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Why the Lord Appeared First to Mary Magdalene
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 12, 2020
This Easter Sunday we are going to be focussing on the women at the tomb. Mary Magdalene, Mary (who had given birth to Jesus), and some other women were the first people at the tomb on Easter morning. And Mary Magdalene was the first person to see the Lord in His resurrection. Why was this and what can we learn from this about what in us will be most able to see and believe in the risen Lord? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (51m 07s)
Finding Jesus in the Life of Elisha: Under Siege
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 29, 2020
We're in the midst of a sermon series on the life of Elisha and the story we were scheduled to talk about this Sunday, in the midst of a national lockdown, is the story of the Children of Israel being besieged by an enemy in the city of Samaria. As we experience our version of being besieged in our houses by an enemy, we will talk about what help the Lord can offer us in times when we feel trapped. During the lockdown we will be streaming the worship services from our homes instead of from the church, to abide by the mandate to stay home. Find more details about how to watch the service at http://newchurchwestville.co.za/online/ We will also send out a WhatsApp with a direct link to the service on Sunday. Let us know if you'd like to receive that WhatsApp. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (40m 45s)
Finding Jesus in the Life of Elisha: The Word Made Flesh
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 15, 2020
The New Church teaches that, at their deepest level, the stories in the Word are all about the Lord and what He went through while He was in this world. We are going to be looking for connections to the life of Jesus in the dramatic and sometimes quite confusing stories of the prophet Elisha. In this first part we will be looking at the relationship between Elijah and Elisha and exploring how the Lord in the Word made flesh can help us with our real problems and challenges. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (33m 24s)
From Dust to Living Souls
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 01, 2020
We are all going to die someday. That’s not exactly a pleasant thought but it can be useful. It can be useful to spend some time reflecting on our mortality—the reality that our lives in this world will not last forever and in fact they could end at any moment. And so, on Sunday evening, we’re going to take some time to think about this and the value of knowing that we are dust and to the dust we shall return. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (29m 28s)
Observing Lent
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - February 16, 2020
Have you heard of Lent? Have you ever given something up for Lent? People often think of Lent as a Catholic or Anglican thing because those are some of the churches that observe Lent. We’ve never observed it at New Church Westville before, as far as I’m aware. But could there be a value in giving something up for the period leading up to Easter? Come on Sunday and we’ll talk about it. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (30m 53s)
Cycles and Seasons of Time
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - February 02, 2020
This Sunday evening I want to give the adults a chance to hear about the "Circle of the Church Year" that we use in Godly Play. It's an opportunity to think about the different religious celebrations we have in the year the value of those times and the times of preparation that lead up to them. And it will also be an opportunity to reflect more broadly on the value and purpose of the time, state, or season that we find ourselves in. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (30m 00s)
Make Covenant with the Lord
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 19, 2020
Would you be willing to sign a legal agreement with the Lord, committing to do what He tells you to do? The Children of Israel made covenants with the Lord and, if we want to make progress in our relationship with Him, then we need to as well. Part of us does not want to do that. Let's talk about the value of a covenant with the Lord and how we can get through our resistance to the idea and make that commitment in a meaningful way. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (27m 15s)
"Teach Us to Number Our Days..."
Worship Service: Informal Family - January 05, 2020
It's a new decade (or not, depending on how you think about it) and it's a time when a lot of people are thinking about time and all that's happened in the past decade or two. People are also looking to the future and wondering what will happen in the 2020's. With these thoughts on our minds it seemed like it be useful, this Sunday evening, to reflect on Psalm 90 where it says, "teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
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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)
Why Was Jesus Born in Bethlehem?
Worship Service: Informal Family - December 25, 2019
Jesus was birn in Bethlehem, a town that did not seem particularly interesting or exciting. And if we want to find our Savious we need to be willing to look in places that also don't seem particularly interesting or exciting. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
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We Might Not Want the Lord to Come, But We Need Him To
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - December 01, 2019
As we approach Christmas we often talk about the Lord coming into the world and Him coming into our lives in a new way. At this Sunday’s evening service we will be talking about prophecies from Malachi about the Lord’s coming and why we might not actually want the Lord to come into our lives. That might sound strange but some of the prophecies about the Lord’s coming do not sound very pleasant. But we actually do need to go through those unpleasant things to really be ready for the Lord to come into our lives in a new way. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (25m 39s)
Invitation
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 17, 2019
As a church we are focusing on invitation for the next couple of months. As we work on invitation I want our thinking and our actions to be informed by what the Lord teaches about it. And when you look for it, you can find teachings and stories about invitation and even direct invitations from the Lord throughout the His Word. Let’s learn from the Lord about how to invite. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (25m 38s)
"Unless the Lord Builds the House...."
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 20, 2019
It's very easy to buy into the idea that if we just work hard enough we can make sure that things work out the way we want them to. But then sometimes the things that we put hours and hours of effort and energy into building still fall to pieces. And then it feels like it's not worth working on anything. But the Lord can help us to find a healthier motivation to keep on working hard, while also leaving the outcomes to Him. This sermon is based on a chapel talk by Thane Glenn. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
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Life is Hard, Part 2, What Do We Do?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - September 29, 2019
A few weeks ago we talked about how to cope with how hard life in this world is. This Sunday we're going to focus on the question of what to do about it. What actions should we take in response to hard and terrible things that happen? It's easy to feel quite powerless in the face of tragedies or huge problems. Can we make a difference? What do we do if our best efforts seem to accomplish nothing? Life is hard; what do we do? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 25s)
Life is Hard, Part 1, How Do We Cope
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - September 08, 2019
There are a lot of hard aspects of life in this natural world—in our personal lives and also in the world around us. What do we do with it all? How do we cope? Is it better to try to ignore the hard stuff? If we don’t ignore the hard stuff, how do we keep from being flattened by it? This Sunday we’re going to try to learn from He who has “borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,” about how we can cope with life in this hard world. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (18m 52s)
A New Name
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 25, 2019
We get to witness two baptisms as part of the service this Sunday. When someone gets baptised we talk about them being baptised in the Lord’s name. There’s a lot that’s contained in that simple idea. This Sunday we’ll talk about what it means to take on the name of being a Christian and how we can find a new sense of identity in the Lord. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (23m 25s)
Memorial Service for Edward Palmer
Memorial Service - August 25, 2019
On the 18 August 2019, Edward Palmer peacefully passed away at the age of 86. It's always a hard adjustment when someone passes away, even when they've been sick for a long time like Ted had been. While we grieve his passing, we also are glad for him that he is no longer encumbered with a sick body but instead can enjoy the full use of his spiritual body and can again walk, run, talk easily with people, explore, and eat whatever he wants. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (34m 40s)
What Does it Take to Make Good Decisions in a Difficult Moment?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 11, 2019
There's a lot about life that is beyond our control and so it's easy to feel like life is just happening to us and we are being dragged along for the ride. Despite that we do still have choices to make--big ones and little, day-to-day ones. How do we make good choices? What things do we need to have in place in our lives to give us the best chance of making good decisions in the midst of our busy, stressful, or just overwhelming lives? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (19m 45s)
Samuel, Part 1: Hearing the Lord's Call
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - July 21, 2019
This Sunday we’re starting a series on the story of Samuel. As an adult, Samuel becomes a pivotal figure in the history of the Children of Israel but his story begins in his childhood. The Lord calls out to him and at first he doesn’t know that it’s the Lord. We too can struggle to distinguish the Lord’s call in our lives from a lot of other inputs. With Samuel we can learn what it takes to recognise the Lord’s call and what sort of messages the Lord has for us. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (25m 44s)
We Need Times of Rest
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - July 07, 2019
This Sunday we will be looking at the spiritual significance of the year of Jubilee. This was a law that the Children of Israel had that, every fifty years, they had to let the ground lie fallow and not plant seeds or harvest. Also, any land that had been sold during those fifty years had to then revert to the original owner. What is the spiritual significance of all of this for our lives and our need for fallow times? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (23m 15s)
The Spiritual History of the Human Race, Part 3: Christianity and a New Church
Worship Service: Sermon only - June 30, 2019
This Sunday we will finish our series on the spiritual history of the human race by talking about the beginning of Christianity all the way until today. What happened that made it necessary for there to be a new church after the church started by Jesus Christ? And where do we go from here—what do we believe will happen in the next 500 years of the spiritual history of the human race. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (20m 14s)
Jean Powell Memorial Service
Worship Service: Sermon only - June 26, 2019
Memorial Service of Jean Powell, including eulogies by Malcolm Powell, Victoria (Powell) Browning, and Rodney Harber. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (28m 03s)
Becoming One - What It Means and What It Does Not
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - June 23, 2019
In wedding ceremonies and love songs people talk about two people becoming one when they get married. That sounds beautiful and poetic but is it actually possible? To people who are in love it can feel very possible; to people in the midst of a difficult conflict or who have just drifted apart it can feel entirely impossible and naive. And what does "becoming one" even mean? Does it mean always agreeing with your partner? Does it mean you have to lose yourself in your relationship for it to work? These are the questions we're going to be digging into this Sunday. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (23m 28s)
Ancient Words: What Led Me to the New Church
Banquet Address - June 22, 2019
Paul Mayer's banquet speech at the 2019 New Church Day Banquet at New Church Westville. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
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The Spiritual History of the Human Race, Part 1: The Earliest People
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - June 09, 2019
On Sunday we’re starting a series on the spiritual history of the human race. This Sunday we’re looking at the earliest people. What does the Word teach us about what the earliest people were like? How were they different from us and how were they the same as us? And how can understanding what they went through all those thousands of years ago help us to understand ourselves better today? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (24m 53s)