August 2017 FROM THE WORD

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Noah Preston
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1 August 2017 FROM THE WORD Our usual second- Sunday morning worship service will be canceled for August. Instead we will have a work party to spruce up the grounds and interior. 3rd Annual Toy Swap and Bake Sale Glendale New Church, Sept 2 from 10 am -12 pm. Bring gently used or new toys to exchange. Bring one extra toy (new or gently used) to donate. All proceeds from the bake sale and remaining toys will donated to Bethany House; a women and children's shelter. One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people! And they left their nets at once and followed him. A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men. Mark 1:16-20 No one follows the Lord from their own self, but only from the Lord Himself. For the Lord draws after Him those who from freedom will to follow. He can draw no one who does not will to follow Him. For the Lord provides that the person may follow Him as if of themselves, flowing into their freedom, for the sake of the person s reception and installing of truth and good, and resulting reformation and regeneration. If it did not appear that they followed the Lord as if of themselves, that is, acknowledged His Divine and did His commandments as if of themselves, there would be no attachment and joining, and thus no reformation and regeneration. For everything enters into the person and becomes as if it were their own that they receive in freedom, that is, as if of themselves, whether it be what they think and speak or what they will and do as if of themselves. And yet one ought to believe, as the matter really is in itself, that they do these things not from themselves but from the Lord. This is why it is said that they must act not of themselves but as if of themselves.a person cannot know otherwise than that this is done by themselves, when yet all good flows in, and so also that which they think, that which they will, and that which they consequently do.all this makes clear that to "follow the Lord" is to be led by Him and not by self. From Swedenborg, Apocalypse Explained 864

2 FROM THE PASTOR Following someone is a complicated concept and action. What it means to me in a particular instance to follow someone depends on my relationship with them. It depends on the health of my sense of self. It depends on where I am starting and where I anticipate going. When I feel safe, I am likely to positively respond to the invitation to follow someone and enjoy the experience. When I am securely attached to the person, I willingly follow. That security is developed when my spiritual, psychological and physical needs are being met, especially through the relationship I have with the other person. My choice to follow is mine, even though the impetus to do so is coming from the person who invited me to follow them. I really feel as if I am doing it all on my own, when, in fact, there is someone else s will also involved. It is complex, right? Fishing, like any work, is an expression of who we are, or think we ought to be. My healthy sense of self allows me to put that aside, in some measure, in order to become related to another and have our attachment needs for security and connection met. So I spend a lot of time and energy collecting ideas and analyzing them (as symbolized by the fishing and cleaning nets in this story). And when someone comes into my life, and their presence is more or less attractive, I begin to attend to how I can follow them freely enter into a relationship because they draw me to them. There is a more or less conscious meeting of intention and intellect. A powerful experience for me is when the person is calling me to my higher purpose in life. When I am emotionally lifted and intellectually satisfied. I have never experienced this happening in a moment, as these four men did when Jesus called them to follow him. My presumption is that Jesus was manifesting the divine love that was his soul in that moment, and he connected with the higher aspirations of these men, likely awakened by the preaching of John the Baptist. The experience must have been compelling, that is, the men certainly felt like they were choosing to leave their families and security, even though the invitation is what motivated them. Of course, we look at this first encounter in the perspective of the end of their stories, as they all followed Christ to their martyrdom. Jesus is asking us to follow him, that is, to act from the love he instills in us when we believe him such that we copy his model. On one level, we do the scary letting go of what is important to us when we hear that there is a more vital belief or way of being presented to us. On a deeper level, to follow Jesus is to accept his love for us, allowing it to influence our thinking and motivate our actions. We really feel that we choose what we are doing knowing full well that it is his will. This is the most secure attachment available to us as human beings. It fulfills all our attachment needs! Clark Echols, MDiv, PC Mindfulness, Cognitive Therapy, Spiritual Development

3 Glendale New Church Aug 2017 (Eastern Time) Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat :30am - Yoga 6pm - Yoga 5:30pm - Pastor Don's :30am - Swedenborg 9:30am - Yoga 6pm - Yoga 1pm - Good Life Networks 5:30pm - Pastor Don's 11am - NCoM Worship :30am - Yoga 6pm - Yoga 5:30pm - Pastor Don's

4 Glendale New Church Sep 2017 (Eastern Time) Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat :30am - Swedenborg 9:30am - Yoga 6pm - Yoga 1pm - Good Life Networks 5:30pm - Pastor Don's 11am - NCoM Worship am - Worship with 9:30am - Yoga 6pm - Yoga 5:30pm - Pastor Don's

5 Schedule August 2017 DATE Worship Service (type and location) 8/6 NCOM 11:00 - work party 12:30 8/13 Work Party 10:00 to 2:00 8/20 NCOM 11:00 - Work Party 12:30 8/27 NCOM 11:00 - work party 12:30 September 2017 DATE Worship Service (type and location) 9/3 NCOM 11:00 - Work Party 12:30 9/10 Glendale New Church 11:00 am - Lunch 12:00 - Work Party 12:30 9/17 NCOM 11:00 - Work Party 12:30 9/24 NCOM 11:00 - Work Party 12:30 Please join us for worship! Glendale New Church 845 Congress Ave Glendale, OH (513) GlendaleNewChurch@gmail.com August 2017

FROM THE WORD. Next Small Group experience: The Path of Integrity

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