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Love Your Neighbor as Yourself
Worship Service: Informal Family - July 28, 2024
Through the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Lord teaches us to love others who are different from us. But how are we supposed to love them, and how are we supposed to love ourselves? | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn Cathedral UndercroftThe Prodigal Son's Brother
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - July 21, 2024
Why was the brother so upset at the return and celebration of his prodigal brother? What is it that makes us resentful and envious of other people’s happiness? And how can we do better? | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralThe Prodigal Son's Brother
Worship Service: Sermon only - July 21, 2024
The Lord’s parable of the prodigal son included a brother who did not approve of his father’s celebration. Self-righteous thinking can get in the way of appreciating and loving the good that can be found in others. How can we overcome that selfish thinking and join the celebration? | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralThe Lord Reigns
Worship Service: Informal Family - June 23, 2024
After the prophecies of the book of Revelation came to pass, the Lord called together His twelve disciples who followed Him in the world. They went to spread the good news that the Lord reigns. What is so good about this news? Come find out! | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn Cathedral UndercroftThe Seven Churches
Worship Service: Informal Family - June 02, 2024
John sees the Lord surrounded by seven lampstands, and the story tells us that these are the seven churches. These “churches” are us, and the people around us, that the Lord invites to His New Church. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn Cathedral UndercroftMemorial Service for Christa K. Bedford
Memorial Service - May 18, 2024
| By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralSticking Up for What's Right
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - March 10, 2024
It can be pretty hard to live the way the Lord wants, especially when those around us push us to do otherwise. David had this experience while on the run from Saul, with his own men pushing him to take the easy way out. But David persists in doing what the Lord wants. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralNobody Ever Said It Would Be Easy
Worship Service: Sermon only - March 10, 2024
The early stories of David are an excellent example of doing the right thing and having a hard time because of it. It’s tempting to take the easy way out in order to avoid discomfort or even pain. The Lord asks us to trust the long game. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralJacob's Wives
Worship Service: Informal Family - January 21, 2024
Having run away from Esau, Jacob returns to the land of his ancestors where he meets Rachel. Jacob is set on marrying Rachel, but he's also tricked into marrying Rachel's older sister, Leah. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn Cathedral UndercroftLearning in the Christmas Story
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - December 17, 2023
In the gospel of Matthew, the Lord teaches us about the importance of learning and using our minds as we work toward becoming angels in heaven, and He does this through characters like Joseph and the wisemen. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralThe Wisdom of Matthew’s Nativity
Worship Service: Sermon only - December 17, 2023
"The Wisdom of Matthew’s Nativity" - Rev. Jeffrey O. Smith For anything we do, it is important to have an idea of how to do it before we just jump right in. This importance of knowledge is the reason the Christmas story in Matthew features certain people like Joseph, the wisemen, and even Herod. Join us this Sunday as we look at some of the details of the Matthew nativity, and how they can help us actually live a more fulfilling life. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralMemorial Service for James E. Rickards, Jr.
Memorial Service - November 10, 2023
| By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralHope in the Lord's Word
Worship Service: Informal Family - November 05, 2023
How does hope help us get through hard times? How can we get more hope in our lives? This Sunday we will look at different types of hope that show up in Biblical stories and how we can use those to help us get through when life feels difficult. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn Heilman HallBecoming an Angel Today
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - October 22, 2023
How long does it take for us to become angels? It doesn’t really take time, but it does take work. This week our stories will focus on how we can be angels right now, and not just at some time in the future. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralLiving in the Present
Worship Service: Sermon only - October 22, 2023
The Lord is the Alpha and the Omega. Past and future are present with Him. What do the past and future mean to us? Join us this Sunday to learn how to travel in time to revisit or change events of the past, and even to foresee events of the future. The Lord gave us these temporal abilities—all we have to do is learn to use them. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralSlow and Steady
Worship Service: Informal Family - August 06, 2023
The Israelites really wanted to get into the Promised Land to establish their new home, but they needed some time in the wilderness to figure things out. Similarly, we may like the idea of sudden life change that fixes our problems, but that’s not generally the way life works. In what ways is time in the wilderness a necessary part of our journey toward spiritual life? (Apologies for the hum in the audio) | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn Heilman HallIs That You, Oh Troubler?
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - July 23, 2023
We regularly have experiences of things and people that bother us. The story of Ahab helps us understand why these things bother us, and what we can do to get through. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralThe Source of Our Problems... and Solutions
Worship Service: Sermon only - July 23, 2023
We explore how the story of King Ahab can help us deal with our daily problems and the people we may see as “troublers.” | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralThe Importance of Baptism
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - May 28, 2023
This Sunday we have a very special service. One of the students in our school will be baptized. Baptism is SO important that even the Lord got baptized. Our teachings tell us that it is a sign and memorial. But what is so special about baptism? And why is it so important? Join us on Sunday to both celebrate the occasion and to learn a little bit more about this sacrament. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralLuck and Coincidence
Worship Service: Informal Family - March 12, 2023
We know from our Teachings that these phenomena are tools of the Lord’s Providence. When we read the stories of the Word, we can see that the Lord is intricately leading all of the events forward, ultimately leading to his birth into this world. This Sunday, join us as we take a bird’s eye view of the Bible narrative from beginning to end to see how the Lord is delicately and intentionally working in our lives at this very moment. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn Heilman HallHe Came to Fulfill
Worship Service: Family (may include music) - January 01, 2023
Having completed another circle around the Sun, we have the opportunity to look back on the previous year and also to look forward to the new one we are entering now. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), the Lord invites us into a new way of understanding and loving with these words, “It has been said… but I say to you.” These words embody the spirit of the new year, in which we leave behind who we were and become more and more the image and likeness of our Creator. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralFullness of State
Worship Service: Sermon only - January 01, 2023
Each new year that comes around completes a cycle of time. The passing of time can highlight a feeling that life is repetitious and that we haven’t gained any spiritual ground since the last cycle of time that came and went. However, the Lord is preparing us, slowly filling the empty places in our spirits until they are full. A completed cycle is symbolic of what our Teachings call a “fullness of state” – that moment in which we have been aptly prepared for our continued spiritual journeys, and that moment when, in humility, we are ready to let the Lord in. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn CathedralFinding Meaning
Worship Service: Informal Family - July 31, 2022
Finding a purpose in life is one thing: Get yourself a goal and pursue that goal. But finding meaning and feeling like what we do matters is a whole different matter. The rich man in Matthew wanted eternal life but felt he was lacking something. Join us this Sunday as we explore what the rich man was lacking, and how we can “find” meaning in EVERYTHING we do. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn Heilman HallCommunicating Through Disagreement
Worship Service: Informal Family - July 12, 2020
How are we supposed to communicate with people with whom we completely disagree, or with people who hate us or our loved ones? Is it best to allow them to talk, or to tell them they are wrong, or do we just unfriend them? Here, we look at some modern examples and how those line up with what the Lord tells us in His Word. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn Heilman HallYou Aren't What You Eat
Worship Service: Informal Family - June 02, 2019
The Lord taught that what goes into us does not make us spiritually unclean, but what comes out of us does. Does it matter what we consume for entertainment or who our children’s friends are then? This Sunday we will explore the impact our mental food and our environments could have on us. | By Rev. Jeffrey Smith | Bryn Athyn Heilman Hall