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In the Beginning
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - December 05, 2021
Every year we focus on the Christmas story as told in one of the four Gospel. This year we will focus on the Gospel of John. This presents a certain difficulty: John does not speak of any of the familiar elements of the Christmas story. There are no shepherds or wise men in John, no messages from angels, no journey to Bethlehem or manger in a stable. John looks beyond the historical story to the meaning or purpose of Christmas. In our first Christmas sermon this season we will explore what it means that “In the beginning was the Word,” and what it tells us about the meaning of Christmas. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (18m 45s)
Nativity
Worship Service: Informal Family - December 05, 2021
The word “nativity” means “birth.” What does the symbolism of the Christmas nativity teach us about how the Lord is born in our hearts? What are the “nativities” in our spiritual lives? | By Rev. Solomon J. Keal | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (35m 02s)
Prophecy... Christmas is Coming!
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - November 28, 2021
Christmas is coming! Waiting can be hard, but the anticipation can also be exciting. And yes, we have waited all year. But how long did people wait for the very first Christmas? And what exactly are we wating for? Come and see! | By Rev. Pearse M. Frazier | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (13m 45s)
Gentile Heroes
Worship Service: Sermon only - December 27, 2020
| By Rev. Jeremy F. Simons | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (20m 56s)
The Perspective of Anna and Simeon
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - December 27, 2020
After Christmas life goes on. Life can seem pretty long and hard without something to look forward to. How can the stories of Simeon and Anna, two old people who meet Jesus shortly after His birth, help us to gain a different perspective on our lives? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (00m 00s)
Shepherds and Angels
Worship Service: Informal Family - December 25, 2020
When Jesus was born the Gospel of Luke mentions two groups in particular that were present: shepherds who protected their flocks by night, and angelic armies sent from God on high. Both groups, in their own way, are powerful images of truth. Truth is not ideas. Truth, Divine Truth, is the Divine power that protects all goodness. Just as shepherds protect their sheep and angelic armies protect the heavens, truth, when lived, protects against all the forces of hell. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (15m 38s)
Unto Us a Child is Born
Worship Service: Sermon only - December 25, 2020
| By Rev. Eric H. Carswell | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (16m 43s)
Another Way
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - December 24, 2020
| By Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss, Jr. | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (16m 27s)
Watching Over Their Flock By Night
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - December 20, 2020
What would it have been like to be a shepherd watching over his flock at night? The angel appeared to the shepherds in their lonely vigil, which says something about how the Lord sends His angel to us too. | By Rev. Erik J. Buss | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (14m 38s)
Loneliness and Community in the Christmas Story
Worship Service: Sermon only - December 20, 2020
At Christmas we normally celebrate by gathering together to rejoice in the Lord's birth. Sadly, that will not be happening this year. We will explore images and instances of loneliness in the Christmas story and reflect on its meaning for our lives, especially this year. | By Rev. Erik J. Buss | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (23m 01s)
Light in the Darkness
Worship Service: Informal Family - December 20, 2020
We celebrate Christmas at the darkest time of year to symbolize the Lord bringing light into the world. “Light” is a theme throughout the Christmas stories, as well as the prophecies of the Lord's coming. How does the Lord bring “light" into our “darkness?” | By Rev. Solomon J. Keal | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (22m 10s)
"Let It Be to Me According to Your Word"
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - December 13, 2020
Last week we looked at the significance of the angel telling Zacharias and Elizabeth that John the Baptist would be born; this week we come to the story of the angel telling Mary that Jesus would be born. These stories have a lot of similarities and some crucial differences. Understanding those differences can help us understand the kind of salvation that the Lord longs to give us. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (00m 00s)
The Shepherd's Way
Worship Service: Sermon only - December 13, 2020
"There shall be one shepherd for them all; and they shall walk in My judgments, and keep My statutes and do them." (Ezekiel 37: 24) | By Rev. Philip B. Schnarr | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (29m 38s)
No Room in the Inn
Worship Service: Informal Family - December 13, 2020
The Lord was born in a manger in Bethlehem because there was no room in the inn. What does “the inn” symbolize in our lives? Sometimes it might feel like our lives are too full, and it can feel like it's hard to fit the Lord in. What are the ways that we do or don’t make room for the Lord in our lives? And how is the Lord born into our lives anyway? | By Rev. Solomon J. Keal | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (21m 30s)
The Lord Was Born So We Can See and Love Him
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - December 06, 2020
The teachings for the New Church are clear: We cannot come to love or sense that we are loved unless we see and believe that the Lord is both Human and God. He was born as a tiny infant in Bethlehem as part of this process. Prophecies of old had long promised His coming, | By Rev. Eric H. Carswell | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (13m 03s)
Why it is So Important to Turn to the Lord as both Human and God
Worship Service: Sermon only - December 06, 2020
If the Lord had not been born into this world at the first Christmas, we would be missing a very important recognition of who He is. It is impossible to truly love or feel loved by a God who is just an ill-defined forced, no matter how powerful that force is thought to be. We are invited to worship the Lord as both Human and God. | By Rev. Eric H. Carswell | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (22m 40s)
The Promise of God-With-Us
Worship Service: Informal Family - December 06, 2020
The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that Mary would give birth to a Son from the Holy Spirit. This would fulfill the prophecy of a virgin conceiving and bearing a Son named “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.” The Lord was born in this world to be “God with us.” But what does this mean for us here and now, when we cannot see His physical body with our eyes or touch Him with our hands? How can we know that He truly is with us? | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (20m 38s)
Zacharias: An Answered Prayer
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - December 06, 2020
The Christmas story begins with Zacharias receiving the astonishing news that his elderly, barren wife would give birth to a special child. Yet in the moment of his prayers being answered, Zacharias doubted; and so was made mute until the time of the child’s birth. How often do we do the same, doubting just when our prayers might be answered? It’s as if it’s too good to be true, and to protect ourselves from disappointment we refuse to let ourselves give in to false hope. But the Lord does not give false hope: His promises are sure and He brings to pass something greater even than our wildest dreams. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (28m 27s)
Christmas Songs with Piano
Nathan Odhner, vocalist. Sarah Odhner, pianist. | By Multiple Artists | Bryn Athyn, PA
See Event (18m 43s)
A Light for a Revelation to the Gentiles
Worship Service: Sermon only - November 29, 2020
The Lord came to provide a revelation to the gentiles. But who were these gentiles and what was revealed to them? And is this simply a happy thought about something that the Lord did for others, or is there some way in which this can have personal meaning for each of us? | By Rev. Stephen D. Cole | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (28m 26s)
Fleeing for Safety
Worship Service: Informal Family - January 05, 2020
The Gospel of Matthew’s Christmas story has the dark element of Herod’s murderous rage against the newborn Christ. It was essential that Joseph, Mary and Jesus leave Bethlehem right after Joseph’s dream to find safety in far away Egypt. For each of us there is a similar flight when we recognize an evil thought or motivation in our mind. By doing so we protect the fragile life of heaven that the Lord is bringing to each of us. | By Rev. Eric H. Carswell | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (21m 56s)
Taking Good Care of Yourself
Worship Service: Sermon only - December 29, 2019
"Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" (Luke 2:49) | By Rev. Eric H. Carswell | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (21m 16s)
Paying Attention
Worship Service: Informal Family - December 29, 2019
Make makes a person a good "gift giver"? Paying attention to the gift recipient. Why did the wise men give the gifts that they did? | By Rev. Erik J. Buss | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (28m 39s)
Grief and Gratitude
Worship Service: Informal Family - December 29, 2019
A different baby was born in Bethlehem, hundreds of years before Jesus was born there. The mother of that baby died in childbirth and soo named her son "son of my sorrow" before she died. Later the father renamed that baby, "son of the right hand" or "son of strength". This story offers an opportunity to reflect on our sorrows and the strength that the Lord has given us through our sorrows and also gives us another way of understanding why the Lord was born in Bethlehem. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (11m 22s)