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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 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)
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)
God's Healing Forgiveness
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - September 10, 2017
We all have times when we become paralyzed by evil and falsity. We want desperately to be good but for some reason we cannot seem to let go of harmful thoughts and feelings. The Lord's forgiveness offers us a way out of this spiritual paralysis: when we raise our thoughts to Him. He heals us through His forgiveness, and in that healing we find freedom for our minds. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (24m 06s)
Helping Each Other: Part 2 - Getting Spiritual Support
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 27, 2017
We know that the Lord has created us to love others; but what about ourselves? Can that love also be from the Lord? All of us have needs that must be met but it can be hard to ask for help. We worry about putting a burden on others or opening ourselves up to criticism. Yet the Lord is clear that we are to love ourselves. If we cannot love ourselves enough to get the help that we need, we lose the ability to help others. When we ask for help we are not being selfish, but rather are taking the first steps towards helping others. Download the workbook and other resources for doing this program at http://newchurchwestville.co.za/helping/ | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (28m 59s)
Heavenly Union - Part 2 - Marriage on Earth
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 06, 2017
Last week we looked at the marriage that exists between love and wisdom. This marriage is not static but exists in a continuous cycle: love motivates us to seek wisdom, wisdom teaches us to express love, and that love in turn motivates us to seek even more wisdom. This week we will explore this cycle and how it expresses itself in the marriages that we see around us. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (35m 25s)
Heavenly Union - Part 1 - Spiritual Balance
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - July 30, 2017
Everything in the universe reflects the Divine marriage between Love and Wisdom. Without these two qualities everything would fall apart. Over the next two weeks we will be exploring this union. This week, we will focus on our need to marry love with wisdom if we want to be truly useful. Either one on its own is weak, but together they can do amazing things. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (31m 13s)
Fear - Both Hellish and Heavenly
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - July 02, 2017
We tend to become paralyzed when we feel fear. It holds us back from taking risks. But the Lord says do not be afraid. Even when the storms of life rage around us we have nothing to fear. In contrast is Holy Fear: this is the fear that we might let harm come to things that are good. When we feel this fear it does not paralyze us. Instead it inspires and empowers us to protect the good things in our lives. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (24m 59s)
An Open Invitation - Part 4 - An Open Door
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - June 18, 2017
This Sunday we conclude our series on the letters to the seven churches. We have explored how each church stands for some quality that the Lord wants us to work on so that we can enter His kingdom. The last two churches are Philadelphia and Laodicea, which stands for the best and worst of humanity. In both cases the Lord uses the imagery of a door: for the first, an open door that no one can shut; for the second, a closed door that He is eager to enter through. The lesson for us is that no matter where we are spiritually, the Lord is putting before us a path that leads to heaven. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (25m 24s)
An Open Invitation, Part 3, Empty Words and Empty Worship
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - June 11, 2017
Over the past couple of weeks we have been looking at the letters to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation. Each one describes a group of people that the Lord wants to bring into His church. This week we will look at Thyatira and Sardis. Thyatira represents us when we find excuses to not live our faith. Sardis represents us when we act spiritual but don't back it up with actual charity. In both cases the Lord offers a way out for us so that we can become part of His kingdom. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (27m 36s)
An Open Invitation, Part 1: Goodness vs. Rightness
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 28, 2017
What does it take to be part of the New Church? Being part of the New Church takes many forms but at heart it is all about looking to the Lord and repenting of evils. As we approach the celebration of the New Church's birth in June, we will explore how we look to the Lord and repent, and so become part of His Church. Specifically we will explore the letters to the seven churches, each of which reveals some new quality of the Lord and some new evil that we can work on. This Sunday we will look at the letter to the Church in Ephesus, which urges those who put great weight in being right to focus more on doing good. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (31m 54s)
Finding Jesus in the Life of Abraham, Part 3
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 14, 2017
This Sunday we continue with our exploration of the Abraham story and how every detail speaks directly to the heart and mind of Jesus Christ. As our final entry in the series we will look at the near sacrifice of Abraham's son Isaac. While horrendous on the surface, the deeper meaning reveals the trauma that Jesus faced as He fought to embody Divine Love in everything that He did. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (35m 25s)
Finding Jesus in the Life of Abraham, Part 1
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 02, 2017
What can the life of a man, dead now for thousands of years, teach us about our God? The story of Abraham, called to leave his home, tasked with producing a new nation, a people for God, may seem a distant fable. Yet in the details of Abraham's life we can find, if we look deeply enough, insight into the life of God Himself. This Sunday we will look for some of these insights and find a deeper understanding of our Lord. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (27m 35s)
Failure is an Option
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 16, 2017
Failure is an option. In fact, it's inevitable. From our point of view anyway. If the Lord hadn't "failed" the expectations of His followers, He never would have achieved His goals. He needed to face hell, be crucified, and die in order to achieve the greater victory of the resurrection. We cannot avoid the apparent failures that come our way. We can, however, trust that in letting us fail the Lord has a greater plan for us, and if we are willing we will find something better than any of our expectations. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (26m 31s)
A Humble Mind, a Joyful Heart
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 09, 2017
Palm Sunday represents a crucial turning point in the Lord’s ministry: It was the point at which He went from preaching in the outskirts of the countryside to directly challenging those at the heart of religious life. It also led to His death and eventual resurrection. There is also a turning point for us when we submit to the Lord as King: as He enters we find new challenges, unseen evils, and deep spiritual struggle. Yet ultimately it is all for the good: just as Palm Sunday points through the Crucifixion to Easter Sunday, the Lord’s presence with us cuts through temptations and brings us to eternal peace. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (24m 54s)
Making Choices
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 02, 2017
When confronted with hard choices the easiest thing to do is to make no choice at all. Yet this choice is often the worst choice of all: in trying to keep our options open we lose out on all of them. The Lord is adamant that we make a committed choice: He sets before us life and death and urges us to choose life. Commitment to a choice is the only way to succeed spiritually. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (24m 09s)
Mindful Communication Challenge - 4 - Is it Useful?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 19, 2017
We have spent time exploring the questions "Is it true?" and "Is it kind?" This week we ask "Is it useful?" At the heart of this question is putting truth and kindness into action. Truth and kindness without use are simply airy ideas. By asking "Is it useful?" we bring our focus to the actual impact that our words will have on the people around us. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (25m 22s)
Mindful Communication Challenge - 2 - Is it True?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 05, 2017
Truth matters a lot. Without it we would have no direction or guidance in life. We can however use truth as a bludgeon. I'M right, YOU'RE wrong. The truths that matter most are not the ones that prove us right, but the ones that give us the Lord's perspective on things. When we seek this higher truth the Lord can fill our communication with wisdom. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (27m 37s)
Warriors for the Lord
Worship Service: Sermon only - June 21, 2015
"And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought." (Revelation 12:7) "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death." (Revelation 12:11) In other words, they were willing to give up their own lives in order to stand firm against what is false and evil. Are we willing to do the same? Rev EJ Buss gives closing prayer. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (26m 24s)
Becoming a Hero
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - June 21, 2015
We often see soldiers and warriors, like the angel Michael, as heroes. Spiritual warriors can also be heroes in our lives. When we look to the Lord and fight to keep His commandments, we become like Michael fighting the dragon. Copyright music not included. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (24m 29s)