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Sharing What We've Been Given
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - August 07, 2022
Sharing is hard - for children and also for adults. When we can remember all that the Lord has given us, it can help us to loosen our grip on what we have and feel less threatened by what the Lord has given to other people. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralBreaking Bread
Worship Service: Sermon only - August 07, 2022
As preparation for taking the Lord's Holy Supper, we will be talking about the significance of breaking bread and sharing it. Particularly in Western culture, there can be a lot of emphasis on individuality and working on our individual lives but the Lord's goal for us is to be part of a larger whole in which we give and receive freely. How can we work towards that goal? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralCome and See
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - July 24, 2022
| By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralCome and See
Worship Service: Sermon only - July 24, 2022
An Invitation to Keep Growing in Our Relationship with the Lord | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralThe Lord Bless You and Keep You
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - June 12, 2022
“The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” We use this blessing at special times—baptisms, weddings, Holy Supper. This Sunday we will go through it phrase by phrase and reflect on how we can be most receptive of the Lord’s blessings and how we can be a part of sharing His blessings with others. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSADoes it Matter if We Believe in the Lord
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 22, 2022
In the New Church we love the idea that people of any religion can go to heaven. But, if we don’t understand this idea fully, then it can seem like it doesn’t matter at all what you believe. And it can be hard to figure out why it matters if we believe in the Lord. Let’s talk about what it means to believe in the Lord and why our beliefs matter. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAApproval
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 08, 2022
It’s Mothers Day this Sunday and so we’re going to be reflecting on a topic that comes into all parent-child relationships—approval. We all want to be approved of. But do your parents approve of you? Do you approve of your parents? The giving or withholding of approval is a strong force in relationships; let’s talk about how the Lord would like us to navigate the interpersonal dynamics around approval. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAThe Disciple Whom Jesus Loved
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 24, 2022
In the Gospel of John there are a number of intriguing stories about what Jesus and the disciples did after the Lord’s resurrection. When I preached about this four years ago I focused on the role and significance of Peter (read or listen to that here); this year I want to focus on John. John is called “the disciple whom Jesus loved” and he played a crucial role in the development of the Christian Church. In us he represents a crucial part of our spiritual development as Christians. What does he represent? Come and see. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSALegitimate Authority
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 03, 2022
We see so much abuse of power in the world—countless examples of people using their influence on other people in harmful ways. But what does legitimate authority look like? What sort of claims to authority by other people should we reject and resist and what ones should we comply with? And what kind of authority over other people should we aspire to? Let’s see what we can learn about this from the One who is all-powerful. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAEven the Wind and Sea Obey Him
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 27, 2022
The disciples once found themselves in the midst of a terrible storm, out on the water in a little boat. The boat was sinking and they thought they were going to die until Jesus stood up and rebuked the wind and the sea and suddenly there was calm. This Sunday we will reflect on this story and what it can teach us about how the Lord can help us to find peace in the midst of the storms that we encounter in our lives. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAWar and Providence
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 13, 2022
With the conflict in Ukraine on so many people’s minds at the moment it feels like it could be useful for us to reflect on teachings from the Lord’s Word about war and providence. There are big picture questions to consider like, why does our loving God allow something as terrible as war? And there are also more day-to-day questions to consider like, how much time should we spend thinking about conflicts in other parts of the world and what, if anything, can we do to try to make things better? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSABreaking Bread
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - February 20, 2022
This Sunday, as preparation for taking the Lord’s Holy Supper, we will be talking about the significance of breaking bread and sharing it. Particularly in Western culture there can be a lot of emphasis on individuality and working on our individual lives but the Lord’s goal for us is to be part of a larger whole in which we give and receive freely. How can we work towards that goal? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSADaily Prayer
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 30, 2022
How often do you talk to the Lord? Is it often enough? Communication is a crucial aspect of any relationship and our relationship with the Lord is no different. If, for example, we only communicate with the Lord when we’re desperate and can’t think of anything else to try, that will severely limit our relationship with the Lord. If, on the other hand, we have a relationship with the Lord in which we’re talking to Him several times a day, that can be part of us having a real, active, and meaningful relationship with Him. Let’s talk about what prayer on a day-to-day basis looks like and how we can make progress in our regular communication with the Lord. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAOK and Not OK
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 16, 2022
Last week Joel preached about admitting you were wrong and it got me thinking about how important the time after we’ve done something is. How we think about what we’ve done—whether it was good or bad—really matters. When we’ve done something wrong, do we acknowledge it or try to justify it? When we’ve done something good, what do we think about the action or ourselves afterward? Each day we’re going to do a whole bunch of different things and likely some of those things will be somewhat good and some will be somewhat selfish. We need the Lord’s help to sort out what in all of that is OK and what is not OK. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAWhere Have You Come From and Where are You Going
Worship Service: Informal Family - January 02, 2022
As we start a new year, it’s useful to reflect on the questions that the angel of the Lord asks Hagar in the desert: Where are you coming from? Where are you going? And what’s the matter? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSANo Room for Them in the Inn
Worship Service: Informal Family - December 26, 2021
There will be a worship service on this day, even though it’s just the day after Christmas. It will be a simple family service, offered in-person and online. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAAn Eternal Perspective
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 28, 2021
As another year draws to a close and as many people are dealing with the stress of a manic time of year, let’s turn to the Lord’s Word this Sunday for passages about the Lord’s eternal perspective. Let’s zoom out for a few minutes on Sunday and think about what will still matter in a hundred years or a thousand years and then see if we can bring some of that perspective back into all that we’re trying to do before the end of the year. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAA Sermon about Sermons
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 07, 2021
One of the main things we do as part of our weekly worship services is have a sermon. But why? What is the purpose of a sermon? What makes a sermon good or not so good? How can you get the most out of even a mediocre sermon? Come on Sunday for a sermon about sermons. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAReligion and Politics, 1, Seeking the Lord's Justice in a Corrupt World
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 24, 2021
We don’t often talk about politics in church and with good reason. It can be done wrong in so many ways. And maybe it is better for there to be a “separation between church and state” in society. However, it’s not good for there to be that separation within an individual—it’s not good for there to be a separation between church and state in you. What can we do to try to better integrate our spiritual beliefs and our political beliefs? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAThe 5 Senses - Part 3 - Touch
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 10, 2021
The last sense we’re going to cover in our series on the five senses is touch. Touch is a powerful sense and a big part of that is because of its role in relationships. Touch is one of the most powerful ways that we communicate and experience affection, comfort, and love; touch is also one of the most powerful ways that we communicate and experience anger, pain, and coercion. The Lord healed people through laying His hands on them. This Sunday we will reflect on touch and ask the Lord to bring us healing in this area of our lives too. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAThe 5 Senses, Part 1, Taste and Smell
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - September 26, 2021
Have you ever thought about why the Lord gave you a sense of smell or why He gave you a sense of taste? This Sunday we’re beginning a sermon series on the five senses and we will be focusing on taste and smell. We will look at some stories from the Lord’s Word that involve taste and smell and reflect on the spiritual significance of these senses in our lives. How can we become more sensitive to the things that the Lord wants us to notice? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAStrands Through Scipture -2- Precipitation
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - September 12, 2021
This Sunday we are going to look at another strand that runs through scripture from beginning to end: the imagery of precipitation. We might think of weather in the Bible as something going on in the background while the real story plays out between the human beings in the story but we can learn a lot about what’s going on in different stories by paying attention to the atmospheric conditions. We’ll look at the symbolism of the whole water cycle and also touch on things like dew, snow, and hail. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAWhat Kind of God do You Believe In?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 29, 2021
There are many ideas of God in the world. Over the history of the human race and in all the different religions around the world there is a huge variety of ideas about what God is like. So what God do you believe in? This Sunday we are going to look at a number of the different ways God is depicted and described in the Bible as an opportunity for you to reflect on your relationship with God. We’re also going to look at some common ways in which people’s beliefs about God can be hurting them. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAGenuine Goodness - 3 - Is it Wrong to Want Some Credit
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 15, 2021
We’ve been talking for a couple of weeks about genuine goodness and this week we’re going to venture into some of the thorny issues around motivation. Does it matter what our motivations are if the actions we do are good? Is it wrong to want some credit for the good things we do or does that somehow spoil them? Why does the Lord care about our motivations? Spoiler alert: the Lord cares about our motivations because He cares about us and He knows what will make us genuinely happy. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAGenuine Goodness - 1 - Doing Good When You Don't Feel Like It
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 01, 2021
There’s something in each of us that wants to be good—that wants to make the world a better place. But how do we do that? There’s a lot to talk about here. For this Sunday we’re going to start with the rather mundane topic of the good things that we do that we don’t feel like doing. We all have things that we are asked to do, required to do, nagged into doing, or have to do because nobody else is going to do it. Often we don’t feel like doing those things. Should we do them anyway? Should we not? Let’s talk about it on Sunday. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA