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Joy Comes in the Morning: Dealing with Depression from a Spiritual Standpoint
Banquet Address - June 22, 2019
Joel Glenn's banquet speech at the 2019 New Church Day Banquet at New Church Westville. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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The Spiritual History of the Human Race, Part 2: The Ancient World
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - June 16, 2019
The Spiritual History of the Human Race, Part 2: The Ancient World In the lead up to New Church Day we are looking at the spiritual history of the human race, in other words, all the churches that went before and how they contribute to where we find ourselves today in the New Church. Last week Malcolm talked about how mankind began in a kind of purity and innocence, but then fell away from that when they decided to make their own sense of self more important than God. This week we’ll look at the next era in spiritual history: the Ancient Church. This is the time period in which people became disconnected from spiritual reality and the Lord had to find other ways of reaching them. By studying this process we can start to understand why God can seem so distant from us today. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Am I Enough?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - June 02, 2019
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
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Other People's Children
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 19, 2019
This Sunday we continue our series on children. When we think of children our minds immediately go to parents as well. But children are not just the concern of parents. Whether we like it or not, all of us have some responsibility for other people's children. As individuals, as a community, and as a church, how do we carry out this responsibility that we have not asked for and at times outright resent? All of us have a role to play in the lives of the young people who surround us. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Changing Our Spiritual Landscape
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 05, 2019
You can tell a lot about someone by the things and people they surround themselves with. On the one hand, this is because where we choose to put time and effort is a reflection of what we value. On the other hand, it is also because we are shaped by our environments: we become like what we are surrounded by. This statement is true spiritually. If we surround ourselves with heavenly influences, we will become heavenly. If we surround ourselves with hellish influences, we will become hellish. Where and how we spend our time is not just a matter of personal preference. It is a matter of choosing who we will become. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Order and Anarchy
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 07, 2019
In the western world we tend to value individuality above almost anything else. The freedom of the individual is sacrosanct. The Lord also values individual freedom. Without the freedom to make personal choices we would not be able to choose heaven over hell. Yet that does not mean that all freedom is equal: one kind of individual freedom leads to hellish anarchy while the other leads to heavenly order. If we want to follow the Lord, we need to spend time distinguishing between the two. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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What Would Jesus Do?
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 31, 2019
In the western world we tend to value individuality above almost anything else. The freedom of the individual is sacrosanct. The Lord also values individual freedom. Without the freedom to make personal choices we would not be able to choose heaven over hell. Yet that does not mean that all freedom is equal: one kind of individual freedom leads to hellish anarchy while the other leads to heavenly order. If we want to follow the Lord, we need to spend time distinguishing between the two. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (20m 15s)
Purifying Motives
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 24, 2019
Doing good things is relatively easy. But what about when you've done your good deed for the day only to be assaulted by the nagging feeling that maybe, just maybe, your motive for doing it was a selfish one? Changing our motives is hard be cause unlike actions, motives cannot be changed directly. We cannot just choose to be motivated by good will at the drop of a hat. Luckily, the Lord lays out a process that we can go through, and if we follow it, over time, our motives will become more and more pure. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Founded on Prayer
Worship Service: Childrens Talk only - March 17, 2019
Every year we celebrate the founding of Kainon School with a special worship service. This is a great way to celebrate Kainon, because its real foundation is the Lord Himself. This year, in keeping with the school theme of "Prayer from the Heart" we will look at how prayer gives us a foundation that can carry us through even the most difficult of times. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Love Over Ego - Part 4 - Unashamed Humility
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 03, 2019
When a person hits rock bottom, there can be a lot of shame. This is especially true if it seemed for a long time that he had everything together, only to have it all come crashing down. But shame is not where a person has to end. Every failure is an opportunity to learn and grow. When we take that opportunity, the greatest lesson we learn is that of embracing humility and rising out of shame. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (21m 18s)
Love Over Ego - Part 2 - Wisdom in Humility
Worship Service: Childrens Talk only - February 17, 2019
The path to wisdom lasts a lifetime, and even then is never truly finished. Even the wisest man alive is pitifully ignorant compared to the vast wisdom of the Lord. Yet still we strive to grow in wisdom and intelligence, as we ought to do. We turn to experts, to podcasts and books, to life experiences and rationally thought-out plans. We expect that if we only had the right information we would be able to master life. Paradoxically though, wisdom does not ultimately come from grasping at worldly knowledge: it comes when we humbly look to the Lord and acknowledge our own shortcomings. That is the wisdom that will let us master life. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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God's Goals For Your Happiness
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - February 03, 2019
God definitely wants us to be happy, but it doesn't always feel like it. More often than not there seems to be a tension between what we want to do and what God asks us to do. The Lord understands that we go through this and so He draws our attention to the happiness that lies within keeping His commandments: "Happy are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven," as just one example. Nor is this promised happiness only in the distant future. If we know what to look for, we can see in the moment how denying ourselves and following the Lord aligns perfectly with our own happiness. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Accept the Gift
Worship Service: Children & Adult - January 20, 2019
The difference between payment and a gift is that we are entitled to payment for the work we have done, while a gift is freely given. So if the Lord freely forgives and saves us, why does it seem like we have to work so hard for it? What do we get credit for and what do we have to acknowledge is the Lord's? If we can clearly see how the Lord freely gives us what we need to work with, we'll be able to accept that gift in every situation through the choices we make. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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We Have Come to Worship Him
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - December 16, 2018
Worship is not something we think of as difficult. Yet there is a lot more to worship than meets the eye. The deeper meaning of worship shows up in the story of the wise men. These men did not simply worship the Lord from where they were. They got up and traveled to find the Lord and give him unique gifts. Likewise, if we want to truly worship the Lord, we have to seek Him out, and offer Him gifts of love, faith, usefulness. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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The Two Gates
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 25, 2018
This Sunday we have the privilege of witnessing and taking part in the two sacraments: Baptism and Holy Supper. In some ways these two rituals seem worlds apart. In one, water is poured over a child's head as he is dedicated to the Lord. In the other we eat bread and drink wine, symbolic of taking in the Lord's love and wisdom. Yet these two rituals contain the whole span of spiritual life. Baptism represents the very first introduction to the Lord, the first glimmers of spiritual life. Holy Supper represents the fulfillment of that life, as we take in the Lord Himself to dwell within us. They are like two gates, and when we have gone through both, we are in heaven. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Heaven is Not Transferable
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 11, 2018
Wouldn't it be nice if someone else could do all the work of getting into heaven for us? In traditional Christianity this idea takes the form of "substitutionary atonement," the idea that because Christ suffered for our sin, we don't have to. This idea is rejected in the New Church, but it is still appealing to believe we don't have to do spiritual work because the Lord is doing it for us. While we could do nothing without the Lord, we actually need to take full responsibility for our spiritual lives. After all, no one else can do it for us. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Heaven is Not for Sale
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 28, 2018
You can’t buy your way into heaven, no matter how much wealth you amass. That won’t come as a surprise to most of you. Yet somehow, subconsciously, we end up trying. Every time we feel entitled to reward because of our good deeds, we have diminished good deeds to a mere currency with which we can buy a slice of heaven. Every time we feel slighted for the ill fortune that befalls us in spite of our goodness, we have reduced God’s living Providence into a mere balance sheet of good countered by evil. It is only when we realize that goodness is its own reward that we can be free from the allure of heaven as a reward. Heaven is not a reward; heaven is the natural result of a life of goodness. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (23m 34s)
Repenting from False Witness
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 14, 2018
The Ten Commandments forbid saying things that are not true; or do they? The 8th commandment is often summarized as "you shall not lie," but it actually reads, "you shall not bear false witness against your neighbour." This wording is significant. It implies something broader then just telling facts or lies. Even the "truth" can be used to bear false witness against someone. We are called to heed our thoughts and our words, making sure that they are not only factually correct, but that they bear witness to the true goodness of character of the people around us. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Seeing the Light
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - September 30, 2018
The past two Sundays Malcolm talked about reading the Bible, sharing techniques for how to do it and how to know if you're doing it right. This week we carry on with the same theme but with a slightly different perspective: not so much how to read the Bible but what happens when we do. Or to put it another way, moving from what we need to actively do to what the Lord does to us in response. If we prepare well, then reading the Bible becomes a source of light and guidance in our lives. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Our Spiritual Journeys - Looking Forward
Worship Service: Sermon only - September 02, 2018
Last week Malcolm talked about what we can gain from looking back into our pasts. This week we will talk about going the other way, looking forward into our futures. The challenge with the future is the unknowns. It is easy to see how the Lord led us even in hard times when we look back. It is more of a challenge to look forward and trust that the Lord will continue to lead us. And this is as it should be: the Lord asks us to plan for an uncertain future, and work towards it, so that He can direct us down the right path. When we find the right balance of planning and trust we can face what is to come with confidence. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (25m 01s)
Our Spiritual Journeys
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 19, 2018
We all have a story. It is a story of our life, the ups and downs, the highs and the lows, the winding ways that we have come from where we were to where we are now. These stories are not just a dry account of our past. The story of our life is the story of the Lord's power and guidance, if we are willing to see it that way, and through retelling our stories we share that power with others. This Sunday we will look at the command given to the Children of Israel to constantly retell the story of how the Lord had saved them from slavery, so that generations to come would know the Lord's power and love. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Singleness and Marriage
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 05, 2018
Last week Malcolm talked about how we can hold ideals, especially around marriage. Next week he'll carry on with that theme. But this week, we are going to take a break from talking about marriage and put the focus on the other side: on singleness. Some of you are single yourselves; some of you are recently married; and some of you probably can barely remember what it was like to be single. In any case we will look at what the Lord has to say about this state of life and what even the long-time couples can learn from it. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 53s)
Spirit of the Law
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - July 15, 2018
We all break rules from time to time. We speed. We tell a little lie. We browse Instagram at work when no one is around. We always tell ourselves that it is justified. But then someone else does the same, and our righteous indignation bristles: well if they speed, I can cut them off! They lied, so I can bad mouth them to others! They slack off at work, so I can too! What we fail to see is that we are using the technicality of breaking a rule to justify us harming someone else. The Lord calls us to something greater: to look beyond just the letter of the law and focus on the spirit, and from there to have compassion on those who perhaps don't stay within bounds as much as we might hope. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Eternal Waters
Worship Service: Sermon only - July 08, 2018
We all have times when we thirst. We thirst for understanding, for insight, for justice, for knowing how to get through. We thirst for a better life or a better job or a better family. The kind of thirst we're going to look at this Sunday is the thirst for truth. Now you might not feel like you have a strong thirst for truth. But we all have a thirst for the truth that teaches us how to navigate the challenges of life and that leaves us feeling satisfied; the kind of truth that when it hits you suddenly know everything is going to be OK. If we are willing, this is the truth that the Lord will feed us with and satisfy our longing. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Face to Face with God
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - June 24, 2018
If we were to fully comprehend the love of God in a moment, it would be like standing in the sun itself. Its immensity and power would blow us away and consume us. Yet just as the light and warmth of the sun finds its way to our little earth and gives us life, the Lord finds a way to bring His immense love down into our lives. He did, and continues to do this, by showing us His humanity. When we look to God and think of Him as a person, we have an opportunity to connect with that endless, boundless love that is His heart. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 38s)