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What Would Love Do - Week 1 - Love Serves
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - February 08, 2015
This Sunday we begin the What Would Love Do? program by talking about the different ways that we are called upon by the Lord to love and serve other people. This week we will particularly focus on how to serve the hungry - the physically hungry and the emotionally and spiritually hungry. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAFullness of Joy
Worship Service: Informal Family - February 01, 2015
This Sunday we celebrate the founding of Kainon School. The theme for the service (which is based on the spiritual theme for the school year at Kainon) is “Fullness of Joy”. It sounds wonderful to be full of joy – we want that for ourselves and for those that we love – but is it possible to achieve in this world? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSALord, Teach Us to Pray
Worship Service: Sermon only - January 18, 2015
Many of us have questions about prayer: how should we pray? Who do I pray to? And does my prayer actually make a difference? The Lord's disciples had similar questions, and this Sunday we'll be talking about the Lord's response when they said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray." | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Westville, RSATake Up Your Bed and Walk
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 04, 2015
The Lord healed a man who had been sick for 38 years sitting by the pool at Bethesda hoping for someone to put him in the water at the right time. He assumed that that was the only way he could be healed. But the Lord gave him a very simple instruction. Are our assumptions preventing us from moving forward and being 'healed'? | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Westville, RSAThe Word made Flesh
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - December 21, 2014
From eternity to eternity, God is unchanging. And yet, at a specific point in time, God broke into creation in a radical new way. The God of the universe took on a body of flesh and was born into the world. But what does that mean for us here and now? To put it another way: why does Christmas matter? | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Westville, RSAUnderstanding John 3:16
Worship Service: Sermon only - December 14, 2014
John 3:16 is a key text for a lot of Christians in understanding why Jesus was born in the world. It says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only-begotten Son, that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” But how do we understand what is meant by this? Who is God? Who is His Only-begotten Son? What does it mean to believe in Him? Why will people who don’t believe in Him perish and not have eternal life? If we can find good answers to these questions we will have a much better understanding of the significance of Christmas. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSADo Not Resist Evil, Part 4 – Worthlessness and Shame
Worship Service: Sermon only - November 30, 2014
"You're absolutely worthless!" "I'm a useless piece of..." Do you ever hear these words--from other people or inside your own head? Are they true? Are you worthless? Or think about it the other way: if you are not worthless, why do you have worth? What makes you worthy? It's tricky to sort out. And dealing with feelings of worthlessness is even harder. But the Lord can help us to understand and deal with all of this, and differently from what we might expect. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSADo Not Resist Evil, Part 3: Understanding and Responding to Fear
Worship Service: Sermon only - November 23, 2014
What do you worry about? What are you scared of doing? How does fear or anxiety affect your behaviour and relationships? We all have to deal with fears of various kinds and, if we don’t deal with them appropriately, they can lead us to all sorts of unhealthy and dysfunctional behaviours. But, as we’ve already talked about with doubt and guilt, just pushing feelings of fear away doesn’t work. This Sunday we’ll talk about what the Lord teaches us about how to respond to fear. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSADo Not Resist Evil 2: Guilt Good and Bad
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 16, 2014
When we are attacked by feelings of doubt, guilt, fear, or worthlessness, we often try (and fail) to simply push those feelings away. But there is another way: instead of resisting these things, we can take what is valuable from them, and let the rest pass us by. This week, the second in a four-part series, we will focus specifically on how to do this with guilt. How can we learn to distinguish between “good guilt” and “bad guilt”, and how can “good guilt” lead to positive changes? | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Westville, RSADo Not Resist Evil 1– Dealing With Doubt
Worship Service: Sermon only - November 09, 2014
When we are attacked by feelings of doubt, shame, fear, or worthlessness, we often try to simply push those feelings away. It usually doesn’t work. But there is another way: instead of resisting these things, we can let ourselves experience them. We can even see what is valuable in them, and let the rest pass on by. This week, the first in a four-part series, we will focus specifically on how to do this with doubt. From our mundane doubts about that day's decisions, to the big doubts about God and the purpose of life - how do we honestly face our doubts without being overwhelmed by them? | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Westville, RSALiving Gratefully 2 - How to Practice Gratitude
Worship Service: Sermon only - November 02, 2014
Last Sunday we talked about the need for gratitude in our lives and the difference it can make. This week we're going to dig into how to practice gratitude. What habits and practices can we put into our lives so that we live every day gratefully? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSALiving Gratefully (excerpt)
On starting a gratitude journal. (To hear full recording, search by date: 11/02/2014) | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSALiving Gratefully 1: The Need for Gratitude
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 26, 2014
Do you feel like you’re on a treadmill that’s going too fast for you to keep up? It’s a busy and stressful time of year and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and like there’s just too much to deal with. How can the Lord help us cope with all of this? Gratitude—the Lord commands us to be grateful and when we understand why and start practising gratitude it can make a huge difference to our experience of even the most stressful situations | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAAmos–The Word of a Prophet 4 – Promise of Blessings to Come
Worship Service: Sermon only - October 19, 2014
After all the threats of destruction throughout the book of Amos, the prophecy ends on a hopeful note: the promise of a return to a fruitful land. Is this promise being made to us? And if so, what was the purpose of all the threats of destruction that came before? We’re wrapping up our series on the book of Amos and continuing to grapple with the question of how we can hear the Lord speaking to us today through the ancient, sometimes obscure prophecies recorded in the Bible. | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Westville, RSAAmos- The Word of a Prophet 3 - A Thirst For the Word of the Lord
Worship Service: Sermon only - October 12, 2014
In the New Church we tend to focus on the deeper, spiritual meaning of the Bible. But does that mean we can ignore the commandments in the literal sense to care for the poor and feed the hungry? How do we experience the connection between those external things and the deeper meaning within them? We’re continuing our series on the book of Amos and continuing to grapple with the question of how we can hear the Lord speaking to us today through the ancient, sometimes obscure prophecies recorded in the Bible. | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Westville, RSAAmos - The Word of a Prophet Part 2: Is It Actually Hard To Understand
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 05, 2014
Cows of Bashan, sacrifices, worms devouring olive trees, death, opulence, corruption, rivers, exile, oppression, darkness—this is the content of the text that we’re going to be digging into this Sunday. We’re continuing our series on the book of Amos and continuing to grapple with the question of how we can hear the Lord speaking to us today through the ancient, sometimes obscure prophecies recorded in the Bible. This week we’re going to be particularly looking for how we can find a relevant message for our lives in these challenging texts. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAThe Word of a Prophet - The Wrath of God?
Worship Service: Sermon only - September 21, 2014
This week we begin a five week series delving into the book of Amos, one of the Old Testament prophets. Throughout the series we'll be grappling with the question of how we can hear the Lord speaking to us today through the ancient , sometimes obscure prophecies recorded in the Bible. This week, we'll especially be asking the question: how can we see God's qualities of love and mercy even when we read of Him promising punishment and destruction? | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Westville, RSARelationship Dynamics 3 – Changing the Dynamic
Worship Service: Children & Adult - September 14, 2014
For the past two weeks we’ve been looking at different dynamics in relationships. What do you do if there’s a dynamic in one of your relationships that you don’t like? You’re stuck in a rut or a pattern of interaction that is unhealthy, harmful, or just frustrating for both of you; what can you do? This Sunday we’re going to look at what it takes to change the dynamic in a relationship. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSARelationship Dynamics 2 - Boundaries and Freedom
Worship Service: Sermon only - September 07, 2014
Every relationship involves unique people, each with their own thought and desires, and each with their own free will. It's one of the things that makes relationships challenging, and also one of the things that makes them powerful and beautiful. With that in mind, how can we work together toward common goals while still encouraging each other to act in freedom? | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Westville, RSARelationship Dynamics 1 - Fighting
Worship Service: Sermon only - August 31, 2014
Who are you fighting with at the moment? How does that fight affect the rest of your life? This Sunday we're starting a 3 week series on dynamics in relationships and we're beginning the series by talking about fighting. Being in conflict can cause us a lot of stress and pain and so we often do everything we can to avoid it. When we understand why we're fighting and what we're fighting for it can help us to fight the good fight when necessary. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSARemembering the Sabbath Day
Worship Service: Sermon only - August 24, 2014
What is the weekend for? We take weekends and holidays as a chance to relax and unwind, to rest from our daily work. But we also know that Sunday is also supposed to be a day for worshipping the Lord. Is there a connection between these two things – resting from our work, and worshipping the Lord? How do we find deep and abiding rest and recreation in remembering the Sabbath day? | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Westville, RSAMalcolm Cockerell Memorial Service
Memorial Service - August 19, 2014
| By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSARepentance 4 - Beginning a New Life With the Lord
Worship Service: Sermon only - August 17, 2014
For the past few weeks we’ve been looking at the steps of repentance, the spiritual process the Lord calls us to go through to reject what is evil and harmful in our lives and begin a new life. This week we come to the final step: actually beginning a new life. Scared? Does it even seem possible to make a real and lasting change in your life? Join us this Sunday to take an honest look at the challenges of beginning a new life and to learn how the Lord makes it possible for us to do this. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSARepentance 3 - Praying to the Lord
Worship Service: Sermon only - August 10, 2014
If God already knows what we need, why do we need to pray to Him? This Sunday we continue to look at the Steps of Repentance, four steps we can take to make real and lasting change in our lives; and in particular, we focus on the third step: praying to the Lord for His help and power to resist evil and embrace what is good. | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Westville, RSAExamining Our Lives
Worship Service: Sermon only - August 03, 2014
For the next few weeks, our sermons will focus on a four-step process of repentance. This week's sermon focuses on the first two steps in that process: first, examining our actions, thoughts, and intentions; and second, recognising and acknowledging the ways that we tend to sin against God. | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Westville, RSA