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There are many ways we can think about what the Lord wants for us. One of the ways the Lord frames it is that He wants us to abide in Him so that He can abide in us. During the service we will be exploring how we can live our lives in a way that allows for the Lord to most fully abide in us, where we can feel His presence and experience His joy.

The service will be broadcast live at https://www.facebook.com/newchurchwestville/live. You can also watch the service later at that same link.

• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here on Sunday.

• Readings
  The readings from the Word can be found here on Sunday.

Many religions have taught that there is virtue in denying yourself pleasure. The idea is that pleasure distracts us from what truly matters and entices us to live selfishly. And that is very true. But there is also a kind of pleasure, even worldly pleasure, that can fit perfectly well into a wholesome, spiritual life. The point is not to deny ourselves for the sake of denial, but rather to deny pleasures that take us away from the Lord and embrace the ones that allow us to delight in the Lord.

The service will be broadcast live at https://www.facebook.com/newchurchwestville/live. You can also watch the service later at that same link.

• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.

• Readings
  The readings from the Word can be found here.

One of the most ubiquitous modern “idols” is the screen. It sucks us in with its promise of satisfaction, pleasure, and escape, only to rob us of time, energy, and connection. Ironically, even as we devote so much to a lifeless mass of wires and plastic, we disconnect more and more from the life-filled, flesh-and-blood people around us. We must relearn how to prioritize people, and above all the Lord, and have technology once again become a servant in pursuit of that priority.

The service will be broadcast live at https://www.facebook.com/newchurchwestville/live. You can also watch the service later at that same link.

• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.

• Readings
  The readings from the Word can be found here.

The 23rd Psalm is one of the most well-known portions of the Bible. In it, the Lord is compared to a shepherd, providing for all our needs and guiding us through dark places. This Sunday will be spent contemplating the deeper meaning we can find contained within these powerful words of Scripture.

The service will be broadcast live at https://www.facebook.com/newchurchwestville/live. You can also watch the service later at that same link.

• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.

• Readings
  The readings from the Word can be found here.

There’s something beautiful about being in nature, surrounded by trees and flowers, hearing the birds singing, watching as the sun lights up the clouds. It can feel like a truly spiritual experience. And in fact, it is: every last thing in nature is a reflection of the spiritual world, and ultimately, of the Lord. Nor is this just a symbolic connection: the life we see all around us is actually created and sustained by spiritual life from the Lord. Our relationship with nature is an opportunity to reflect and connect more deeply with the Lord.

The service will be broadcast live at https://www.facebook.com/newchurchwestville/live. You can also watch the service later at that same link.

• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.

• Readings
  The readings from the Word can be found here.

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.

The service will be broadcast live at https://www.facebook.com/newchurchwestville/live. You can also watch the service later at that same link.

• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.

• Readings
  The readings from the Word can be found here.

To love the Lord means to love to do what He commands (John 14:21-24). That is because He is what He commands, for His commandments originate from Him, so that He is present in them, and is thus present in the person on whose life they are engraved, and they are engraved on a person by his willing and doing them. (AR 551)

The service will be broadcast live at https://www.facebook.com/newchurchwestville/live. You can also watch the service later at that same link.

• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here on Sunday.

• Readings
  The readings from the Word can be found here on Sunday.

We can all agree that childhood is a time of great innocence. We see it in the faces of infants and in the behaviour of little children. The Teachings of the New Church say that this innocence comes directly from the Lord, and at heart is a simple willingness to be led by the Lord. This same innocence is not restricted to childhood; in fact, the more we as adults lean into a willingness to simply be led by the Lord, the more we return to the innocence of childhood; with the difference that because it is something we consciously choose, it can be deeper and stronger even than the innocence that we had as children.

The service will be broadcast live at https://www.facebook.com/newchurchwestville/live. You can also watch the service later at that same link.

• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.

• Readings
  The readings from the Word can be found here.

“Grow up!” “Don’t be such a child!” “Act like an adult!” These are all familiar messages that we start to hear as we get older. We are encouraged to leave behind the things of childhood and enter “the real world.” And there is a truth in this way of thinking. But the Lord also says almost the opposite: “unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Although we do leave childhood behind, there is some spiritual element of childhood that it is essential for us to hold onto.

The service will be broadcast live at https://www.facebook.com/newchurchwestville/live. You can also watch the service later at that same link.

• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.

• Readings
  The readings from the Word can be found here.

A Decree of Shame condemns and sends an innocent, God-fearing man to a Den of Lions with the hope he dies there. But then, there is our Lord, our God. His presence changes the narrative and brings an unexpected twist that brings nothing less than legendary and
continuous happiness.

The service will be broadcast live at https://www.facebook.com/newchurchwestville/live. You can also watch the service later at that same link.

• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here on Sunday.

• Readings
  The readings from the Word can be found here on Sunday.