New Church Westville Weekly Sermon Podcast
A list of recent events from the New Church Audio library for Westville, RSA.
Episodes
July 20, 2025 • 21 mins
One of the most well-known stories in the Bible is that of David felling the giant Goliath with a simple sling. What gives us this power in our own lives? The answer from the Teachings of the New Church is... Truth! That might not sound exciting, if you think of truth as mere ideas. But when we use the Lord's truths properly, they are some of the most powerful tools in the universe.
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July 13, 2025 • 33 mins
How Long, O Lord?
These words, "How long, O Lord?" were spoken by a group of people huddled under the altar, desperate to know how much longer it would be before their oppression would cease. Likewise, they are words that we might find ourselves saying when we seem unable to break free of our own sin. But although we might despair of ever being free, the Lord, in secret and hidden ways, is working for our growth and rebirth, if onl...
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July 6, 2025 • 26 mins
This week we ask "How do we measure usefulness?" At the heart of this question is putting truth and kindness into action. Truth and kindness without use are simply airy ideas. By asking "Is it useful?" we bring our focus to the actual impact that our words will have on the people around us.
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July 6, 2025
This week we ask "How do we measure usefulness?" At the heart of this question is putting truth and kindness into action. Truth and kindness without use are simply airy ideas. By asking "Is it useful?" we bring our focus to the actual impact that our words will have on the people around us.
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June 29, 2025 • 15 mins
This week we will focus on all the outward looking relationships: those with each other, with a husband or wife, with children, and with the broader community. Although there is almost infinite variety in these relationships, we will be able to see the common purpose that makes them all essential for a church community to function.
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June 22, 2025 • 16 mins
The New Church is sometimes called "The Church of the New Jerusalem." This is based on a description of a golden city, the New Jerusalem, descending from heaven to earth, as described in the book of Revelation. Each detail of this city symbolizes some aspect of the New Church. Our focus this Sunday will be on the Golden Light that filled the city. Gold stands for Love, light for Wisdom. In the New Church, the heart must always be l...
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June 15, 2025 • 21 mins
The difference between payment and a gift is that we are entitled to payment for the work we have done, while a gift is freely given. So if the Lord freely forgives and saves us, why does it seem like we have to work so hard for it? What do we get credit for and what do we have to acknowledge is the Lord's? If we can clearly see how the Lord freely gives us what we need to work with, we'll be able to accept that gift in every situa...
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June 1, 2025 • 22 mins
What does it mean to engage in spiritual warfare? What does it take to become like one of the angels of Michael and fight for our Lord? These questions are important for us to explore because spiritual life is not always easy or peaceful. There are times when we struggle to follow the Lord and when it takes real effort to treat people the way He commands us to treat them. If we want the New Church to descend into the world then we ...
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May 25, 2025 • 31 mins
Intentions matter more than actions. In other words, someone who is good hearted but makes mistakes is better off than someone who is malicious even while doing the right thing. Yet even the most well-intentioned person can cause harm. Their good intentions do not negate the damage they can cause in ignorance. Rather than justifying ourselves or others by saying, “they meant well,” we must find ways of addressing the harm and corre...
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May 18, 2025 • 29 mins
The Lord lends strength to those who rely on Him, the strength to resist temptation, to overcome hardship, and to do what is right and good. But when we claim credit for that strength, and take pride in ourselves over the Lord, the strength is lost and we falter. Even so, through hard work, we can turn back to the Lord and again find strength in Him.
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May 11, 2025 • 20 mins
You can tell a lot about someone by the things and people they surround themselves with. On the one hand, this is because where we choose to put time and effort is a reflection of what we value. On the other hand, it is also because we are shaped by our environments: we become like what we are surrounded by. This statement is true spiritually. If we surround ourselves with heavenly influences, we will become heavenly. If we surroun...
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May 4, 2025 • 20 mins
When you were born you knew nothing about the world and how it worked; nor did you know anything about the Lord or spiritual life. These were things that had to be taught to you, from a young age, both through education and through the examples set by the people around you. As you matured your faith became your own. No longer did you have to rely on others: you could enter into an adult relationship with the Lord and an adult under...
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April 20, 2025 • 30 mins
Easter is of course about the Lord's Resurrection after His Crucifixion. But just because the Lord rose and lived again does not mean that we ourselves feel His living presence within ourselves. There is a process of being led to Him; it is a process that involves both the head and the heart, a process that involves grief and joy, faith and doubt. This Easter Sunday we will explore what the Gospel of John has to tell us about findi...
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April 16, 2025 • 30 mins
We mostly think of the view that we have of the Lord. When we think of the crucifixion, perhaps we picture the Lord on the cross. But what was (and is) the Lord’s point of view? In His moment of suffering and death what did He observe, and in observing, what was His response? For an ordinary person they may have felt despair or anger; yet the Lord, even then, continued to look out with mercy and love, even on His enemies.
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April 13, 2025 • 30 mins
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey the onlookers took it to be an ancient symbol of kingship. And indeed, it was. Yet their expectations of that coming kingdom were far removed from the kingdom that Jesus sought to establish. Jesus knew that the people expected an immediate overthrow of oppression and the onset of an earthly kingdom with Jesus as their benevolent ruler. The kingdom Jesus actually established was one of hard...
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March 30, 2025 • 23 mins
Marriage is an important part of love for many people. And yet the Word has very little to say about it directly! Part of the reason is that people have so many warped ideas of what marriage is or ought to be. When the Word was written, a true explanation would have been rejected. But in the Teachings of the New Church we find that clearer explanation, and at heart, marriage is about friendship. Through cultivating a genuine friend...
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March 23, 2025 • 22 mins
“Everything in moderation” seems like a sound rule for life. After all, anything, even something good, can become harmful when taken to an extreme. Yet this common-sense truth finds surprisingly little support in the Lord’s Word. As just one example, Jesus says, “no one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24). There is no moderation or balancer here: rather pick a side and wholeheartedly follow it! This Sunday we will look at how a b...
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March 16, 2025 • 25 mins
What would you be willing to give up in order to get the Lord's truth? Sometimes it seems like we don't have to give up anything: all we need to do is learn a little! But to really take in the truth and have it become part of our lives, we need to be willing to let go of other wants, points of view, and habits that get in the way. We have to be like the merchant in the Lord's parable who was willing to sell all that he had in order...
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March 9, 2025 • 19 mins
When Saul was commanded to destroy all the Amalekites and all their possessions, he only half obeyed: he destroyed all the worthless possessions, but kept the precious things, and spared the king. Yet he still claimed that he had obeyed the Lord. How often do we only follow the Lord halfway, but claim that we have done everything He asks? And how do we come to a place of wholeheartedly separating ourselves even from the evils that ...
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March 2, 2025 • 18 mins
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 recognize our fault and make an effort to change that we can receive real forgiveness.
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