The New Church of Boulder Valley

The Bible on the literal level can be pretty weird and confusing and can be and has been used in lots of hurtful ways. There are places where it is made clear that there is a deeper meaning to the stories and words. Jesus Himself taught many parables and it is said of Him that, “He did not say anything to them without using a parable.” (Mark 4:34)

One of the unique teachings of New Church is that there is an internal sense or meaning to the Word and that it is showing us all about our inner life and journey. In its essence it is all about love to God and love to the neighbor. It is comforting and exciting to know that when we go to the Word of God the message is all about how to love one another.

“These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language.” (John 16)

Join us for worship this Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

The Sermon on the Mount begins by the Lord outlining what the true blessings of our life are.  This coming Sunday we will discuss the sixth one: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”

One of the keys to our happiness is to work with the Lord to clean up our heart – that is, the desires and loves of our will or heart.  When we resist the bad behaviors, attitudes, thoughts and speech that we are inclined to indulge in as if from our own strength the Lord can remove them off to the side so they become quiescent and their influence lessened. When hellish influences are removed the Lord can then be present and we can be united to Him–this is what it means to “see God”: it means to be with Him (and that makes us feel pretty darn happy!)

Join us or worship this Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

The Sermon on the Mount begins by Jesus outlining what the true blessings of our life are.  This week we will discuss the fifth one: “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.”

The fifth key to happiness is to recognize your need for the Lord’s mercy in your life by examining your own life and seeing your own shortcomings.  When we do this then the Lord’s mercy and compassion is welcomed in and felt for the first time and it can spread from our lives to the lives of others. In other words when we see how imperfect we are it helps us to accept the imperfections we see in others and even see them from a place of love and compassion.

We are a lot happier when we can let go of judgment of others.

See you Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

The Sermon on the Mount begins by Jesus outlining what the true blessings of our life are.  This week we will discuss the fourth one: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.” These words are a reminder to us to cultivate a desire and a passion for things that are good and right.  In other words, to care that what is truly good prevails and that the truth really does matter, and also to bring this to life by being of service to one another. When we desire these things we will be filled with happiness and delight. It is easy to be distracted by a lot of other things that we think will fill us and make us feel happy, but that later leaves us feeling empty or hollow inside. Find out how to generate a passion for what is good and right and find lasting happiness: Sunday 10:30 a.m.

We can seek for the answers to life’s problems through study and learning, imagining that if we dig deeply enough and learn enough knowledge about spirituality we will find our way. Yes, learning is important. However, the way to peace and contentment opens up to us when we can open our hearts and see others with compassion. This takes courage. Interestingly, the root of the word courage is cor—the Latin word for heart. Try opening your heart and see if the way forward doesn’t become clear.

We will have a guest preacher this weekend. David Lindrooth (http://www.newchurchweblog.org) will be leading the service. Please join us at 10:30 a.m.

The third key to happiness is recognizing that true strength and power are found in gentleness and kindness. It comes when we see that our happiness is not found by stepping on or over anyone else to get what we want but by lifting others up. It is when we think and desire the good of others without any thought of what we might gain as repayment. As Jesus taught, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

This week we will take a break from the series on Keys To Happiness and look at what we hold as most precious or valuable in our lives and how that may be shaping our thinking and behavior in ways we were not aware of – maybe for good, maybe for ill.

Please join us Sunday at 10:30 a.m. or connect with us on Facebook and watch the live stream of the service.

How would you define happiness? The dictionary states very unhelpfully: The state of being happy. It feels a bit like trying to define love. We know when we feel loving and we know when we stop feeling that way. Some say: Happiness is when we experience frequent positive emotions, such as joy and peace and infrequent (though not absent) negative emotions, such as sadness, anxiety and anger.
Others say it may have nothing to do with frequency – it might be more about how we hold, process and interpret things.

This week we will continue to explore what God says about happiness. Hint: it has a lot to do with our attitude and willingness to work on ourselves internally.

This week we get guidance from this part of the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

If you were asked, “What would make you happy?” how would you answer?  It is not unusual to think that if a certain thing happened or if a person acted a certain way or did a certain thing then we would be happy. The problem with this way of thinking is that our happiness becomes dependent upon circumstances, people or events outside of our control. We have a much better chance at experiencing happiness if we instead recognize that our happiness has to do with our choices, attitudes and behaviors – all things that we have control over.

In this sermons series we will explore the things that Jesus said are the indicators of happiness. They are taken from simple statements He made in the Sermon on the Mount.

Join us Sunday at 10:30 a.m.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday. We will have a procession with palms during the children’s portion of the service to celebrate God’s presence in our life. In the adult talk we will focus on the story of Lazarus being brought back to life after being dead for four days.  It is a good lead into the story of Jesus’s own resurrection on Easter Sunday.

The miracle of this story reminds us of our own life, which will go one even after the death of our body.  It also reminds us that the Lord has the ability to bring back to life our lost hopes and dreams, to pump life back into relationships that seem dead or lifeless, and to lift us up and set us back on our feet when we have fallen – no matter how far.

Join us for worship and a potluck lunch following the service.

The Holy Supper or Communion will also be offered during the service to help us to connect with the Lord and His love and plans for us.

See you Sunday at 10:30 a.m.