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The Battles We Never Fight
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 05, 2024
Have you ever seen a person who struggles with some particular evil and thought to yourself, “I’m so glad that I’ve never had to deal with that”? It helps to put our own struggles into perspective when we can see how much harder other people have it. We could put much of this up to chance: we happened to be born into a certain family, at a certain time in history, in a particular location. But on closer inspection, none of this is random chance: all of us, like it or not, incline towards the same struggles and challenges as anyone else. It is only through the Lord’s almighty power that we can be held back from falling headlong into unimaginable evils. Today we will explore the ways that the Lord fights battles on our behalf that we will never be aware of, and how much we have to be grateful for. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (35m 05s)
Giving and Receiving, Part 2, How to Be Helped
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 28, 2024
Everyone needs help; none of us can get through life on our own. And yet when help is available there are many times when we don’t take advantage of it. Why is that? Why especially do we not take advantage of the help that the Lord offers? We’ll explore what gets in the way and how to have a better attitude towards the help that we are given by other people. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (16m 38s)
Giving and Receiving - Part 1 - How to Give Help
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 21, 2024
When someone you care about is in need, you give them help. That is a good thing, obviously! But what if they don’t want our help? Or if they need a different kind of help? Or if they reject our help? Our immediate response can be hurt; after all, we are trying to help them! But if we are going to truly help people, we need to learn to make it less about us and how we are received, and more about what the person actually needs. Giving help is about the receiver, it is not about the giver. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (19m 52s)
The Two Great Prophets
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 14, 2024
Elijah and Elisha were two prophets who followed in quick succession. Elijah, who came first, was poorly received and lived a troubled existence. Elisha, who succeeded him, was better received and accepted by the leaders of his day. These two prophets represent two stages in our relationship with the Lord. At first we must struggle and fight to apply His truths. But as we grow and progress it becomes easier and easier, until we live His truth with hardly a second thought. | By Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss, Sr. | Westville, RSA
See Event (21m 21s)
Embracing Weakness
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 07, 2024
If someone called you weak, you would take it as an insult. But what about when the Lord calls you weak? Because He most certainly does: compared to Him, we are utterly powerless. And yet far from being insulted, if we embrace our own weakness, we can let down the burdens of perfection and self-reliance, and receive from the Lord a greater power than we could ever muster on our own. We may be utterly helpless, but the greatest force in the universe is on our side. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (32m 00s)
Success and Failure
Worship Service: Sermon only - March 17, 2024
We all fail. It’s part of being human. But that does not mean we are stuck with our failures. The Lord uses the failures we encounter to help us grow and eventually arrive at spiritual success. This Sunday we’ll explore what failure really means, and how we can see it differently. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (13m 57s)
Success and Failure - Part 1
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 10, 2024
What does success mean? All of us will have our own definition, and in fact that definition will change as we grow and change as individuals. But at the heart of success is service to others. When that is at the forefront of what it means to live a successful life, all of our other priorities and ideas of success can fall into place. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (26m 28s)
True Humility
Worship Service: Informal Family - February 04, 2024
Jesus told a parable about two people who were praying (Luke 18). One gave thanks that he was better than other people; the other would not even raise his eyes to heaven, but simply asked for mercy. How can we recognize our immense need for mercy and forgiveness without giving in to despair? | By Rev. Coleman S. Glenn | Bryn Athyn Cathedral Undercroft
See Event (33m 32s)
Remember the Sabbath Day
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - February 04, 2024
A survey was conducted on how well people knew the 10 Commandments. The findings were a little depressing. Most people were unable to name half of them. However, there was an interesting similarity in almost every response. The one commandment that was almost universally forgotten was the Commandment to Remember the Sabbath. On Sunday, we will explore this Commandment and what it means to keep the Sabbath. | By Rev. Calvin Heinrichs | Westville, RSA
See Event (40m 19s)
Rich and Poor, Wealth and Luxury
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 28, 2024
If you are rich, what are your obligations to the poor? If you are poor, how should you view those richer than you? The Lord in the Gospels teaches us about wealth and poverty and the Teachings for the New Church build on those concepts to help us understand how Christians ought to view these things. | By Rev. Calvin Heinrichs | Westville, RSA
See Event (21m 35s)
Struggling
Worship Service: Informal Family - January 28, 2024
The mysterious incident of Jacob “wrestling” with God all night speaks to an important principle – as much as we may try to avoid spiritual pain and suffering, these struggles are nevertheless the mechanism which enables us to grow and mature. Jacob’s new name carries the idea of being tied up with God’s purposes. How do we become more “tied up” with God’s purposes? | By Rev. Derek P. Elphick | Bryn Athyn Cathedral Undercroft
See Event (36m 04s)
Reacting to Evil Part 3 Amending
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 21, 2024
Last week we looked at how we need to adjust our view of people who commit evil: we must bring charity to bear, so that we can focus on the good. This week we will look at what we can actually do to stop or amend the evil. This is a tricky endeavour: on the one hand, we can have a great deal of influence or even control over how other people behave; on the other hand, we are often powerless to change someone’s behaviour, and although we can influence and encourage people to change, we have no power whatsoever to actually change them. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (21m 25s)
Renewed Life
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 07, 2024
| By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (19m 21s)
The Lord Won't Let You Down
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 19, 2023
The life of David is one of courage and trust in the Lord. Yet even David, as king, fell away from the right path. It turns out that heroes can never quite live up to our hopes and expectations. The same is true of life: we build up hopes and expectations, but then feel let down when they don’t turn out. The Lord, however is different: He will never let us down; His promises always come to pass, and they turn out to exceed our hopes and expectations. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (16m 05s)
Choosing Sides
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 12, 2023
Life seems to be full of complicated choices, and the world we live in can often seem so confusing. Yet, the Lord in His Word is continually urging us to make the right choice to follow Him. Why does this many times become so hard for us to do? Clearly this choice is wise, but why isn’t making this choice easy? | By Rt. Rev. Bradley D. Heinrichs | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 20s)
The Woman at the Well
Worship Service: Sermon only - November 05, 2023
Do you seek the Lord on a regular basis? Are you eager to share with others the things you have learned from Him? The story of the woman at the well provides a wonderful example of how we can go about doing these two very important things! | By Rt. Rev. Bradley D. Heinrichs | Westville, RSA
See Event (16m 22s)
Where Did We Go Wrong?!
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 22, 2023
Have you ever found yourself in a bad place and wondered how on earth you got into this mess? Things were once so great! Life was sailing along smoothly and you were proud of how much growth you’d seen in yourself. Yet here you are, back to your crabby, unhappy, selfish self. What went wrong? This pattern is common not just in individuals but in communities and even across history. Luckily, it does not happen by chance. This Sunday we’ll look what Revelation can tell us about this cycle and how we can avoid it. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 27s)
Gratitude for the Work of Others
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 15, 2023
We have a lot to be thankful to the Lord for. He is the source of each and every good in our lives. But this Sunday we will focus on one particular aspect of what the Lord provides; or rather, the means by which He provides. That means in other people: so much of what the Lord gives us comes by way of the people He inspires to serve and to do good. This Sunday we will reflect on how we can feel and show gratitude for the many people through whom the Lord works. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (16m 38s)
Am I Enough
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 01, 2023
We are bombarded with messages that we need to do more, give more, be more. Whether these messages are overt and intended or subtle and implied, they push us to ask ourselves, “am I enough?” Am I enough for my children? Am I enough for my spouse? Am I enough for my work? Am I enough for my society? And above all, am I enough for the Lord? The bad news is that we are all lacking; the good news is even in our lack we are enough in the Lord’s eyes. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (21m 14s)
Unified in the Lord
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - September 24, 2023
What makes someone your neighbour? In a literal sense it refers to people who live close by. But when the Lord said to “love your neighbour as yourself” He was most certainly not saying to love people next door. Spiritually speaking our neighbours are the ones who are close to us spiritually; and regardless of our individual backgrounds and cultures, all of us are brought together into this spiritual closeness when we look to the Lord. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (19m 11s)
Water to Wine
Worship Service: Informal Family - September 10, 2023
One of the first miracles that Jesus did was turning water to wine at a wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11). What can this miracle teach us about spiritual transformations in our own lives? The piano interlude is included with permission of author Solomon Keal. | By Rev. Solomon J. Keal | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (35m 18s)
Feed What Grows
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - September 03, 2023
We often prioritize things that aren't working. Sometimes this is a good thing: after all, if it isn't working it needs to be fixed. But often we also pour energy into areas that are not bearing fruit. The Lord invites us to put aside the things that aren't working, and instead focus on the things that will bear fruit: things like love to the Lord, charity to the neighbour, and the joy of service. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 08s)
Leaving the Past Behind
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 27, 2023
We sometimes think that to leave our mistakes behind we can just forget about them; but we also know that really doesn’t work. The alternative seems to be to somehow make up for them, and there is truth in this. But what does it take to make up for a mistake? Especially a mistake that rises to the level of being evil? It can feel like we have to undo our mistake, and yet there is no way to change the past. The reality is that repentance (the Lord’s way of making up for mistakes) is not so much about the past, but the present: repentance does not undo the things we have done; instead it allows us to become a different person in the present moment. It’s all about who we are, not who we used to be. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (17m 50s)
Old and New Wineskins
Worship Service: Informal Family - August 13, 2023
In the Gospels, Jesus told His disciples that you can’t put new wine into old wineskins (Matthew 9, Mark 2, Luke 5). In what ways do we sometimes try to put “new wine” into “old wineskins” in our spiritual lives? And how can we choose “new wineskins” instead? | By Rev. Solomon J. Keal | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (32m 53s)
Slow and Steady
Worship Service: Informal Family - August 06, 2023
The Israelites really wanted to get into the Promised Land to establish their new home, but they needed some time in the wilderness to figure things out. Similarly, we may like the idea of sudden life change that fixes our problems, but that’s not generally the way life works. In what ways is time in the wilderness a necessary part of our journey toward spiritual life? (Apologies for the hum in the audio) | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (26m 30s)