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Don’t Tell Anyone
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - September 21, 2025
In the Gospels, sometimes the Lord heals someone in an amazing way but then tells them not to tell anyone. Other times, He specifically instructs them to go and tell others what has happened. This Sunday, we will explore why the Lord might have done this, and what it means for us—when we should keep quiet and when we should spread the good news. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralDon’t Tell Anyone
Worship Service: Sermon only - September 21, 2025
In the Gospels, sometimes the Lord heals someone in an amazing way but then tells them not to tell anyone. Other times, He specifically instructs them to go and tell others what has happened. This Sunday, we will explore why the Lord might have done this, and what it means for us—when we should keep quiet and when we should spread the good news. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralThe First Commandment
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - September 07, 2025
“You shall have no other gods before my face.” (Exodus 20:3) This is the first of the Ten Commandments and all the commandments that come after it relate back to it. What and who do we bow down to and serve instead of the Lord our God? How can we learn to identify those gods and reject them and instead love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralThe First Commandment
Worship Service: Sermon only - September 07, 2025
“You shall have no other gods before my face.” (Exodus 20:3) This is the first of the Ten Commandments and all the commandments that come after it relate back to it. What and who do we bow down to and serve instead of the Lord our God? How can we learn to identify those gods and reject them and instead love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralOur Spiritual Reality: Grappling with Hell
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - August 10, 2025
If we want to really understand our spiritual reality, we have to grapple with the reality of hell. This Sunday, we will take some time with images and teachings about hell in the Old Testament, New Testament, and the teachings for the New Church. We will be looking directly at some of the most difficult and darkest aspects of human life. At the same time, we will reflect on our loving God, who shines light into even the darkest places and reaches out in love and infinite mercy to even the darkest of hearts. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralOur Spiritual Reality: Grappling with Hell
Worship Service: Sermon only - August 10, 2025
If we want to really understand our spiritual reality, we have to grapple with the reality of hell. This Sunday, we will take some time with images and teachings about hell in the Old Testament, New Testament, and the teachings for the New Church. We will be looking directly at some of the most difficult and darkest aspects of human life. At the same time, we will reflect on our loving God, who shines light into even the darkest places and reaches out in love and infinite mercy to even the darkest of hearts. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralMaintenance
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - August 03, 2025
Things seem to fall apart and get broken rather easily—from our aging bodies, to the buildings we live in, to the equipment we rely on each day, to our lives in general and the world at large. Just think of your current to-do list of things that you need to fix, replace, clean, or sort out. What are we meant to do in the midst of this reality? Give up on fixing anything? Let’s talk on Sunday about the importance of maintenance and how to find the humility, courage, and trust to do the work to maintain what matters. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Westville, RSAOur Spiritual Reality: Heaven
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - July 13, 2025
A big focus of the Lord’s teaching, when He was on earth, was the kingdom of heaven. Heaven is also a big focus of what the Lord reveals in the teachings for the New Church. This Sunday, as we continue our series on understanding our spiritual reality, we will explore a few of the Lord’s teachings about heaven and reflect on the impact that our beliefs about heaven can have on our day-to-day lives. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralOur Spiritual Reality: Heaven
Worship Service: Sermon only - July 13, 2025
A big focus of the Lord’s teaching, when He was on earth, was the kingdom of heaven. Heaven is also a big focus of what the Lord reveals in the teachings for the New Church. This Sunday, as we continue our series on understanding our spiritual reality, we will explore a few of the Lord’s teachings about heaven and reflect on the impact that our beliefs about heaven can have on our day-to-day lives. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralOur Spiritual Reality: We Also Have Bodies
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - May 25, 2025
This Sunday we will pick up the topic of our spiritual reality again by reflecting on a curious and inescapable aspect of our spiritual reality: we also have bodies. Why did the Lord create our spirits to be embodied in these complex, frail collections of bones, muscles, and organs? And how can we better navigate our spiritual reality when we take our bodies into consideration? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralOur Spiritual Reality: We Also Have Bodies
Worship Service: Sermon only - May 25, 2025
This Sunday we will pick up the topic of our spiritual reality again by reflecting on a curious and inescapable aspect of our spiritual reality: we also have bodies. Why did the Lord create our spirits to be embodied in these complex, frail collections of bones, muscles, and organs? And how can we better navigate our spiritual reality when we take our bodies into consideration? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralMaundy Thursday Holy Supper: A Sacrament of Repentance
Worship Service: Sermon only - April 17, 2025
Rev. Malcolm G. Smith will lead this reflective Holy Supper service with readings and a talk on the significance of the Last Supper and an opportunity to take Holy Supper. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralMaintenance
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - March 23, 2025
Things seem to fall apart and get broken rather easily—from our aging bodies, to the buildings we live in, to the equipment we rely on each day, to our lives in general and the world at large. Just think of your current to-do list of things you need to fix, replace, clean, or sort out. What are we meant to do in the midst of this reality? Give up on fixing anything? The Lord tells us to lay up treasures in heaven, because treasures on earth are susceptible to moth, rust, and thieves (Matthew 6:19, 20), but a big part of trying to serve heavenly goals is at least attempting to do useful things for other people in this natural world, even though things fall apart. Let’s talk on Sunday about how the Lord maintains us and how we can be part of maintaining what is good with the Lord’s help. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralOur Spiritual Reality: The Word And the Spiritual World
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - March 02, 2025
The only reason we know about the spiritual world is because of the Lord’s Word. This Sunday we are going to explore the relationship between the Word and the spiritual world using the parable of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke 16. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralOur Spiritual Reality: The Word And the Spiritual World
Worship Service: Sermon only - March 02, 2025
The only reason we know about the spiritual world is because of the Lord’s Word. This Sunday we are going to explore the relationship between the Word and the spiritual world using the parable of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke 16. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralCome to the Lord
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - December 29, 2024
When the Lord came into the world, many people went to some effort to come to where He was and were blessed because they did. How can we come to the Lord? And, as we begin to move beyond Christmas, how can we continue to come to the Lord in the new year? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralCome to the Lord
Worship Service: Sermon only - December 29, 2024
When the Lord came into the world, many people went to some effort to come to where He was and were blessed because they did. How can we come to the Lord? And, as we begin to move beyond Christmas, how can we continue to come to the Lord in the new year? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralPrepared
Worship Service: Childrens Talk & Adult Sermon - November 03, 2024
Have you ever felt well-prepared for something? It feels good to feel like we have the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual resources to handle a particular situation. Something comes up and we have what we need to respond appropriately. Great! Are you feeling prepared for the election next week and whatever happens after it? As we gather as a community to worship the Lord together (even as we will not all be voting for the same candidates), what would it look like for each of us to be better prepared by our Heavenly Father? The Lord can make a difference in our individual lives and in our community by preparing our hearts for these times of contention, stress, and fear for the future. Let’s talk about how. Choose a question or two to reflect on or discuss: 1. Describe a time when, because of the Lord and His teachings, you felt better prepared to respond to a difficult situation. 2. What would it look like for you to have more confidence in the Lord at this current time in the world? 3. What is an area where you feel least prepared? What might it look like to invite the Lord into that part of your life? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralWhat Should We Do While We're Waiting?
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - October 06, 2024
“What Should We Do While We’re Waiting?” We can spend a lot of our time waiting for things — small things like waiting for dinner or waiting for the weekend and big things like waiting to be an adult or waiting to find someone to marry. What should we do while we’re waiting? What does the Lord say? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralWhat Should We Do While We’re Waiting?
Worship Service: Sermon only - October 06, 2024
“What Should We Do While We’re Waiting?” We can spend a lot of our time waiting for things — small things like waiting for dinner or waiting for the weekend and big things like waiting to find someone to marry or waiting to see our loved one who has died. What should we do while we’re waiting? What does the Lord say? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralHoly Supper and Redemption
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - September 22, 2024
We read that “the whole of the Lord’s redemption is present in the Holy Supper” (True Christian Religion 717). Let’s talk about what this means, especially in the context of our normal lives. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralHoly Supper and Redemption
Worship Service: Sermon only - September 22, 2024
“Holy Supper and Redemption” We read that “the whole of the Lord’s redemption is present in the Holy Supper” (True Christian Religion 717). Let’s talk about what this means, especially in the context of our normal lives. | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralA New Name
Worship Service: Informal Family - September 08, 2024
Partially inspired by the baptism which will be happening today, we will be talking about being given a new name by the Lord. It’s useful to reflect on the ways that we think about ourselves - the names and labels that we take on. What name would the Lord like to give you and how can you work with Him to become the person He created you to be? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn Cathedral UndercroftKnow Your Spiritual Enemies: The Babylonians
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - August 25, 2024
This Sunday we will be talking about the last of our spiritual enemies, the Babylonians. This is the enemy that took Judah into captivity towards the end of the Old Testament story; this is one of the final enemies that had to be overthrown before the Holy City New Jerusalem could descend towards the end of the New Testament. What do the Babylonians represent in our lives and what do we need to do so that the Lord can save us from them? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralKnow Your Spiritual Enemies: The Babylonians”
Worship Service: Sermon only - August 25, 2024
This Sunday we will be talking about the last of our spiritual enemies, the Babylonians. This is the enemy that took Judah into captivity towards the end of the Old Testament story; this is one of the final enemies that had to be overthrown before the Holy City New Jerusalem could descend towards the end of the New Testament. What do the Babylonians represent in our lives and what do we need to do so that the Lord can save us from them? | By Rev. Malcolm G. Smith | Bryn Athyn Cathedral