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An End and a Beginning
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 01, 2018
Jesus mission in life was both incomprehensible massive and truly simple: to save all people, for all time, from the threat of hell. Throughout His life He accomplished this mission by fighting against and overcoming every last evil impulse that hell could throw at Him. By the end of His life, on the cross, He had so completely overcome hell that nothing of it remained in Him. On Easter Sunday we celebrate this victory because of what it means for us today: just as Jesus overcome hell in His own life, He can overcome every bit of hell that shows up in ours. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (20m 55s)
Practicing Forgiveness - Being Forgiven
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 11, 2018
We have all needed to be forgiven at one time or another. It's tempting at these times to think a simple "I'm sorry" will suffice. But when it comes to forgiveness "sorry" just doesn't cut it. Although when we say sorry it may be heartfelt it does nothing to change us or our situation. It is when we recognise our fault and make an effort to change that we can receive real forgiveness. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (23m 52s)
Putting Others First
Worship Service: Informal Family - February 18, 2018
The world tells us that to be great we must be better than others. We must be stronger, richer, more skilled and so on. If someone is ahead of us we are not, obviously, the best. The Lord redefines greatness. Greatness is not to excel others. Greatness is putting others first. Not only does putting others first make us great; it removes the competition. When we put others first we do not need to feel superior to anyone. We can be content that we have done our part to make the world a better place. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Your Life is Not Your Own
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - February 04, 2018
Who does your life belong to? We know that at least some of it belongs to the Lord so we make man effort to give Him His due share. But what if all of your life, every last bit of it, belongs to the Lord? At first this might seem like a constraining idea. But in fact it can be freeing. We do not have to balance out whit is mine and what is His; when we give it all to Him we free ourselves to live our best lives possible. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (24m 48s)
Rebuilding the House of the Lord - Part 3 - Taking it to Heart
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - January 28, 2018
When we have made the Lord a priority and started to work on living better we often expect things to change dramatically. Sadly, that is not the case. Changes in our external lives are an important beginning but we will not see real change until the change happens in our hearts. When the children of Israel built a house for the Lord not just as a place of worship but also as a state of mind, then the Lord could begin to bless them again. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
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Forgiveness as Opportunity
Worship Service: Informal Family - January 07, 2018
No matter what you have done or will do in your life, the Lord has already forgiven you. So what's the point of thinking about the Lord's forgiveness? He has already given it to us. That does not mean we have it yet though. The Lord's forgiveness comes in the form of never-ending opportunities to repent. It is up to us to take advantage of those opportunities and make changes. That is how we take in the Lord's forgiveness. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (17m 22s)
Simeon
Worship Service: Informal Family - December 31, 2017
When Jesus was only a few weeks old His parents brought Him to the temple, as was the custom. There they were met a man, Simeon, who held Jesus in his arms, blessed Him, and gave thanks. The image of the old man Simeon holding the new-born Jesus is a useful one to start the year off with. On the one hand we have someone reaching the end of his life. On the other a life just beginning. When we reach these important transitions it is important that we, like Simeon, can recognise the hope for the future and trust the Lord is creating something good even if we will not live to see it. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (11m 10s)
Witness to the Light
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - December 10, 2017
Before Jesus could begin His ministry He needed John to prepare the way first. The world at the time was in such a bad state that people could not have taken in Jesus teachings if John had not first prepared them and filled them with hope for Jesus' coming. John did this by bearing witness to Jesus' Light, so that when that light did come people could recognise it and embrace it. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (24m 17s)
To God be the Glory
Worship Service: Informal Family - December 03, 2017
Singing is one of the most powerful ways to express joy, and this is no more true than at Christmas. The teachings of the New Church tell us that going back thousands of years, the people in ancient times delighted in singing songs about the Lord's future coming and the salvation He would bring. Today we do the same as we not only look back to the Lord's birth but also forward to His birth into our own lives. After a short talk on the joy of singing to the Lord we will join together to celebrate the joy of the Lord's Coming and the Christmas season in general. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (09m 56s)
How Wealthy is Too Wealthy
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 26, 2017
As Christians is it our duty to shun wealth? Jesus says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. So should the wealthy among us be ashamed of their wealth? Should the poorer of us take pride in their poorness? Not exactly. The problem with money is the use to which we apply it. Money is heavenly when we see it as an opportunity to serve others and hellish when we see it as a way to love ourselves. All of us, rich and poor, need to take stock of the gifts we have been given in abundance and ask how we can use that abundance to make the world a better place. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (22m 17s)
Facing Floods, Part 3 - Ride it Out
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 12, 2017
Two weeks ago we talked about seeing the floods, or challenges, coming and understanding that there is a better life on the other side. Last week we talked about preparing for the floods, or challenges, by making sure hat we are walking hand in hand with God and following Him wherever He leads us. This week we are going to talk about being in the middle of the flood itself, coping with the challenges as we experience them. In the midst of struggle we suffer from doubt but the Lord's promise is that He has prepared you and that He will bring you through alive, to find a new beginning. There is no challenge that you cannot overcome. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (26m 12s)
Facing Floods, Part 1 - See it Coming
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 29, 2017
Spiritual growth is a destructive process. Without the destruction of old habits, old ways of thinking, old wants and desires, there would be no room for the Lord to build us up as angels. Over the next four Sundays we will be exploring this topic of spiritual destruction and reconstruction using the story of Noah's Flood. This story offers powerful insight into how we deal with the spiritual floods that come our way. In the course of this story we'll talk about seeing the flood coming, how to get ready for it, riding it out, and then the beautiful things the Lord creates when we get to the other side. For this Sunday our focus will be on the first part: seeing the flood coming. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (28m 03s)
Get More Out of Reading the Bible: Part 2: Prophets and Psalms
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 15, 2017
Some of the most difficult parts of the Bible can be found in the Prophets. It can be hard to get much out of these sections. The teachings for the New Church say that this is because in the prophets the real spiritual meaning is often hidden under layers of symbolic language. So what do we do with this? Do we have to decode the prophets? Can we avoid them altogether? This Sunday we will explore how we can get more meaning out of reading the prophetical books of the Word. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (28m 11s)
Healing Spiritual Leprosy
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - October 01, 2017
This Sunday we are going to talk about the disease of leprosy in the Bible. Having this disease would result in becoming an outcast, cut off from the community and from God. Yet the Lord reached out to a leper, even physically touching him, to bring him back into the community and into a relationship with God. When we have made choices that cut us off from the Lord and from others, this is the miracle that He can perform: to reach out to us in our shame and draw us back into His loving embrace. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (29m 51s)
God's Healing Forgiveness
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - September 10, 2017
We all have times when we become paralyzed by evil and falsity. We want desperately to be good but for some reason we cannot seem to let go of harmful thoughts and feelings. The Lord's forgiveness offers us a way out of this spiritual paralysis: when we raise our thoughts to Him. He heals us through His forgiveness, and in that healing we find freedom for our minds. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (24m 06s)
Helping Each Other: Part 2 - Getting Spiritual Support
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 27, 2017
We know that the Lord has created us to love others; but what about ourselves? Can that love also be from the Lord? All of us have needs that must be met but it can be hard to ask for help. We worry about putting a burden on others or opening ourselves up to criticism. Yet the Lord is clear that we are to love ourselves. If we cannot love ourselves enough to get the help that we need, we lose the ability to help others. When we ask for help we are not being selfish, but rather are taking the first steps towards helping others. Download the workbook and other resources for doing this program at http://newchurchwestville.co.za/helping/ | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (28m 59s)
Heavenly Union - Part 2 - Marriage on Earth
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 06, 2017
Last week we looked at the marriage that exists between love and wisdom. This marriage is not static but exists in a continuous cycle: love motivates us to seek wisdom, wisdom teaches us to express love, and that love in turn motivates us to seek even more wisdom. This week we will explore this cycle and how it expresses itself in the marriages that we see around us. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (35m 25s)
Heavenly Union - Part 1 - Spiritual Balance
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - July 30, 2017
Everything in the universe reflects the Divine marriage between Love and Wisdom. Without these two qualities everything would fall apart. Over the next two weeks we will be exploring this union. This week, we will focus on our need to marry love with wisdom if we want to be truly useful. Either one on its own is weak, but together they can do amazing things. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (31m 13s)
Fear - Both Hellish and Heavenly
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - July 02, 2017
We tend to become paralyzed when we feel fear. It holds us back from taking risks. But the Lord says do not be afraid. Even when the storms of life rage around us we have nothing to fear. In contrast is Holy Fear: this is the fear that we might let harm come to things that are good. When we feel this fear it does not paralyze us. Instead it inspires and empowers us to protect the good things in our lives. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (24m 59s)
An Open Invitation - Part 4 - An Open Door
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - June 18, 2017
This Sunday we conclude our series on the letters to the seven churches. We have explored how each church stands for some quality that the Lord wants us to work on so that we can enter His kingdom. The last two churches are Philadelphia and Laodicea, which stands for the best and worst of humanity. In both cases the Lord uses the imagery of a door: for the first, an open door that no one can shut; for the second, a closed door that He is eager to enter through. The lesson for us is that no matter where we are spiritually, the Lord is putting before us a path that leads to heaven. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (25m 24s)
An Open Invitation, Part 3, Empty Words and Empty Worship
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - June 11, 2017
Over the past couple of weeks we have been looking at the letters to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation. Each one describes a group of people that the Lord wants to bring into His church. This week we will look at Thyatira and Sardis. Thyatira represents us when we find excuses to not live our faith. Sardis represents us when we act spiritual but don't back it up with actual charity. In both cases the Lord offers a way out for us so that we can become part of His kingdom. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (27m 36s)
An Open Invitation, Part 1: Goodness vs. Rightness
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 28, 2017
What does it take to be part of the New Church? Being part of the New Church takes many forms but at heart it is all about looking to the Lord and repenting of evils. As we approach the celebration of the New Church's birth in June, we will explore how we look to the Lord and repent, and so become part of His Church. Specifically we will explore the letters to the seven churches, each of which reveals some new quality of the Lord and some new evil that we can work on. This Sunday we will look at the letter to the Church in Ephesus, which urges those who put great weight in being right to focus more on doing good. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (31m 54s)
Finding Jesus in the Life of Abraham, Part 3
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 14, 2017
This Sunday we continue with our exploration of the Abraham story and how every detail speaks directly to the heart and mind of Jesus Christ. As our final entry in the series we will look at the near sacrifice of Abraham's son Isaac. While horrendous on the surface, the deeper meaning reveals the trauma that Jesus faced as He fought to embody Divine Love in everything that He did. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (35m 25s)
Finding Jesus in the Life of Abraham, Part 1
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - May 02, 2017
What can the life of a man, dead now for thousands of years, teach us about our God? The story of Abraham, called to leave his home, tasked with producing a new nation, a people for God, may seem a distant fable. Yet in the details of Abraham's life we can find, if we look deeply enough, insight into the life of God Himself. This Sunday we will look for some of these insights and find a deeper understanding of our Lord. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (27m 35s)
Failure is an Option
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - April 16, 2017
Failure is an option. In fact, it's inevitable. From our point of view anyway. If the Lord hadn't "failed" the expectations of His followers, He never would have achieved His goals. He needed to face hell, be crucified, and die in order to achieve the greater victory of the resurrection. We cannot avoid the apparent failures that come our way. We can, however, trust that in letting us fail the Lord has a greater plan for us, and if we are willing we will find something better than any of our expectations. | By Rev. Joel C Glenn | Westville, RSA
See Event (26m 31s)