Facing Freedom

A Family Talk at the Bryn Athyn Cathedral just before the 4th of July. Video: "Facing Freedom."  Our bad habits can keep us trapped in slavery.  How do we gain independence from our bad habits? 

Love’s Prayer: 

Our Love, which comes from Heaven,
May Love’s name be hallowed.
May the kingdom of Love come.
May the will of Love be done,
On earth as it is in Heaven.
Love gives us this day our daily bread.
And Love forgives our debts (trespasses), as we also forgive our debtors (trespassers).
And Love doesn’t lead us into temptation,
But Love delivers us from evil.
For to Love belongs the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.

Swedenborg and Vatican II. Check out Part 1 and Part II of my essay entitled "Swedenborg and Vatican II" on New Church Perspective.

My Dissertation

Here is my theological school dissertation. It's called "Comparing the Divine, Heavenly, and Natural Marriages." It's a study of the marriage of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, the marriage of the Lord and the Church, the marriage of the Divine and Human within the Lord, the marriage of goodness and truth in creation, the marriage of the will and intellect in our minds, the marriage of our intellectual faith with our practical good works, the marriage of masculinity and femininity, and the marriages of husbands and wives. The study analyzes the differences and similarities between these different marriage. How far can we take these "analogies" in different situations? The study also analyzes the difference between the "masculine" and "feminine" elements of each of these marriages. The study is based on the Christian theological works of Emanuel Swedenborg. I hope you enjoy it, and find it useful: Solomon Keal's Dissertation

Is the Lord Asking Us to be Perfect?

Here is the link to the video of the first sermon I gave in the Bryn Athyn Cathedral, on New Year's Day, 2012. "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matt 5:48). Is the Lord really asking us to be perfect?

Is the Lord Asking Us to be Perfect? (Video)

The Recipe for Spiritual Growth

Here are some links to two versions of a sermon I gave on the Parable of the Leaven (Luke 13:20,21). Why does the Lord compare the Kingdom of God to a woman adding leaven to bread-dough? Isn't leaven usually symbolic of something bad in the Word? And what does this have to do with us? What does this parable teach us about the recipe for our own spiritual growth?

Ivyland Adult Sermon (Video)

Ivyland Question and Answer (Video)

Ivyland Children's Talk about the Lord being the "Bread of Life." (Video)

Bryn Athyn Church Informal (Contemporary) Service (Audio)

Moving from Haran to Canaan

Here is the link to the video of the first family talk I gave in the Bryn Athyn Cathedral. The subject is about Jacob leaving the land of Haran and returning to his homeland of Canaan. Spiritually the story is about changing what motivates us. Moving from the land of "doing good things for selfish reasons," to the land of "doing good things for unselfish reasons."
"Moving from Haran to Canaan" Video