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Practicing Forgiveness - Transformation
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 25, 2018
This Sunday is Palm Sunday and the last Sunday of our Practicing Forgiveness programme. Throughout these past few weeks we've talked about the difference that forgiveness can make - in an individual's life and in society in general. We understand the before picture and we like the after picture but how do we get from one to the other? This Sunday we'll try to understand more of what comes in between in the process of being transformed by forgiveness. The sermon was written by John L. Odhner, read by Malcolm Smith. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (27m 14s)
Practicing Forgiveness - Forgiveness within Ourselves
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 18, 2018
We have talked about how we are called to forgive those who have hurt us, and to seek forgiveness from other people and from the Lord for the things we have done. This Sunday we will consider another important aspect of forgiveness: forgiveness within ourselves. There are times when other people may have forgiven us and the Lord certainly has but we still beat up on ourselves and we can't seem to let it go. The Lord can help us to understand why this happens and help us to get free. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (23m 47s)
Practicing Forgiveness - Being Forgiven
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 11, 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
See Event (23m 52s)
Practicing Forgiveness - Why Forgive?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - February 25, 2018
This Sunday we begin the Practicing Forgiveness programme with a question: "Why Forgive?" Why should we forgive people who have hurt us? What is it about forgiveness that is so essential to spiritual life that all the major world religions teach about how important it is? And - most importantly - how do we do it? How do we grant and seek forgiveness in a genuine way? Come on Sunday as we begin to try to find answers to these important questions. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (26m 51s)
Putting Others First
Worship Service: Informal Family - February 18, 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
See Event (11m 11s)
Collected, One by One
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - February 11, 2018
There's a verse somewhere in the middle of Isaiah that says, ...."you shall be collected, one by one...." Someone recently showed me this verse and pointed out that it has important implications for how we approach our relationships with other people and the Lord. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (33m 52s)
Your Life is Not Your Own
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - February 04, 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
See Event (24m 48s)
Rebuilding the House of the Lord - Part 3 - Taking it to Heart
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 28, 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
See Event (20m 52s)
Rebuilding the House of the Lord - Part 2 - How to Keep Working
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 21, 2018
When the people obey the Lord and rebuild the house of the Lord it doesn't meet their expectations of what it should be. The Lord's response to them, through the prophet Haggai, can be very useful for us when the results of our spiritual efforts aren't quite what we think they should be. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (21m 56s)
Rebuilding the House of the Lord - Part i - Is it Time?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 14, 2018
At this time of year we're often taking stock of who we are and where we are in our lives and thinking about what we might need to do to improve our lives. This Sunday and next we will be exploring the somewhat obscure but very relevant story in the book of Haggai of the Children of Israel being called to rebuild the house of the Lord and what it can teach us about the process of trying to do better about prioritising the Lord in our lives. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (21m 19s)
Forgiveness as Opportunity
Worship Service: Informal Family - January 07, 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
See Event (17m 22s)
Simeon
Worship Service: Informal Family - December 31, 2017
When Jesus was only a few weeks old His parents brought Him to the temple, as was the custom. There they were met a man, Simeon, who held Jesus in his arms, blessed Him, and gave thanks. The image of the old man Simeon holding the new-born Jesus is a useful one to start the year off with. On the one hand we have someone reaching the end of his life. On the other a life just beginning. When we reach these important transitions it is important that we, like Simeon, can recognise the hope for the future and trust the Lord is creating something good even if we will not live to see it. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (11m 10s)
And His Name Will Be Called
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - December 25, 2017
This Christmas Day, as we celebrate the Lord being born into this world, we will be reflecting on the significance of some of the many different names that that little baby was called. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (11m 00s)
How to Receive the Lord's Light in Our Lives
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - December 17, 2017
This Sunday we'll be talking more about the Christmas story according to the Gospel of John, with a focus on theme of darkness and light. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 37s)
Witness to the Light
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - December 10, 2017
Before Jesus could begin His ministry He needed John to prepare the way first. The world at the time was in such a bad state that people could not have taken in Jesus teachings if John had not first prepared them and filled them with hope for Jesus' coming. John did this by bearing witness to Jesus' Light, so that when that light did come people could recognise it and embrace it. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (24m 17s)
To God be the Glory
Worship Service: Informal Family - December 03, 2017
Singing is one of the most powerful ways to express joy, and this is no more true than at Christmas. The teachings of the New Church tell us that going back thousands of years, the people in ancient times delighted in singing songs about the Lord's future coming and the salvation He would bring. Today we do the same as we not only look back to the Lord's birth but also forward to His birth into our own lives. After a short talk on the joy of singing to the Lord we will join together to celebrate the joy of the Lord's Coming and the Christmas season in general. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (09m 56s)
How Wealthy is Too Wealthy
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 26, 2017
As Christians is it our duty to shun wealth? Jesus says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. So should the wealthy among us be ashamed of their wealth? Should the poorer of us take pride in their poorness? Not exactly. The problem with money is the use to which we apply it. Money is heavenly when we see it as an opportunity to serve others and hellish when we see it as a way to love ourselves. All of us, rich and poor, need to take stock of the gifts we have been given in abundance and ask how we can use that abundance to make the world a better place. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 17s)
Facing Floods, Part 4 - Rebuild
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 19, 2017
What do we do after a crisis? How do you go back to normal? This Sunday we're going to talk about what happens after Noah and his family can finally leave the ark after the flood and what we can learn from the story about how to rebuild our lives once a crisis has passed. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (26m 20s)
Facing Floods, Part 3 - Ride it Out
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 12, 2017
Two weeks ago we talked about seeing the floods, or challenges, coming and understanding that there is a better life on the other side. Last week we talked about preparing for the floods, or challenges, by making sure hat we are walking hand in hand with God and following Him wherever He leads us. This week we are going to talk about being in the middle of the flood itself, coping with the challenges as we experience them. In the midst of struggle we suffer from doubt but the Lord's promise is that He has prepared you and that He will bring you through alive, to find a new beginning. There is no challenge that you cannot overcome. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (26m 12s)
Facing Floods, Part 2 - Get Ready
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 05, 2017
Noah has been told by God that a flood is coming that will destroy everything and everyone, except for those people and animals that God saves on the ark that He tells Noah to build. There are times when we know something big is coming. The Lord can help us to get ready and help us to keep safe what is most important. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (28m 37s)
Facing Floods, Part 1 - See it Coming
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 29, 2017
Spiritual growth is a destructive process. Without the destruction of old habits, old ways of thinking, old wants and desires, there would be no room for the Lord to build us up as angels. Over the next four Sundays we will be exploring this topic of spiritual destruction and reconstruction using the story of Noah's Flood. This story offers powerful insight into how we deal with the spiritual floods that come our way. In the course of this story we'll talk about seeing the flood coming, how to get ready for it, riding it out, and then the beautiful things the Lord creates when we get to the other side. For this Sunday our focus will be on the first part: seeing the flood coming. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (28m 03s)
Get More Out of Reading the Bible: Part 3: New Testament
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 22, 2017
The New Testament is the last section of the Bible that we haven't talked about yet in our series about getting more out of the Bible. On Sunday we'll talk about things like how the New Testament differs from the Old Testament, whether all the books in the New Testament are equally authoritative, why there are four Gospels, etc. It will be fun and I hope it will help you to get more out of reading the New Testament. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (28m 35s)
Get More Out of Reading the Bible: Part 2: Prophets and Psalms
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 15, 2017
Some of the most difficult parts of the Bible can be found in the Prophets. It can be hard to get much out of these sections. The teachings for the New Church say that this is because in the prophets the real spiritual meaning is often hidden under layers of symbolic language. So what do we do with this? Do we have to decode the prophets? Can we avoid them altogether? This Sunday we will explore how we can get more meaning out of reading the prophetical books of the Word. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (28m 11s)
Get More Out of Reading the Bible
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 08, 2017
A lot of people when they open the Bible find it hard to get much out of it, particularly the Old Testament. There are hard to pronounce names and strange and sometimes disturbing stories. What are we supposed to do with it? How do we make sense of it? The goal of this 3 part sermon series is to help you have a better understanding of what you're looking at and how it can have relevance to you today. This Sunday we're going to be focusing on the first big chunk of the Bible, the Old Testament stories in Genesis through 2 Kings. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (43m 50s)
Healing Spiritual Leprosy
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 01, 2017
This Sunday we are going to talk about the disease of leprosy in the Bible. Having this disease would result in becoming an outcast, cut off from the community and from God. Yet the Lord reached out to a leper, even physically touching him, to bring him back into the community and into a relationship with God. When we have made choices that cut us off from the Lord and from others, this is the miracle that He can perform: to reach out to us in our shame and draw us back into His loving embrace. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (29m 51s)