Hark! The herald angels sing Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King;         Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!”         Joyful, all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies;         With th’angelic host proclaim, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!”         Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King!”          Christ, by highest heaven adored; Christ, the everlasting Lord;         Late in time behold him come, of ..read more

"Be Happy, Love God" This Week's Wesley sermon is: Spiritual Worship.  1) Scripture: 1 John 5:1-5, 20 2) Getting to know God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit unlocks the love that God instilled in us.  Sharing this love with others brings true happiness.   3) The pursuit of happiness is deeply embedded in our culture. It begins with the Declaration of Independence and presents itself in the arts, in music, in poetry and every other expression of our world. Check out the top 20 ‘Happy Songs’. Yep, I know you already have one or two going through your head right now. But ..read more

​UM Hymnal #616 and #339 It took us a while but with this hymn we are entering the realm of 10+ stanza hymns.  In fact, we are looking at 24 stanzas in the original publication. Why so many you ask? Well, it takes time to tell the story.  The hymnal editor for the United Methodist Hymnal, Carlton Young, split up the stanzas and created two hymns because, and I do not have to tell you this, no Methodist church I have ever seen will actually sing a 24 stanza hymn.  But, instead of cutting stanzas, the editor chose some for an invitation to become a disciple of Christ and some to c ..read more

From John Wesley's Sermon:  "The Use of Money" 1. In order to see the ground and reason of this, consider, when the Possessor of heaven and earth brought you into being, and placed you in this world, he placed you here not as a proprietor, but a steward: As such he entrusted you, for a season, with goods of various kinds; but the sole property of these still rests in him, nor can be alienated from him. As you yourself are not your own, but his, such is, likewise, all that you enjoy. Such is your soul and your body, not your own, but God's. And so is your substance in particular. And he ..read more

From John Wesley's sermon, "The Almost Christian": 9. But, supposing you had, do good designs and good desires make a Christian? By no means, unless they are brought to good effect. "Hell is paved," saith one, "with good intentions." The great question of all, then, still remains. Is the love of God shed abroad in your heart? Can you cry out, "My God, and my All"? Do you desire nothing but him? Are you happy in God? Is he your glory, your delight, your crown of rejoicing? And is this commandment written in your heart, "That he who loveth God love his brother also"? Do you then love your neig ..read more

​Jesus, Lover of My Soul – Charles Wesley UM Hymnal #479 MARTYN We are only 4 weeks into our hymn blog and Charles is getting up close and personal.  In fact, he wrote this hymn in 1740, probably shortly after his own conversion in October of 1738. The language is quite intimate, even for today, and in many ways, it feels more fitting in a service that celebrates the immanent God like our Encounter service. Originally the hymn was published under the title “In Temptation” in 5 stanzas as shown below but soon the 3rd stanza was left out and the United Methodist Hymnal contains stanzas 1,2 ..read more

From John Wesley's Full Sermon called "The Means of Grace" Lyrics to:  "A Charge to Keep I Have" ​(see Rev. Suzi Byrd commentary) A charge to keep I have, A God to glorify, A never-dying soul to save, And fit it for the sky. To serve the present age, My calling to fulfill: Oh, may it all my pow’rs engage To do my Master’s will! Arm me with jealous care, As in Thy sight to live; And O Thy servant, Lord, prepare A strict account to give! Help me to watch and pray, And on Thyself rely, Assured, if I my trust betray, I shall forever die. But are there any ordinances now, since life ..read more

A Charge to Keep I Have – Charles Wesley UM Hymnal #413 BOYLSTON I was not familiar with this hymn until recently. As I have been listening to Pastor Meredith’s sermons, I chuckle a little bit how the brothers Wesley seem to fall into the categories of believers she has been highlighting. This past Sunday she spoke about sanctifying and perfecting grace and how God through the Holy Spirit is constantly at work in us (if we open ourselves to God) to heal, restore and recreate us into what we were designed to be in the first place. Reading through the hymn below I can see both, the guilty and th ..read more

Key Points to Wesley's Sermon "The Great Privilege of Those Born Again" "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin." 1 John 3:9.  1. It has been frequently supposed, that the being born of God was all one with the being justified; that the new birth and justification were only different expressions, denoting the same thing: It being certain, on the one hand, that whoever is justified is also born of God; and, on the other, that whoever is born of God is also justified; yea, that both these gifts of God are given to every believer in one and the same moment. In one point of time his ..read more

Love Divine, All Loves Excelling – Charles Wesley UM Hymnal #384 As I was taking a quick look at hymnary.org (an amazing research database) I was not surprised to find that this hymn appears in 1635 hymnals. It is a testimony to the relevance of this text which speaks to many different people, regardless of their theological view, culture, race and/or age. Contemporary hymn and songwriters are rediscovering the old texts, and just like Rev. Meredith Mills is helping us to see the theological depth and relevance of John Wesley’s sermons, so are worship leaders and enliveners taken by the theolo ..read more