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Jonah - Part 1
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - July 26, 2020
The Jonah story describes a human situation in which false assumptions and prejudices almost cost Jonah and the other people on the ship with him their lives. Being rescued by the Lord in the belly of a sea creature gave him the chance to truly reflect on his life and on the Lord's mercy. | By Rev. Garry B. Walsh | Sarver, PA
See Event (28m 23s)
From a Mustard Seed
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - July 19, 2020
In the Lord's parable He tells us that His kingdom within us starts tiny like a mustard seed. We are encouraged to work with Him so that the seed will grow into something wonderful and we will truly be part of His kingdom. | By Rev. Garry B. Walsh | Sarver, PA
See Event (22m 35s)
Fools for Christ
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - July 12, 2020
The wisdom of God seems like foolishness to the world, and so following God's wisdom inevitably leads to us feeling foolish. The pressure to give in and embrace the "wisdom" of the world can be strong. Resisting takes sacrifice, from passing on a promotion, to ending a relationship, to letting go of ego, and beyond. But until we are willing to be seen as fools by the world, we are not able to fully follow the Lord. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (31m 33s)
You Have Enemies and You Need to Love Them
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - July 05, 2020
If I asked you, "Do you have any enemies?" you would probably answer, "No." I think most people don't think that they have any enemies. So does the Lord's revolutionary command to love our enemies not really apply to most of us? Well, we all have people that we treat as enemies and we need to recognise that fact. And then we need to learn what it means to love them and then do it. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSA
See Event (39m 14s)
Comings and Goings
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - June 28, 2020
Psalm 121 speaks of the Lord protecting your going out and your coming in. This speaks to times of transition, times in which it is especially crucial that we remain in the Lord’s care. A prominent example is the Children of Israel coming out of slavery in Egypt and going in to possess the Promised Land. But this story also illustrates the struggle of times of transition: between coming out of Egypt and going into the Land there was forty years of wandering the wilderness. As much as we would like to directly leave hardship and enter good times, more often than not there is an intermediate stage of trial and growth that the Lord must lead us through. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (35m 00s)
Restoring Innocence
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - June 07, 2020
In Revelation 5 the Lord is pictured as a Lamb that appeared to have been slain. It is a picture of how humanity has been continually trying to destroy innocence. This is because He is Innocence itself. In our world of racial conflict and pain, imagine how better things would be if we were all more innocent. | By Rev. Garry B. Walsh | Sarver, PA
See Event (28m 42s)
Protecting each Child
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - May 31, 2020
We can be assured that no matter what is happening in and around us, we are under the Lord's protection. | By Rev. Garry B. Walsh | Pittsburgh, PA
See Event (31m 36s)
How Are You Doing?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 31, 2020
Why would the omnipotent God of the universe ask a mere mortal a question? Wouldn't He already know the answer? Yet there are many examples of God asking questions in the Word. God does not ask questions so He can learn the answer; He asks questions so that we have a chance to reflect and respond in the context of His perspective. In a similar vein, there is value in letting the Lord know "how we're doing." He already knows of course; we don't have to tell Him anything. But this Sunday we will explore the value of reflecting on how we are doing and sharing that reflection with the Lord. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (34m 28s)
Vessels for the Future
Worship Service: Sermon only - May 24, 2020
We are taught that we should work to develop the vessels of love and wisdom within us so that we use those vessels to keep growing ever more wise and charitable toward others in the life to come. | By Rev. Garry B. Walsh | Pittsburgh, PA
See Event (25m 24s)
Death and Rebirth
Worship Service: Informal Family - May 24, 2020
Every stage of our lives involves a new beginning, like hatching from an egg (Secrets of Heaven 4378), coming out of a cocoon (True Christianity 12), or being born again (John 3). | By Rev. John L. Odhner | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (12m 35s)
The Tabernacle, Part 3 - Wrapped in Garments of Salvation
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 03, 2020
As we have seen in the past two sermons, the Word's description of the Tabernacle is, spiritually, a description of the many complex things that make up our lives. This week we look not at the Tabernacle itself, but the clothes that the priest had to wear to be able to work in the Tabernacle. These garments stand for the ways that we weave love and goodness into our outer lives so that we can truly reflect the Lord's work in the world. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (19m 01s)
What do you notice?
Worship Service: Informal Family - May 03, 2020
When we are in a good state, we notice certain things, and when in a bad state we notice others. Happiness comes from being able to notice what is good and useful even when things are not great -- not in a Pollyanna-ish way but seeing what is really there. | By Rev. Erik J. Buss | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (21m 38s)
The Hem of Jesus' Garment
Worship Service: Sermon only - May 03, 2020
This is a study of the spiritual, personal meaning of the woman in Mark 5 who was cured of her flow of blood simply by touching the hem of Jesus' garment. | By Rev. Garry B. Walsh | Pittsburgh, PA
See Event (29m 04s)
The Tabernacle, Part 1: A Dwelling Place for the Lord
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 19, 2020
The Tabernacle was a tent that served as the centre of Israelite worship. But in this archaic structure we can also see a heavenly model for our own minds. This week we will explore how the materials willingly given by the Children of Israel represent the many pieces of our hearts and minds out of which the Lord builds a place for Him to dwell within us. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (29m 41s)
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: Persistently Seeking the Lord
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 22, 2020
In the challenges that we face, and that many of us are facing right now, it is important that we continually go back to the Lord. Spiritual life does not just happen: it takes intentional and persistent work, work that goes on even when life is at its hardest. Remember that this service will be streamed live online at 9:30am this Sunday at https://www.facebook.com/newchurchwestville. There will be a children's talk before the adult sermon. We encourage you to not just watch the video, but to actually experience worship: open your own copy of the Word, light candles, kneel for the prayers, sing some worship songs before or after the service, and so on. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (32m 07s)
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)
Baptism of Elizabeth Savino - Crossing the Jordan
Worship Service: Informal Family - March 08, 2020
Today's service includes the baptism of one of our newcomers: Elizabeth Savino. The talk will focus on the story of the children of Israel entering the Promised Land by crossing the Jordan river (Joshua 3-4). The Jordan river was where John the Baptist baptized people, and it was also the way by which people would enter the Holy Land. We will talk about how this story and the sacrament of baptism both symbolize being led by the Lord into a new state of life. | By Rev. Solomon J. Keal | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall
See Event (55m 25s)
Render Unto Caesar
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 08, 2020
The teachings of the New Church point out how important it is to distinguish between things that are spiritual and things that are natural. This might sound like a bit of abstract philosophy, but you've probably run afoul of doing it wrong: have you ever felt like a bad person for cheating on a diet or wearing the wrong thing to a wedding? That guilt comes, in part, from lending spiritual weight (being a bad person) to a natural rule (diet or dress code). If we can do better at distinguishing spiritual from natural, it will lift an unnecessary weight from our lives. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (27m 32s)
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)
Lose Something Good to Gain Something Better
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - February 23, 2020
When we think of removing things from our life, our mind probably goes to the harmful, destructive, negative things. After all, why would you get rid of something that is helpful, good, and positive? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But at times, our attachment to something good holds us back from moving on to something better. This Sunday we will look at how to recognize those times when we need to move on, even if it means the end of something good. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (30m 12s)
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)
Missed Opportunities
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - February 09, 2020
It is frustrating when we miss an opportunity for something good: It is impossible to go back and change what happened, but we like to dwell on what might have been, if only we had known. This same mindset troubles us spiritually. It is not pleasant to think, “if I had made different choices earlier today, or last week, or last year, right now I would be a kinder, better, happier person. But since I missed my chance, I’ll never be quite as good as I could have been." The Lord, however, in bringing His friend Lazarus back from the dead, gives us hope that even if we cannot change the past, we never lose the chance for a better future. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (00m 00s)
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)
Out of Control Evil
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 26, 2020
What do you do when you lose control? Not in a wild and crazy sort of way. But more in the sense of knowing exactly what not to do, even having boundaries in place, but then helplessly observing yourself cross every boundary and break every commitment. In short, how do we come back from not being able to control our evils? The Word tells the story of a man possessed by demons, so possessed that even chains could not bind him. Yet what the man could not do on his own or even with the restraint of his neighbours, the Lord Himself could. Come learn how the Lord heals our evils and gives hope when we are hopeless. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (33m 49s)