This Sunday: Honouring Mothers

Sunday, 14 May - 9am
The 4th Commandment directs us to “honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which Jehovah your God is giving you.” I hope you have a chance today to do some of that honouring. But of course, this commandment goes far beyond just one day of the year and beyond just one earthly mother. More broadly we can reflect on how we honour motherhood in general, and how those qualities of motherhood come into our spiritual practices. Whether your mother is still here or has passed on, whether your relationship with your mother is deep, conflicted, or non-existent, it is possible to honour spiritual motherhood.

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 and readings can be found here on Sunday.
  • Readings
    Readings from the Old and New Testaments and the Teachings of the New Church can be found here on Sunday

This Sunday Sermon – As in Heaven, So upon the Earth

Sunday, 7 May at 5pm
The Teachings of the New Church describe heaven as a place of beauty and peace. Some of the passages go into intricate detail as to what we can expect there. But although heaven is a place that can be described as our future dwelling-place, it is much more than that too. The more we know about what really makes heave heaven, the more able we will be to create heaven on earth.

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 and readings can be found here.
  • Readings
    Readings from the Old and New Testaments and the Teachings of the New Church can be found here.

This Sunday – Believing the Unbelievable

Sunday, 30 April - 9am
When faced with some of the deepest challenges doubt can creep in. We can doubt that the Lord is going to somehow make it all ok; that our efforts will make any difference; that denying ourselves leads to more happiness than we can imagine. Yet the Lord calls us to believe in all of these “unbelievable” truths. If we wait until our belief is rock solid than we will end up waiting for forever; but if we have faith, and move forward with confidence, we will in the end see clearly the truth of what the Lord has told us.

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 and readings can be found here.
  • Readings
    Readings from the Old and New Testaments and the Teachings of the New Church can be found here.

This Sunday: A Shift in Perspective

Sunday, 23 April - 9:00am
By default we see the world from our own point of view. This is an inescapable fact of life; but our own desires, wants, and wishes shape how we see other people and the world around us. The Lord calls us to lift our minds above our default perspective so that we can look from the Lord’s heavenly one. When seen from His point of view we will find that the world is a much better place with more opportunities than we could otherwise imagine.

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 and readings can be found  here.
  • Readings
    Readings from the Old and New Testaments and the Teachings of the New Church can be found here.

This Sunday: Joy from Heavenly Treasures

Sunday, 16 April - 9am
This sermon is adapted from one written by Rev. Gerald Waters in 2010. In it we will explore where true joy comes from, and how through a life of service we can build up a never-ending supply of 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 and readings can be found here on Sunday.
  • Readings
    Readings from the Old and New Testaments and the Teachings of the New Church can be found here.

This Sunday: The Humanness of God

Sunday 26 March - 9am
Easter celebrates the Lord’s victory over hell, at a time in history when hell was at its strongest. Yet Easter was not just a moment in time: in His moment of victory the Lord conquered hell to eternity. His conquest carries on in us today, and it is able to carry on specifically because of the humanness that God took on, and that still defines Him today.

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 and readings can be found here.

This Sunday: Invited to the Wedding

Sunday, 19 March - 9am
When you are invited to a wedding and reception, do you accept? What if the one who is hosting the wedding is wealthy, even a king, and the only cost to attend is your time, the only requirement that you dress appropriately? Would you not most likely readily accept if possible, and even rearrange your schedule to make it work? There would be no reason not to. And to go further, what if the one throwing the Wedding were the Lord, and to enter the wedding was to enter heaven? How much more likely we would be to accept! And yet, for some reason, the Lord tells us a parable in which the obvious does not occur, in which the invitation is refused. We too live out this parable. From it, we can learn to recognize the Lord’s invitations, and so choose to accept them.

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 and readings can be found here.
  • Readings
    The readings from the Word referenced in the sermon can be found here.

This Sunday: Fear of the Law

Sunday, 12 March - 9am
The Lord has many rules that we are to follow. One of the fundamental principles of the church is that we are to live our lives according to His laws. But with so many rules to follow it can begin to feel impossible; and if it is impossible to keep the Lord’s law, than we may start to feel we are doomed to failure. This is not the case. Although it is a challenge, the Lord is able to give us the power to keep His rules, and to even find joy in doing so.

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 and readings can be found here.
  • Readings
    The readings from the Word referenced in the sermon can be found here.

This Sunday: From Strength to Strength

Sunday, 5 March - 5pm
I love the concept of the Lord leading us from one spiritual capability to the next. We will consider the ways the Lord inspires the strength of love and being genuinely considerate of others, the strength of truth and obeying it, and the strength or power of actually doing the Lord’s will. Given the 100th anniversary of Kainon School we will draw particular attention to the spiritual strengths we wish to foster in children—as parents and educators. For the children’s talk, the focus will be on the character strength exhibited by David when he faced Goliath (1 Samuel 17—parts). We will discover that David’s victory came as a result of an inner kind of strength—because he trusted 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 and readings can be found here.

This Sunday: Priests and Their Duties

Sunday, 26 February - 9am
Do you know what a Priest’s job is? This Sunday is the first part in a series on the relationship of Priests and Laity. By learning about what a priest’s job is, we can better understand what we should expect of them and what is expected of us.

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 and readings can be found here.