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Part 1-Be the Church: Connect with the Lord

Worship Service: Sermon only - July 15, 2007

Welcome to our series, "Don't Just Go to Church, Be the Church!"Âť The church is not the priesthood, nor is it some abstract thing apart from you. The church is simply the group of people who follow the Lord, and you are called to be one of them. For the next several Sundays we will be talking about what it means to be citizens of the Lords' kingdom on earth. In our first part, "Connect with the Lord"Âť, we begin by reviewing what our personal, individual responsibilities to the Lord are. Put briefly, there are seven things the Lord wants us to do: (1) Pray, (2) Read the Word, (3) Worship, (4) Repent, (5) Shun evils, (6) Serve other people, and (7) Regenerate, or be born again. The first three are what are sometimes called the "life of piety", and the next three are called the "life of charity"Âť; the last one is not something we do ourselves, but instead is something the Lord does for us as a result of the other six. To see the truth of this and learn how to apply it to your life, read Luke 17:20-21 and The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine 124, 241-245 (included below), and then listen to the full audio of this sermon by clicking here. This sermon, along with the rest of the series, is available through the Pittsburgh New Church (where it was preached), TheoBlog, the New Church, and the Apple iTunes Store. Next week we will begin to talk about our responsibilities to the church in "Be the Church, Part 2: Support One Another". | By Rev. Glenn (Mac) Frazier | Pittsburgh, PA
See Event (18m 08s)
God Speaks in Your Heart

Worship Service: Sermon only - May 20, 2007

"Then they said to one another, 'Here comes that dreamer!'" (Gen. 37:19) The Lord gives us dreams and stirs our affections for spiritual things, and for good reasons; we therefore must learn to trust Him and to dream with Him. Think back to the life dreams of your childhood. Some may have been silly, but some were noble at their core. Where did they come from? And what happened to them? Sometimes our dreams are torn up by others, and sometimes we talk ourselves out of believing in them. All of our thoughts and affections are spiritual in origin. Some come from heaven, some from hell. The Lord is constantly flowing into our hearts to inspire and motivate us to do good things. Without the hopes and plans for the future that come from His influence, we would never strive to be better people. In the Word, Joseph and his brothers represent different parts of our minds. Joseph (and his little brother Benjamin) are the deepest, highest parts of us that receive the Lord's love and wisdom. The older brothers represent the more external parts of us that are necessary for daily life. Often, our external mind attacks our inner Joseph, especially when the Lord fills us with thoughts and affections that require us to change our lives in some dramatic way. As with Joseph, though, the Lord continues to guide and inspire us even when it seems that we have sold our inmost self into slavery. Even when we are trapped in the external concerns of the world, like Joseph in Egypt we will be protected and lead so that it all leads to good, if we permit Him to do so. So learn to discern which of your thoughts and affections are from heaven, so you can honor the Lord's inspiration when you find it in your heart. To see that this is true, read Genesis 37 and Divine Providence 287, and then listen to the full audio version of this sermon. It is archived at TheoBlog.com, and also available through www.PittsburghNewChurch.org, www.NewChurch.org, and the Apple iTunes Store. | By Rev. Glenn (Mac) Frazier | Pittsburgh, PA
See Event (14m 12s)

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