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Spiritual Paralysis
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - October 08, 2023
"Arise, Take Up Your Bed, and Walk" (Mark 2). The connection between paralysis and forgiveness is unmistakable in this healing miracle. Only after receiving the Lord’s forgiveness was the man released from his paralysis and yet the full healing couldn’t take effect until the man played his part by getting up and walking. We can experience a similar kind of “paralysis” - unable to make a decision, unable to “move on,” and it is at times like these that the Lord helps us get unstuck. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (15m 11s)
Spiritual Paralysis
Worship Service: Sermon only - October 08, 2023
The Lord is constantly forgiving us any time we stray in mind or deed from His path, and yet we cannot be truly healed of our paralysis until we symbolically “get up” and “walk.” We will be considering the many things that “paralyze” us - old wounds, a critical judgmental spirit, impatient and angry thoughts, justifications, perfectionism - the list goes on. This healing miracle shows us a path forward, a way to get unstuck. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (25m 13s)
The Face of God
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - September 17, 2023
Community service (a monthly gathering of the congregation) | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (24m 36s)
Tell Your Story
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - September 03, 2023
The Scriptures use “witnessing” to remind people of their history, their roots. Moses and Joshua did it with the Israelites, reminding them how they had won their freedom, and how it couldn’t have happened without the Lord. Telling our story (lessons learned) to children, friends, and loved ones is a powerful way of bearing witness to the Lord, His Word, faith, charity. In this service we will be exploring examples from the Scriptures and the Writings that speak to the use and value of personal testimonies. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (12m 59s)
Tell Your Story
Worship Service: Sermon only - September 03, 2023
The Scriptures use “witnessing” to remind people of their history, their roots. Moses and Joshua did it with the Israelites, reminding them how they had won their freedom, and how it couldn’t have happened without the Lord. Telling our story (lessons learned) to children, friends, and loved ones is a powerful way of bearing witness to the Lord, His Word, faith, charity. In this service we will be exploring examples from the Scriptures and the Writings that speak to the use and value of personal testimonies. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (20m 48s)
Come now and let us reason together, says the Lord
Worship Service: Informal Family - August 20, 2023
What is it like to reason with the Lord, and how is this different from reasoning with each other? Can the tone and quality of our dialogue with each other change if we have first reasoned with the Lord? | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (39m 29s)
"Lord, I believe, help my unbelief"
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - August 13, 2023
(Mark 9:24) The human mind has a tendency to draw lines in the sand: here’s what I believe and don’t believe, end of story. It’s a fixed mindset, one that rushes to judgment, a final conclusion. In reality, our journey of faith needs a lifetime to grow and mature. It needs time to flex, to doubt, to question, to wait. In this service, we will consider how it’s okay to have doubts about the Lord, His providence, the Bible - lots of things, and that the Lord doesn’t think less of us when this happens. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (14m 50s)
"Lord, I believe, help my unbelief"
Worship Service: Sermon only - August 13, 2023
(Mark 9:24) The human mind has a tendency to draw lines in the sand: here’s what I believe and don’t believe, end of story. It’s a fixed mindset, one that rushes to judgment, a final conclusion. In reality, our journey of faith needs a lifetime to grow and mature. It needs time to flex, to doubt, to question, to wait. In this service, we will consider how it’s okay to have doubts about the Lord, His providence, the Bible - lots of things, and that the Lord doesn’t think less of us when this happens. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (25m 22s)
Look at the Birds of the Air
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - July 09, 2023
| By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (15m 42s)
Look at the Birds of the Air
Worship Service: Sermon only - July 09, 2023
(Matthew 6:26) We will be exploring the Lord’s invitation to consider birds, what they represent and why flying and “taking flight” has so much appeal to us as human beings, especially as it relates to freedom. The Scriptures are full of stories and references to birds which is our first clue that something special is being talked about. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (27m 38s)
"I have seen, I have heard, I have felt."
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - June 18, 2023
"I have seen, I have heard, I have felt." (Arcana Coelestia 68). Imagine watching a movie at the theater without the soundtrack or listening to the soundtrack without the picture. Or imagine smelling bread fresh out of the oven but being denied a slice of it. Only when all our senses are engaged do we experience the fullness and richness of life. The same was true for Emanuel Swedenborg in his role as a revelator. The Lord could have simply told Swedenborg what to write down about heaven and hell but instead Swedenborg was fully immersed in the spiritual world where he saw, heard, smelled, tasted, and touched incredible things. The same is true of our spiritual lives - all our senses need to be engaged if we are to properly discern between good and evil. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (14m 43s)
"I have seen, I have heard, I have felt." (AC 68)
Worship Service: Sermon only - June 18, 2023
On the day before our celebration of New Church Day, we will take a moment to marvel at the nature of the Lord’s new revelation, given through His servant, Emanuel Swedenborg. The Lord could have simply dictated to Swedenborg all the necessary facts and information of this new revelation but instead Swedenborg spent decades living and breathing the sights and sounds and smells of the spiritual realm. Why was this necessary? Do we need a similar “immersion” in spiritual delights in order to properly discern between good and evil? | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (25m 26s)
Simplicity
Worship Service: Sermon only - May 28, 2023
There’s a part of us that rebels and scoffs at things that appear simple. We tend to equate “simple” with being naïve and unsophisticated and because life in this world gets complicated in a hurry we imagine the fix to our problems will undoubtedly require a complex solution. In reality, the Lord wants us to keep things simple because simplicity is the gateway to all the joys and delights of heaven. To be “simple” means to be of one mind. Deep down inside we’re drawn to the mindset of simplicity because it provides a type of freedom that acts in unison with the Lord’s goals and purposes, thereby “making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7). | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (25m 21s)
In the Lord’s Hands
Worship Service: Informal Family - May 14, 2023
Jeremiah was invited by the Lord to go watch a potter at work. The vessel the potter was making got damaged so the potter started over again and made it into another vessel. Jeremiah’s experience ends with the Lord telling him, “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand” (Jeremiah 18:6). We will be using this powerful visual image to explore what it means to be in the Lord’s hands. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (42m 03s)
Making Judgments
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - April 23, 2023
On any given day we are required to make all sorts of judgments - what to wear, what to eat, what to do or say, when to work and play, stay up or go to bed. Judgments come in all shapes and sizes - some help get us through the day, others help us prioritize, and some help build character. We will be looking at the different types of judgment that the Lord speaks about in His Word as a way of helping us make good and useful ones. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (16m 51s)
Making Judgments
Worship Service: Sermon only - April 23, 2023
We live in a world of tense political division, of strong partisan animosity. Without even realizing it, we can become a part of this, silently building our case against each other, mentally listing our grievances as to why we can’t get along. And without even realizing it, we put ourselves in danger of pushing God out of the equation. This is why it’s important to revisit what the Lord says in His Word about making judgments. Some judgments are necessary, others are not, and only the Lord can help us navigate between the two. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (24m 09s)
The Surprise of Easter
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - April 09, 2023
| By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (12m 40s)
Think Like an Angel
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 19, 2023
Community Service. We tend to think of life in heaven as a future event even though the Lord says we can experience it right now (Luke 17:21). The Lord makes this phenomenon possible by using our intellect, the rational part of our mind, to grow angelic loves in us. It’s a struggle, for sure, because we’re competing against 6,000 thoughts a day (what scientists estimate the daily average to be), many of which aren’t helpful and some of which sabotage our efforts to improve and grow. The Lord wants us to think like an angel because this makes navigating life’s ups and downs much more manageable compared to our clumsy efforts. Let’s explore together how this angelic way of thinking works. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (24m 36s)
What is it?
Worship Service: Informal Family - February 26, 2023
The whole of Exodus Chapter 16 contains a detailed description of how the Israelites were to handle the Manna - when to collect it, how much, not save it overnight, etc. The leading idea is that each person “gathered according to each one’s need” (v. 18). We will consider needs versus wants as they relate to trusting the Lord and His Providence. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (46m 28s)
Be Strong
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - February 05, 2023
When Naaman, an important man and sufferer of leprosy, was told by Elisha to wash in the Jordan seven times, Naaman at first was furious because he thought such an act would make him look weak (I Kings 5:11-12). What we consider to be signs of “weakness” or “strength” can actually be the opposite of what we imagine. Sometimes our weakness is a sign of strength and our strength a sign of weakness. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (16m 51s)
Be Strong
Worship Service: Sermon only - February 05, 2023
In the corporate world or in competitive sports, no one deliberately reveals their weaknesses or shortcomings because this would give competitors and opponents a competitive edge. But when it comes to our spiritual growth and development this is precisely what we must do. Even though it seems counterintuitive, it is by admitting that we are weak, that we have no power or strength over evil, that makes us strong. We have to re-train our mind to think this way because outside forces often tell us the exact opposite. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (26m 00s)
"I Give You a Future"
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 22, 2023
(Jeremiah 29:11) In our first Community service back in September of last year, the theme of the day was how the Lord gathers His flock, and we considered some of the reasons why we, as a church community, might feel scattered and lost. In our second service in October we talked about re-building that which was lost and what that might look like in our own lives and collectively as a community. This upcoming service will conclude this opening three-part series by considering the future. What are the Lord’s plans for us as individuals and collectively as a church community? What role do we have in laying the foundation for a future that doesn’t repeat the mistakes of the past? | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (22m 02s)
Taste and See That the Lord is Good
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - January 08, 2023
"How sweet are Your words to my taste" (Psalm 119:103) Before we swallow food, we go through two lines of defense: we smell it and then taste it to see if it’s good, if it’s worth eating. On a physical level, our nose and tongue rarely let us down but what about our spiritual sense of smell and taste? How do we distinguish between attitudes and habits that are “stinky” versus “sweet?” Can we figure this out on our own or do we need help? | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (15m 11s)
Taste and See That the Lord is Good
Worship Service: Sermon only - January 08, 2023
“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8) Spiritually speaking, taste has to do with perception, with the ability to discern whether something is pleasant (good) or unpleasant (evil). We might think we can cultivate our own spiritual palate, but this gets tricky when our old and new “self” present contradictory ideas of what is “good” and “sweet.” Thankfully, the Lord can help. | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral
See Event (19m 57s)