Psalm 119:156 – Great Mercy
Mercy and judgment are much closer allies than we may have realized.
The Importance of Teaching Sanctification
Teachers and pastors frequently avoid talking about sanctification. Some of the reasons include: A Detour on Christian Perfection When I first joined a United Methodist congregation, I had the idea that Methodists would know a great deal about John Wesley. One Sunday night I discovered how wrong I was. I had been invited to teach…
On John Wesley and Total Depravity
I’ve drawn some questions and produced some amusement (from Calivinist friends) by using the term “total depravity.” Listeners were surprised to hear a Wesleyan use that particular term. “Sinners,” “sinful,” and similar terms, OK, but total depravity? I have previously heard people remark that total depravity isn’t Wesleyan, so as United Methodists we don’t believe that….
A United Methodist Pastor on Revitalizing Dead Churches
There are many days when the United Methodist Church discourages me, and I wrote a post yesterday with that sort of feeling. But there are two things that regularly encourage me: Encountering vital small congregations, and meeting some of our young pastors. Via another young pastor, Geoffrey Lentz, who is doing wonderful things at First…
Seeking Sinless Perfection
Image via Wikipedia Because I have some online watches for names of Energion Publications authors, I found the post In Search of Sinless Perfection, which quotes Alden Thompson. This comes from a Seventh-day Adventist background, but I must mention that I have been surprised by how much from my own SDA background simply translates into…
On Continuation of the Gifts
I was interested to find this post by Craig Adams, looking at some quotes from John Wesley on the continuation of the gifts. I find myself in general agreement with what Wesley says here. The extraordinary gifts are possible, but not commonplace, nor are they required. The primary evidence of the Spirit is the sanctification…