I preached this sermon on August 14, 2011, at the Dawson Creek Church of the New Jerusalem in Dawson Creek, BC. NAAMAN’S LEPROSY “My father, if the prophet had spoken unto you of a great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Bathe and be clean’?” (2 Kings 5:13) What should we do to be cleaned? How can we be cured of our spiritual diseases? The answer is simple: wash, and... Read more
A few days ago I read a passage from Arcana Coelestia that keeps coming back to me: They who are in the loves of self and of the world cannot possibly believe that they are in things so filthy and unclean as they actually are in, for there is a certain pleasure and delight that soothes, favors, and allures, and causes them to love that life, to prefer it to all other life, and thereby to suppose that there is... Read more
At the beginning of July, New Church Perspective published an article I wrote on homosexuality, the first in a series on that topic from several different perspectives. My article and the following articles have started a lot of discussion in the comments, and I encourage you to read the comments as well as the articles. If I had to re-write it, I’d change a few things. In my article I mention a few parallels between same-sex attraction and sexual attraction... Read more
Sorry for the long, unannounced hiatus from blogging. In May I accepted a call from the Dawson Creek Church of the New Jerusalem in Dawson Creek, BC, to be their pastor. Life’s been a whirlwind since then: the General Church assembly and clergy meetings in Bryn Athyn, PA in June, Maple camp for teens in Ontario at the beginning of July, then the move out west the following week. I’ve safely arrived in Dawson Creek, and I’m grateful to the... Read more
I preached this sermon on May 8, 2011, at the Olivet New Church in Toronto. Sermon audio will be posted sometime within the next couple of days. HONOURING FATHER AND MOTHER “Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged upon the land which Jehovah your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12) The Writings for the New Church tell us that there are deeper senses within the literal sense of the Word, although this does not do... Read more
Howard Means’s new biography of John Chapman (aka Johnny Appleseed) has been garnering some publicity since its publication on April 12, including generally favourable reviews in the Wall Street Journal and the Boston Globe, and an interview with the author on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” The reviews all discuss the book’s focus on John Chapman’s Swedenborgianism as the driving force behind his itinerant lifestyle. Means calls Chapman “the New Church’s most famous North American disciple.” That’s disputable: Helen Keller was... Read more
Yesterday I mentioned my article on doubt in this month’s New Church Connection. The whole issue this month is devoted to “doubt, disbelief, and despair.” All the articles are worth reading; if I had to single out one, I’d suggest Rev. Dr. Jonathan Rose’s article on what it means to “take up our cross daily.” An excerpt: How are we to bear our cross? Paul says in Galatians, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the... Read more
Last week New Church Connection magazine published an article that I wrote on doubt. In it, I mention a few of the times that the Lord Himself expressed feelings of despair and doubt. When He was in the garden of Gethsemane, he prayed, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me! Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). And on the cross, He cried out, “My God, my God, why have... Read more
I gave this family talk at the Olivet New Church in Toronto on April 3, 2011. Listen streaming here. Download here. The lesson is from John 13. Additional recommended readings: Arcana Coelestia 10243, Arcana Coelestia 7442, Arcana Coelestia 3147, and Divine Providence 151. Read more
I preached this sermon on Sunday, March 13, 2011 at the Olivet New Church in Toronto. THOSE WHO ARE WITH US Readings: 2 Kings 6:8-23; Mark 9:36-41; Arcana Coelestia 5036 “So [Elisha] answered, “Fear not, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16). All of us go through times when we feel alone. Maybe we feel alone when we reflect on the tiny size of the New Church compared to all... Read more
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