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When confronted with hard choices the easiest thing to do is to make no choice at all. Yet this choice is often the worst choice of all: in trying to keep our options open we lose out on all of them. The Lord is adamant that we make a committed choice: He sets before us life and death and urges us to choose life. Commitment to a choice is the only way to succeed spiritually.

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

• Song Lyrics
  We will have four songs during the service that you can sing along with at home. You can download the lyrics to the songs here.
• Readings
  The readings for the service can be found here.
• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.

In the New Church we love the idea that people of any religion can go to heaven. But, if we don’t understand this idea fully, then it can seem like it doesn’t matter at all what you believe. And it can be hard to figure out why it matters if we believe in the Lord. Let’s talk about what it means to believe in the Lord and why our beliefs matter.

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

• Song Lyrics
  We will have four songs during the service that you can sing along with at home. You can download the lyrics to the songs here.
• Readings
  The readings for the service can be found here.
• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.

When we pray we are often asking for something. There is nothing wrong with this; in fact the Lord encourages us to do this. But we should give careful thought to what we ask for. This principle is illustrated in the story of King Solomon. When the Lord gave him the opportunity to ask for anything he wished, Solomon’s answer reflects a true understanding of what we need from the Lord and the kinds of things we should seek from Him. This Sunday we will explore what we can learn from Solomon’s request.

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

• Song Lyrics
  We will have four songs during the service that you can sing along with at home. You can download the lyrics to the songs here.
• Readings
  The readings for the service can be found here.
• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.

It’s Mothers Day this Sunday and so we’re going to be reflecting on a topic that comes into all parent-child relationships—approval. We all want to be approved of. But do your parents approve of you? Do you approve of your parents? The giving or withholding of approval is a strong force in relationships; let’s talk about how the Lord would like us to navigate the interpersonal dynamics around approval.

Whenever something goes wrong in the world, there seems to be an outpouring of compassion. We almost get excited at the chance to leap into action and help. But as time passes the energy wanes. We can become fatigued; not just fatigued physically, but fatigued emotionally. It is impossible to keep up that initial level of care and energy. Above even the emotional there is the spiritual fatigue: we face exhaustion with ourselves and our own spiritual growth, and can push ourselves to the breaking point. We need to be able to truly address the issues, but to do so in a way that is sustainable.

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

• Song Lyrics
  We will have four songs during the service that you can sing along with at home. You can download the lyrics to the songs here.
• Readings
  The readings for the service can be found here.
• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.

In the Gospel of John there are a number of intriguing stories about what Jesus and the disciples did after the Lord’s resurrection. When I preached about this four years ago I focussed on the role and significance of Peter (read or listen to that here); this year I want to focus on John. John is called “the disciple whom Jesus loved” and he played a crucial role in the development of the Christian Church. In us he represents a crucial part of our spiritual development as Christians. What does he represent? Come and see.

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

• Song Lyrics
  We will have four songs during the service that you can sing along with at home. You can download the lyrics to the songs here.
• Readings
  The readings for the service can be found here.
• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.

We see so much abuse of power in the world—countless examples of people using their influence on other people in harmful ways. But what does legitimate authority look like? What sort of claims to authority by other people should we reject and resist and what ones should we comply with? And what kind of authority over other people should we aspire to? Let’s see what we can learn about this from the One who is all-powerful.

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

• Song Lyrics
  We will have four songs during the service that you can sing along with at home. You can download the lyrics to the songs here.
• Readings
  The readings for the service can be found here.
• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.

The disciples once found themselves in the midst of a terrible storm, out on the water in a little boat. The boat was sinking and they thought they were going to die until Jesus stood up and rebuked the wind and the sea and suddenly there was calm. This Sunday we will reflect on this story and what it can teach us about how the Lord can help us to find peace in the midst of the storms that we encounter in our lives.

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

• Song Lyrics
  We will have four songs during the service that you can sing along with at home. You can download the lyrics to the songs here.
• Readings
  The readings for the service can be found here.
• Sermon
  The written version of the sermon can be found here.