Following Jesus as a Methodist

Romans 1:17

“For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.””

274th Aldersgate anniversary

1. “I am a Methodist. My father was a Methodist. My grandfather was a Methodist. I will only worship in a Methodist Church. My children after me will be Methodists.”

1. “I am a Methodist. My father was a Methodist. My grandfather was a Methodist. I will only worship in a Methodist Church. My children after me will be Methodists.”

2. I was led to Christ by a Baptist, but my first church was a Presbyterian church. Then I followed another friend to an independent mega-church. When I got married, I followed my wife to an Anglican Church. For me it doesn’t matter which church I go to, as long as it is Christian.

1. “I am a Methodist. My father was a Methodist. My grandfather was a Methodist. I will only worship in a Methodist Church. My children after me will be Methodists.”

2. I was led to Christ by a Baptist, but my first church was a Presbyterian church. Then I followed another friend to an independent mega-church. When I got married, I followed my wife to an Anglican Church. For me it doesn’t matter which church I go to, as long as it is Christian.

3. Why are there so many denominations and why are some people so proud to belong to a specific denomination? Don’t they know that there will be no denominations in heaven? So why don’t we just say we are Christians and celebrate our common identity instead of fighting over our own mini-kingdoms?

1 Corinthians 1:12

“12What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

1 Corinthians 1:12

“12What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”

So why do we have denominations ?

What does it mean fundamentally to be a Methodist ?

The Character of a Methodist – by Rev John Wesley

1. A Methodist is one who has ‘the love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him’, one who ‘loves the Lord his God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and will and mind, and with all his strength.’

2. He is therefore happy in God.

3. For indeed, he ‘prays without ceasing’.

The Character of a Methodist – by Rev John Wesley

4. And accordingly he loves his neighbour as himself; he loves every man as his own soul.

5. For he is ‘pure in heart’. The love of God has purified his heart from all revengeful passions, from envy, malice and wrath, from every unkind temper or malign affection.’

The Character of a Methodist – by Rev John Wesley

6. Agreeable to this his one desire, is the one design of his life, namely, ‘not to do his own will, but the will of Him who sent him.’

7. By consequence, whatsoever he doeth, it is all to the glory of God.

The Character of a Methodist – by Rev John Wesley

6. Agreeable to this his one desire, is the one design of his life, namely, ‘not to do his own will, but the will of Him who sent him.’

7. By consequence, whatsoever he doeth, it is all to the glory of God.

A Methodist is simply someone who is truly Christian.

So why do we even call ourselves with a distinct name, and not just be known as Christians ?

Why do we have denominations ?

Methodist

Roman Catholic

Pentecostal

Presbyterian

Why Christian Denominations differ ?

1. There are many things important to a Church, but we have limited resources (people, time, money, talents, etc), so we concentrate on a few key areas which we believe are more crucial to us.

2. There are certain portions of the Bible where there could be a few possible interpretations. Because of that, denominations hold on to what they believe is the correct interpretation.

“The worship only promotes emotionalism, the words in some songs are not from the Bible, the music is worldly and is too fast and too loud.”

Who is this pastor complaining against ?

“The worship only promotes emotionalism, the words in some songs are not from the Bible, the music is worldly and is too fast and too loud.”

Written in the 18th century against the Methodist movement – complaining against Charles Wesley’s hymns.

In the Protestant churches, worship consisted of reading Scriptures and singing of the Psalms, but with music which was difficult to follow by the congregation.

18th century Church :

1. The Christians then generally didn’t believe that they should write their own worship.

18th century Church : 1. The Christians then generally didn’t believe that

they should write their own worship.

2. Nobody sang during worship time – the church was very afraid of having emotions in church – they believe Christians can only believe what God say through the mind, and not try to feel God.

18th century Church :

1. The Christians then generally didn’t believe that they should write their own worship.

2. Nobody sang during worship time – the church was very afraid of having emotions in church – they believe Christians can only believe what God say through the mind, and not try to feel God.

3. The Wesley brothers made sure that the music accompanying the hymns were good and fairly easy to sing.

Colossians 3:16

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

Colossians 3:16

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

We are the Singing People of God.

Charles’ hymns are a wealth of biblical theology and sound doctrine.

Both brothers viewed songs as a powerful tool for working the doctrines they preached into the hearts of their listeners.

We are the Singing People of God.

Let us grow in our spirituality through the worship experience too.

We are the Singing People of God.

Youth’s feedback : “secondly, I went for the workshop of "Plunging into a life of Ceaseless Prayer". It is something that I more or less have some knowledge of.

So, I didn't really learn much from this but it reinforces the idea of knowing is not enough, it is the experience that counts.”

We believe in Experiencing God.

Jeremiah 24:7

“I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.”

We believe in Experiencing God.

Jeremiah 24:7

“I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.”

For John Wesley, religious experience is evidence that God is at work in the Christian.

We believe in Experiencing God.

Principles of experiencing God :

1. Must experience God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

2. Experience must be guided by God’s Word

3. Experience to be understood/shared within a Community of Believers.

We believe in Experiencing God.

2 Components –

a). It is vital to meet and worship with other Christians in order to grow in the Christian life and to understand what is God's will for us and for our community.

We believe in Social Holiness.

2 Components –

b). James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

We believe in Social Holiness.

We believe in Social Holiness.

1 Corinthians 12:7 “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”

Romans 12:6-8 “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

We believe in the Empowerment by the Holy Spirit.

a). The Lay Movement (non-clergy serving God in all areas of ministry)

b) Women ordination (women in Christian ministry service)

We believe in the Empowerment by the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”

2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

We believe in God’s grace – to save us, to transform us, to do God’s will, to bless others.

Prevenient Grace – the divine initiative motivated by love and unmerited mercy.

We believe in God’s grace – to save us, to transform us, to do God’s will, to bless others.

Prevenient Grace can be seen in 3 parts

1. Warning against sin

2. Attracting towards God

3. Enabling persons to make the right choice (towards Christ)

We believe in God’s grace – to save us, to transform us, to do God’s will, to bless others.

Prevenient Grace :

God is always looking out for us!

We believe in God’s grace – to save us, to transform us, to do God’s will, to bless others.

Grace frees us to obey the will of God and to walk responsibly before Him, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, to cease to do evil and to learn to do well. It enables us to be zealous to do good works, to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses daily.

We believe in God’s grace – to save us, to transform us, to do God’s will, to bless others.

Matthew 5:13a “You are the salt of the earth.”

Matthew 5:14a “You are the light of the world.”

We believe that God has called us to make an impact in the world (Faith Must ACT).

The Methodist movement was a missionary movement, spreading the Gospel not only for conversion of hearts, but also for the healing of the nation.

We believe that God has called us to make an impact in the world (Faith Must ACT).

1. “I am a Methodist. My father was a Methodist. My grandfather was a Methodist. I will only worship in a Methodist Church. My children after me will be Methodists.”

1. “I am a Methodist. My father was a Methodist. My grandfather was a Methodist. I will only worship in a Methodist Church. My children after me will be Methodists.”

2. I was led to Christ by a Baptist, but my first church was a Presbyterian church. Then I followed another friend to an independent mega-church. When I got married, I followed my wife to an Anglican Church. For me it doesn’t matter which church I go to, as long as it is Christian.

1. “I am a Methodist. My father was a Methodist. My grandfather was a Methodist. I will only worship in a Methodist Church. My children after me will be Methodists.”

2. I was led to Christ by a Baptist, but my first church was a Presbyterian church. Then I followed another friend to an independent mega-church. When I got married, I followed my wife to an Anglican Church. For me it doesn’t matter which church I go to, as long as it is Christian.

3. Why are there so many denominations and why are some people so proud to belong to a specific denomination? Don’t they know that there will be no denominations in heaven? So why don’t we just say we are Christians and celebrate our common identity instead of fighting over our own mini-kingdoms?

We are the Singing people of God.

We believe in Experiencing God.

We believe in Social Holiness.

We believe in the Empowerment by the Holy Spirit.

We believe in God’s grace – to save us, to transform us, to do God’s will, to bless others.

We believe that God has called us to make an impact in the world (Faith Must ACT).

Methodist

Roman Catholic

Pentecostal

Presbyterian

The Christian Faith

Following Jesus as a Methodist