Wesley's homilectical references to 2 Timothy 1:6 are consistent in every sermon but one. His NT translation "stirring up the gift of God" is close to the Greek "ἀναζωπυρεῖν τὸ χάρισμα τοῦ θεοῦ" (literally "to kindle the charisma of God") and Sermons 19, 23, 35, 42, 46, 48, 66, and 72 all make reference to stirring up the gift of God by practicing spiritual disciplines.
Either the gift will be fanned into flame by daily spiritual exercises, or the gift will be dampened if the means of grace are neglected. There is no middle ground in Wesley's doctrine. The flame grows brighter or the flame becomes dimmer; it can not hold a steady state.
Sermon 85, "On working out our own salvation," repeats this warning with one notable difference. In paragraph III.6, Wesley gave this advice, "Stir up the spark of grace which is now in you, and he will give you more grace."
This switch from Gift to Grace puzzled me. I usually associate charisma with the list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. Wesley's argument in Sermon 85 expands that definition to include grace itself as a gift of the Spirit. This gift is in us, it requires constant stirring, and we can receive more of it.
What means do you use to stir up the spark of grace while you wait to receive more of this gift from God?
Monday, July 23, 2012
Monday, July 2, 2012
Wesleyan Stages of Grace
I've created a chart and written descriptions to represent each stage in the Wesleyan Developmental Model of Salvation. The headings refer to the actions of grace, and the lists contain the characteristics that are typical of those at each stage of grace. Do the descriptions cover the basics of each category? Have I overlooked a major characteristic?
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Palm-Passion Sunday
Lent 2012 was a build up to Passion Sunday. I selected Gospel Lessons for each Sunday during Lent that followed a chronological order leading to the Cross.
Feb. 5 Mission of the 70-- Luke 10: 1-20On April 1, we observed both Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday. The service opened with the children waving palm branches. The sermon was interspersed between the New Testament readings and focused on the Cross. The sermon was influenced by Wesley's Notes for 1 Corinthians 1: 17-2:8. Below is the order of worship and the text of the sermon.
Feb 12 Cleansing of the Temple-- Matthew 21: 12-17
Feb 19 Anointing at Bethany-- Matthew 26: 6-13
Feb 26 Footwashing-- John 13: 1-17
March 4 Garden of Gethsemane-- Mark 14: 32-42
March 11 Arrest-- Mark 14: 43-50
March 18 Before the Council-- Mark 14: 53-65
March 25 Before Pilate-- Mark 15: 1-20
Saturday, May 12, 2012
The Prayer of Jesus
John 17: 1-26. We get to listen in on Jesus' prayer for us. How cool is that? In the seventeenth chapter of John's Gospel, Jesus offers a prayer for his disciples and for the people who will come to faith because of the disciples' ministry.
In a recent sermon I asked the congregation what they wanted Jesus to pray for, what request did they want Jesus to talk to God about on their behalf? Good health? A comfortable income, nothing extravagant, just enough? Congenial companions, at work, in the neighborhood, in the family, to be surrounded by nice, decent people?
After making a few suggestions in order to get them thinking about what their request would be, I then invited them to refer to John 17:17 to see what Jesus does pray for-- "Sanctify them." This is Jesus' primary desire for us. My guess is that this is not at the top of anyone else's prayer request list.
The Greek verb ἁγίασον is found two other places in the Bible (Septuagint): in Numbers 16:16, Moses challenges rebellious Levities to prove their holiness by sanctifying themselves; in Joshua 7:13 God tells Joshua to sanctify the Israelites by having them get rid of taboo objects. In contrast, sanctification is an action that Jesus asks God to accomplish rather than a work achieved by humans.
The stories in Numbers and Joshua do not end well. God kills the unrighteous; they are not allowed to remain in God's presence. Jesus' prayer, however has a hopeful ending. He prays that God will abide in him, he will abide in his followers, and they will be with Jesus in glory (vv. 20-24). Think of it as a supplication that God would make Christians heaven-ready before their death. This is what is uppermost on Jesus' mind, this is what he is praying for, and asking God to do.
What's your prayer? Do you share Jesus' priority? Is this goal reflected in your ministry? It was reflected in Wesley's. Wesley interpreted John 17:17 to be a prayer for Christian Perfection, and Wesley's told one correspondent that he considered the teaching of this doctrine to be the Methodists' reason for being.
In a recent sermon I asked the congregation what they wanted Jesus to pray for, what request did they want Jesus to talk to God about on their behalf? Good health? A comfortable income, nothing extravagant, just enough? Congenial companions, at work, in the neighborhood, in the family, to be surrounded by nice, decent people?
After making a few suggestions in order to get them thinking about what their request would be, I then invited them to refer to John 17:17 to see what Jesus does pray for-- "Sanctify them." This is Jesus' primary desire for us. My guess is that this is not at the top of anyone else's prayer request list.
The Greek verb ἁγίασον is found two other places in the Bible (Septuagint): in Numbers 16:16, Moses challenges rebellious Levities to prove their holiness by sanctifying themselves; in Joshua 7:13 God tells Joshua to sanctify the Israelites by having them get rid of taboo objects. In contrast, sanctification is an action that Jesus asks God to accomplish rather than a work achieved by humans.
The stories in Numbers and Joshua do not end well. God kills the unrighteous; they are not allowed to remain in God's presence. Jesus' prayer, however has a hopeful ending. He prays that God will abide in him, he will abide in his followers, and they will be with Jesus in glory (vv. 20-24). Think of it as a supplication that God would make Christians heaven-ready before their death. This is what is uppermost on Jesus' mind, this is what he is praying for, and asking God to do.
What's your prayer? Do you share Jesus' priority? Is this goal reflected in your ministry? It was reflected in Wesley's. Wesley interpreted John 17:17 to be a prayer for Christian Perfection, and Wesley's told one correspondent that he considered the teaching of this doctrine to be the Methodists' reason for being.
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