone. Let’s talk on Sunday about how the Lord helps us remember and then consider what new, spiritual practices we might want to incorporate into our lives to safeguard against our own forgetfulness. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (33m 03s)
Changing Our Spiritual Landscape
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 11, 2025
You can tell a lot about someone by the things and people they surround themselves with. On the one hand, this is because where we choose to put time and effort is a reflection of what we value. On the other hand, it is also because we are shaped by our environments: we become like what we are surrounded by. This statement is true spiritually. If we surround ourselves with heavenly influences, we will become heavenly. If we surround ourselves with hellish influences, we will become hellish. Where and how we spend our time is not just a matter of personal preference. It is a matter of choosing who we will become. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (20m 44s)
Everyone Who Asks Receives
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - May 11, 2025
On Mother’s Day we consider the origin of the love that leads us to care for children, that makes the birds sing, and that causes flowers to bloom. | By Rev. Jeremy F. Simons | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (00m 00s)
Mother’s Day
Worship Service: Sermon only - May 11, 2025
"There is a divine field of heavenly love that constantly radiates from the Lord. From this field an earthly field arises. It is a field of love for babies and children. It is absolutely universal.” (True Christian Religion 308) As we honor this heavenly influx on Mother’s Day we also honor the ways that our church, our community, and our country are like a mother to us. | By Rev. Jeremy F. Simons | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (00m 00s)
Making Faith Our Own
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 04, 2025
When you were born you knew nothing about the world and how it worked; nor did you know anything about the Lord or spiritual life. These were things that had to be taught to you, from a young age, both through education and through the examples set by the people around you. As you matured your faith became your own. No longer did you have to rely on others: you could enter into an adult relationship with the Lord and an adult understanding of spiritual life. Yet as simple as that sounds, we can all stand to reflect on how much of our faith is really our own, and how much work still needs to be done to move past what we were taught and live our faith for ourselves. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (20m 14s)
Go, Make Disciples of All Nations
Worship Service: Sermon only - April 27, 2025
After His resurrection, the Lord told His disciples, “Go, make disciples of all nations!” (Matthew 28:20). It is in the nature of love to share what one has with others (Divine Love and Wisdom 47), so when we receive the Lord’s love in our hearts, we also receive a burning desire to share that love with others. | By Rev. John L. Odhner | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (25m 55s)
Finding the Risen Lord
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 20, 2025
Easter is of course about the Lord's Resurrection after His Crucifixion. But just because the Lord rose and lived again does not mean that we ourselves feel His living presence within ourselves. There is a process of being led to Him; it is a process that involves both the head and the heart, a process that involves grief and joy, faith and doubt. This Easter Sunday we will explore what the Gospel of John has to tell us about finding the Risen Lord in our own lives. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (30m 57s)
The View From the Cross
Worship Service: Children & Adult - April 16, 2025
We mostly think of the view that we have of the Lord. When we think of the crucifixion, perhaps we picture the Lord on the cross. But what was (and is) the Lord’s point of view? In His moment of suffering and death what did He observe, and in observing, what was His response? For an ordinary person they may have felt despair or anger; yet the Lord, even then, continued to look out with mercy and love, even on His enemies. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (30m 41s)
The Coming Kingdom
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 13, 2025
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey the onlookers took it to be an ancient symbol of kingship. And indeed, it was. Yet their expectations of that coming kingdom were far removed from the kingdom that Jesus sought to establish. Jesus knew that the people expected an immediate overthrow of oppression and the onset of an earthly kingdom with Jesus as their benevolent ruler. The kingdom Jesus actually established was one of hard work and repentance, in other words, a spiritual kingdom. This Sunday we will look at how our own expectations are contrary to what the Lord actually intends for us. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (30m 40s)
The Face and Clothing of Love
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 30, 2025
Marriage is an important part of love for many people. And yet the Word has very little to say about it directly! Part of the reason is that people have so many warped ideas of what marriage is or ought to be. When the Word was written, a true explanation would have been rejected. But in the Teachings of the New Church we find that clearer explanation, and at heart, marriage is about friendship. Through cultivating a genuine friendship, a married couple can establish trust, mutual support, and true marriage love. | By Rt. Rev. Brian W. Keith | Westville, RSA
See Event (23m 48s)
Heavenly Imbalance
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 23, 2025
“Everything in moderation” seems like a sound rule for life. After all, anything, even something good, can become harmful when taken to an extreme. Yet this common-sense truth finds surprisingly little support in the Lord’s Word. As just one example, Jesus says, “no one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). There is no moderation or balancer here: rather pick a side and wholeheartedly follow it! This Sunday we will look at how a blind devotion to moderation can be harmful and why thinking in terms of prioritisation is a more heavenly outlook. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 13s)
Pearls of Wisdom
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 16, 2025
What would you be willing to give up in order to get the Lord's truth? Sometimes it seems like we don't have to give up anything: all we need to do is learn a little! But to really take in the truth and have it become part of our lives, we need to be willing to let go of other wants, points of view, and habits that get in the way. We have to be like the merchant in the Lord's parable who was willing to sell all that he had in order to acquire the pearl of great price. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (25m 56s)
Half Measures
Worship Service: Children & Adult - March 09, 2025
When Saul was commanded to destroy all the Amalekites and all their possessions, he only half obeyed: he destroyed all the worthless possessions, but kept the precious things, and spared the king. Yet he still claimed that he had obeyed the Lord. How often do we only follow the Lord halfway, but claim that we have done everything He asks? And how do we come to a place of wholeheartedly separating ourselves even from the evils that we really love and are attached to? | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (19m 17s)
Worship the Lord
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - March 09, 2025
1st Lesson: Daniel 6:1-23 2nd Lesson: AC 1618 Talk: “Daniel Worships the Lord” (Text: Dan. 6:10) | By Rev. Lawson M. Smith | Kempton, PA
See Event (25m 34s)
Being Forgiven - Sorry Doesn't Cut It
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 02, 2025
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 recognize our fault and make an effort to change that we can receive real forgiveness. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (18m 15s)
Entering the Kingdom of Heaven as a Little Child
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 02, 2025
1st Lesson: Mark 10:16-19 Talk: “Let the Little Children Come to Me” 2nd Lesson: Heaven and Hell 280 3rd Lesson: Arcana Coelestia 2568 (portions) Sermon: “ Entering the Kingdom of Heaven as a Little Child” | By Rev. Brett D. Buick | Kempton, PA
See Event (29m 39s)