Podcasts about Aldersgate

Dr Christina Bieber Lake is an American author. Now retired, she was the Clyde S. Kilby professor of English at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois, where she taught classes in contemporary American literature and literary theory. Her books include Prophets of the Posthuman: American Fiction, Biotechnology, and the Ethics of Personhood (University of Notre Dame Press), a book that draws upon theological resources as it investigates, through fiction, the motivations for human enhancement. Prophets of the Posthuman won the 2014 Aldersgate prize for integrative Christian scholarship. She followed this up with the brilliant Beyond the Story: American Literary Fiction and the Limits of Materialism. Dr Bieber Lake frequently contributes essays on fiction, ethics, and film to Books & Culture, Comment Magazine, and The Cresset, as well as scholarly journals. You can read some of her articles here: Christina Bieber Lake - Comment MagazineShe is a frequent contributor to scholarly work on Flannery O'Connor, and her book The Incarnational Art of Flannery O'Connor (Mercer University Press), describes how O'Connor viewed fiction as an ideal way to fight Gnostic dualisms prevalent in American intellectual and religious life. Her work on teaching as a vocation includes The Flourishing Teacher. Learn more at her website, here:https://christinabieberlake.com/

Aldersgate UMCfalse

Dr. Howell talks with Boris Henderson about the impacts of gentrification and displacement in communities, and how churches and other organizations can support justice, community engagement, and housing stability in vulnerable neighborhoods. Boris is the Senior Director of Community Engagement & Philanthropy at Aldersgate. He holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Hood Theological Seminary and has served in leadership roles at Charlotte‐Mecklenburg Housing Partnership and on the board of Habitat for Humanity International.

Sermon: 11/10/2024Rev. Steve HollerMark 12:38-42

Sermon: 11/3/2024Rev. Steve HollerRuth 1:1-18

Sermon: 10/27/2024Rev. Steve HollerJob 42:1-6, 10-17

Sermon: 10/20/2024Rev. Steve HollerJob 23:1-9, 16-17

Sermon: 10/13/2024Rev. Steve HollerJob 38: 1-7, 34-41

Sermon: 10/06/2024Rev. Steve Holler"Job 1:1, 2:1-10

Sermon: 9/29/2024Rev. Mallory NickersonMark 9:38-50

Rev. Steve HollerSermon: 09/22/2024Mark 9:30-37

Sermon: 9/15/2024Rev. Steve HollerJames 3:1-12

Sermon: 9/8/2024Rev. Steve HollerMark 7:24-37

In this episode, we look at the days immediately after Aldersgate and the challenges John Wesley faced after his spiritual experience. Please give us a five star rating and subscribe.You can find us online at www.historyofmethodism.com.You can support us online at patreon.com/historyofmethodism. 

Sermon: 9/1/2024Rev. Steve HollerJames 1: 17-27

Sermon: 08/25/2024Rev. Steve HollerJohn 6:56-69

In this episode, we hear John Wesley's full account of Aldersgate, which also serves as a recapitulation of his life up until that point. Please give us a five star rating and subscribe.You can find us online at www.historyofmethodism.com.You can support us online at patreon.com/historyofmethodism. 

Sermon: 08/18/2024Rev. Steve Holler1 Kings 2:1-10, 3:3-14

Sermon: 08/11/2024Al QuarlesEphesians 4:25-5:2

Sermon: 08/04/2024Al QuarlesExodus 16:22-30

Sermon: 7/28/2024Rev. Steve HollerJohn 6:1-21

Sermon: 7/21/2024Rev. Steve HollerMark 6:30-34, 53-56

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 20th of July, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We start with the Book of Jeremiah 29:13. The Lord says:"And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." Then we go to the Book of Revelation 3:20. Jesus says: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me."The handle of the door is on the inside. There's no handle on the outside. The Lord expects you and me to search for Him but He says open the door and I will come in and sup with you and you with me. How many times have you heard the story of the young man searching for the girl of his life and he gets on the aeroplane and he flies all over the world looking for this girl and comes all the way back home and she is living next door and she's been there all the time for him. It's the same thing for the young girl who wants to have a career and meet the man of her dreams only to come all the way back and find out that he's the farmer that lives down the road.You know, Elijah was seeking for the Lord, (1 Kings 19:12), and he stood in the mouth of the cave, and a mighty wind went past and the Lord wasn't in that, then there was a massive earthquake, the Lord wasn't in that. Then there was a huge fire, the Lord wasn't in that, and then the still small voice spoke and the Lord was there. So often we search for the Lord in the wrong places, don't we? We go with great excitement and anticipation to a massive conference expecting to hear from God or we go to a huge stadium meeting and we expect to hear from the Lord, but we don't. He's not found in the overseas trips, He's not found in that latest book or that movie, no. He's often found in the quietness of the closet. John Wesley went all the way to America to find God. He came all the way back disheartened and he met Him in a little Bible study in Aldersgate in London. Charles Finney met with God in the forest. The love of God was going through him so strongly he said, "Lord, if you don't stop, You'll kill me."Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, slipped into a little country chapel just to get out of a snow storm, and heard a farm worker bringing the Gospel because the pastor wasn't there. "Look unto Me and be saved" - that was the scripture he heard and changed his life.Today, you don't have to go overseas, you don't have to go to that big meeting. Go into the quiet place and He will speak to you there.Jesus bless you and have a wonderful day, Goodbye.

Sermon, 07/14/2024Rev. Steve HollerEphesians 1:3-14

In this episode, we focus in on the day of May 24, 1738, from start finish and read together the scriptures and prayers which John Wesley encountered before his Aldersgate Rd. experience. We also listen to a public domain excerpt from Henry Purcell's setting of Psalm 130, which was sung at evening prayer that Wednesday. Please give us a five star rating and subscribe.You can find us online at www.historyofmethodism.com.You can support us online at patreon.com/historyofmethodism. 

Sermon, 07/07/2024Rev. Steve Holler2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10

I greet you in Jesus' precious name! It is Saturday morning, the 6th of July, 2024, and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for today. We go to the Book of Jeremiah 23:6:“In His days Judah will be saved,And Israel will dwell safely;Now this is His name by which He will be called:THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”Oh, isn't that a beautiful title for our beloved Saviour? THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS! Then we go straight to Matthew 1:21: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” You see, it is His righteousness in you and I, my dear friend, that will save us, no good works of our own, it's no efforts of our own. In fact, the more we try, the more we mess up. Jesus will save His people and no-one else can save them. Luther tried it and then he found a little scripture, Romans 1:17: “The just shall live by faith.” His eyes were opened. He saw that it was actually Jesus who was his righteousness, not him, not his fasting, not his praying, not his beating himself up. No, it was Jesus. Wesley found the same thing. He said, “A strange warmth came over my heart, scales fell from my eyes.” I believe he was born again and filled with the Spirit on that memorable Bible study that took place in Aldersgate in London, and then of course, the revival broke out. John Newton, the slave ship captain: “I once was blind but now I see, I was lost but now I am saved.”You know, there is a beautiful song written by Jack Campbell and Jimmie Davis and this is how it goes: “I can't take a heart that's broken make it over againBut I know a man who canI can't take a soul that's sin sick wash it whiter than snowBut I know a man who canSome call Him Saviour the Redeemer of all menBut I call Him Jesus for He's my dearest friendIf you think that no one loves you and your life is out of handI know a man who canI can't walk upon the water and I can't calm a raging seaBut I know a man who canI can't cause blinded eyes to be opened or the lame get up and walk again Oh, but I know a man who can”Today, call upon that Man. His name is Jesus Christ and He will undertake for you, my dear friend. I don't know what battle you are fighting at the moment but give it to Him because He can!Jesus bless you and have a lovely day,Goodbye.

“God Will Do It!”Rev. Steve Holler1 Samuel 17:41-49

Special Offeratory MusicAl, Dave, and Phil

Sermon: 6/16/2024Rev. Steve HollerMark 4:26-34

Sermon: 6/9/2024Rev. Steve HollerMark 3:20-35

Rev. Hockett's sermon emphasized the importance of moving beyond "dead orthodoxy" to a living faith that truly embodies God's love. He shared a personal story about navigating COVID restrictions at a restaurant, illustrating how following the letter of the law can sometimes miss the spirit of it. Drawing from John Wesley's transformative experience at Aldersgate, Rev. Hockett reminded us that true faith combines correct beliefs with heartfelt love for God and neighbor. He encouraged us to be a missional people, actively loving and serving others, especially in these challenging times. In essence, the world needs more people who love like Jesus.

Sermon: 6/2/2024Rev. Steve HollerMark 2:23-3:6

Have you ever celebrated Aldersgate Sunday?  I have to admit, in my 50-plus-year involvement with the United Methodist Church, I can't remember that I ever have.  It is an exciting opportunity to remember our specific heritage as United Methodists under the guidance of founder John Wesley, who had a particularly meaningful spiritual experience in Aldersgate Street in late May of 1738.  Join us for our Aldersgate Sunday observance as we continue to have our hearts "strangely warmed!" (Come on Sunday to learn more about that phrase.)

Born Into Love (Again) – This is Trinity Sunday, and the scripture from the Fourth Gospel is about the learned Pharisee Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night to ask a number of questions. Much as Nicodemus had questions, even as learned as we may be, we, too, can have questions, even about the concept of “The Trinity.” Although for centuries The Trinity has been described in terms of “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” we know that such terms cannot contain all the meaning associated with The Trinity. In recent years we have, for example, grown to use, “Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer” as another description. We might well note that however one conceptualizes “The Trinity,” there is a bond of love that flows between the three parts, and we, too, can join and experience that love. In some ways we can understand The Trinity as an invitation to move beyond intellectual understanding into a relationship. The sermon reminds us of that example of John Wesley whose heart was “strangely warmed” in his Aldersgate experience.

'Do we possess the sacrificial love, the courage and the humility, to allow others to stand on our shoulders, so that they can do what God's calling them to do, and so enable the work of the Kingdom?'

Sermon: 5/26/2024Rev. Steve HollerJohn 3:1-17

May 24, 1738, is a sacred day in Methodist History. It's the day that John Wesley had his ‘heart warming' experience on Aldersgate Street. But what happened that day? Was this a moment of sanctification, was it salvation, was it regeneration? How did John Wesley understand this moment? Are moments even that important? Today I am joined by Dr. Mark Olson who has researched this critical event with an exegetical eye. Youtube - https://youtu.be/Apkbu4B3bQIAudio - https://andymilleriii.com/media/podcastApple -  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/more-to-the-story-with-dr-andy-miller/id1569988895?uo=4Check out more information from Mark at www.wesleyscholar.comSummer Courses Sale - From now through the end of May, get 50% off my two courses:Contender: Going Deeper in the Book of Jude andHeaven and Other Destinations: A Biblical Journey Beyond this WorldTo learn more go to courses.andymilleriii.comAnd don't forget about my book that came out last summer, Contender, which is available on Amazon! Five Steps to Deeper Teaching and Preaching - Recently, I updated this PDF document and added a 45-minute teaching video with slides, explaining this tool. It's like a mini-course. If you sign up for my list, I will send this free resource to you. Sign up here - www.AndyMillerIII.com or Five Steps to Deeper Teaching and Preaching. Today's episode is brought to you by these two sponsors: Bill Roberts is a financial advisor, who has been serving the retirement planning and investment needs of individuals, families, non-profits, and churches for 25 years. He is a Certified Financial Planner and accredited investment fiduciary. Bill specializes in working with Salvation Army employees and officers by helping them realize their financial goals.  You can find out more about Bill's business at www.WilliamHRoberts.comANDWesley Biblical Seminary - Interested in going deeper in your faith? Check out our certificate programs, B.A., M.A.s, M.Div., and D.Min degrees. You will study with world-class faculty and the most racially diverse student body in the country. www.wbs.eduThanks too to Phil Laeger for my podcast music. You can find out about Phil's music at https://www.laeger.net

In this episode, we follow John Wesley during the time between his return to England in February of 1738, up to the moments before his Aldersgate conversion experience on Mary 24, 1738. We also look into Charles's own experience and the influence of Peter Böhler on both Wesley brothers. Please give us a five star rating and subscribe.You can find us online at www.historyofmethodism.com.You can support us online at patreon.com/historyofmethodism. 

John 3:14-21 | Confirmation Sunday   It's not just about believing God is who God says God is. It's about believing and trusting and having confidence that God can do what God says God can do.    Movie Quote Trivia. If you don't know this about me, I'm a big movie fan. For some reason, I can remember movie lines better than a lot of other things. Often, I can remember movie lines after seeing a movie once better than I can remember what my wife just said to me ten times this morning. (Something about the trash.)    But I love movies, I love movie quotes. I love good lines. And growing up, my family loved to play movie quote trivia. And all that is, is simply, in the middle of a conversation, you could be doing anything, and something makes you think of a quote from a movie, and you just call out: Movie Quote Trivia! And then follow with the movie quote, seeing who might name the movie it comes from first. That's it. It's not much of a game. But for anyone who loves a game, or trivia, or sudden interruptions…it's great.    Let's try it… see if you can get a few.    Movie Quote Trivia: Some people are worth melting for. (Frozen) Movie Quote Trivia: If you build it, he will come. (Field of Dreams) Movie Quote Trivia: To infinity and beyond (Toy Story) Movie Quote Trivia: There's no crying in baseball. (A League Of Their Own). Movie Quote Trivia: Remember who you are. (The Lion King) Movie Quote Trivia: Show me the money (Jerry Maguire) Movie Quote Trivia: When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do? Just keep swimming. (Finding Nemo)   Some of those are pretty easy. Others may be more difficult for you. And I think if the Bible were a movie, John 3:16 would be one of those easy ones, one of those unforgettable lines. Most could get it, right?   AND, if I were to yell… BIBLE QUOTE TRIVIA: “The time is surely coming…when the one who plows shall catch up with the one who reaps and the treader of grapes with the one who sows the seed”...that's harder isn't it? Because not a lot of folks read the book of Amos.   How about, BIBLE QUOTE TRIVIA: “Like a city breached, without walls, is one who lacks self-control.” Maybe a little easier, because it sounds like it would come from PROVERBS.   But if I were to yell out  BIBLE QUOTE TRIVIA: For God so loved the world… I think many of you could name it: John 3:16.   Those words were a part of my growing up. That was probably the first verse I ever memorized (other than John 11:35 - Jesus wept). John 3:16 is the most famous verse of scripture, the most popular, and I'm sure many of you could quote it.    Harder to recall though are the details surrounding that verse. Who Jesus is talking to, and what the subject of the conversation is. And until recently, I had no memory about the snake thing that we just read.  What is that??? What is Jesus talking about there?    A Snake in the Wilderness.  (Well confirmands, I'm glad you asked!)  Jesus is in the middle of one of his more famous back-and-forths, in which he tells the Pharisee Nicodemus that he must be born again, not literally, but reborn by water and the Spirit. His inward, his Spirit has to be transformed. And Jesus reprimands Nicodemus for being a teacher of Israel and not knowing this. And then Jesus makes a weird reference to Moses.   Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him won't perish but will have eternal life.    And to any of us who don't know Moses or the stories from the Torah – the first five books of the OT – this is a bizarre reference. And one that we often don't even remember.    I felt that way a few years ago when I traveled to the country of Jordan, and I visited Mt. Nebo, where Moses is said to have looked out onto the promised land. And in present day, at the lookout point, placed by the historical society, is a huge bronze statue of a snake on a stick. And as I got my picture next to it (because how often do you see that?!), I remember thinking, I do NOT remember this from seminary. (Probably because trying to study and cram the book of Numbers at 11pm at night is not the best way to read that book).   In the book of Numbers, Moses and the people of Israel are wandering on the road, and the people get angry at both God and Moses for continuing to allow them to wander and not enter the promised land.    They yell at God and Moses (I don't know if you've ever yelled at God – don't worry God can take it)...they yell at God and Moses:    Why did you bring us up from Egypt to kill us in the desert, where there is no food or water. All we have is this awful bread to eat.   And all of a sudden, in the midst of their complaining, a bunch of poisonous snakes appear and start biting people. Isn't that a wild way to deal with complaining people? Send a couple of cobras on em? Hide a couple of rattlesnakes in their shoes?    (Makes me think of a little MOVIE QUOTE TRIVIA: “Why'd it have to be snakes?” -Indiana Jones)   So the snakes appear. And the snakes are biting people and people are dying. And so the people come to Moses and say, “Will you ask God to get rid of the snakes. We've sinned. Ask for God to save us?” So he does.    And God tells Moses, “Here's what you're gonna do. Make a poisonous snake and place it on a pole. If someone is bitten, all they have to do is look at the snake on the pole and they will live!” So Moses makes a bronze snake and puts it on a pole. And so when a snake bit somebody, they would look at the snake that Moses raised up on the pole, and they were saved from the snakes' poison.   And the point of that story seems to be that the snake that was raised up was the method by which God chose to save the Israelites in that moment. In other words, in a sort of cooperative moment, God gave them a manner by which to be saved and the people BELIEVED that God could save them in that manner. So when they looked at it, they were saved from the poison.   Back to John.  Now–for years, after their wandering in the desert, and throughout the OT, the Hebrew people asked God for salvation from various things, from sins, from empires, from suffering…    Perhaps you've prayed a prayer asking God to help you or save you from something. I remember in middle and high school I always had a save-me-from-this-test-prayer: “Dear God, if there is a way for the teacher to push this test to another day, that would be great. I really don't want to take a test today.”    Maybe you've prayed a prayer like that. OR Maybe there are other things you've asked God to save you from. Things like pain. Regret. Sadness. Busy work. Sickness. Something scary. Snakes…(Maybe even death).   The people of Israel asked for salvation from a lot of things – from Rome, from corruption, from exile.   And concerning their salvation, in John 3:14, Jesus says that similar to the event of Moses and the bronze snake, where Moses lifted up a snake and the people were saved from painful snake bites when they LOOKED at the statue, Jesus too will be lifted up on a cross as the method of God's saving action for the world, and any who look to him (like the snake on the pole), and any who believe that God can save through that action of sacrifice will be saved.    Except this time, salvation is not from poisonous snake bites or the Roman Empire, it is from ourselves, from our selfishness, from our ability to alienate ourselves from one another, from our sin.   The founder of the Methodist movement (you remember confirmands?) John Wesley referred to sin as a sickness. An illness. And the less we do to acknowledge it, the more it works itself into our system and into our systems. It's not just an individual thing, it's a systemic thing too. And the more it sickens us. The worse we get. Kind of like that poison from the snake in the wilderness. If we do nothing when we are bitten, sooner or later, it isn't going to end well. The same is with sin. If left untreated, we turn into people that God did not intend.    But we also (and Wesley too) believe in an antidote to that toxin, we believe there is a holy medicine to our sickness. And THAT medicine is the one that was raised TO SAVE US. Like the snake on the pole. But better.    And John says, just like the Israelites who believed that they could be saved by simply looking at the statue, we need to believe.    Belief. The Greek for belief is a word that means to have faith in, to trust, to affirm, to have confidence in. And in the most famous verse of Scripture (John 3:16-17), Jesus explains what he means:   For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him (who affirms, trusts, has confidence in him) may not perish but have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him.    I love that verse. I really do. But what does it mean to believe, to trust in, to have confidence in Jesus? Well, according to Jesus, and according to the comparison he is making to the snake pole, part of what it means to believe in Jesus is to trust that God can actually DO God's saving work through Jesus!   Like the snake on the stick, the Israelites believed/trusted God that to look upon the statue was indeed the antidote to the poison that they needed. So it is for us. Jesus is inviting us to believe, to trust, to have confidence that God can actually use the torture, the sacrifice, the criminal's sentence of crucifixion to save humanity.    It's not just about believing God is who God says he is.  It's about trusting that God can do what God says he can do.    But it's also deeper than THAT.   John 3:16 says that the intention of God's cosmic saving act on earth is love. “Go SO LOVED the world. God SO LOVED you. God SO LOVED me. That God raised up Jesus, himself, a manner by which we might be saved from the toxic sin that alienates us from one another and from God. And God invites us to believe, to have confidence in, to trust that God actually LOVES us that much.”    In our ladies Bible study on Wednesday mornings, (a few weeks ago) we were talking about capital punishment and the massive amount of people in prison and incarcerated. And someone in there made the comment about how many people in those situations have never heard someone tell them “I love you,” have never known from the beginning that they are loved.    Jesus invites us to believe that God so loves us. AND Jesus also invites us to trust that God's love is enough to save us…from ourselves, from our sins, from our wandering, even from snakes…   Wesley at Aldersgate. I talked about this a few weeks ago, and I've mentioned this a number of times from up here. (And many of you confirmands heard this story in the fall I think.) John Wesley knew Scripture, he knew how to pray, he knew how to care for the poor and imprisoned. He knew HOW to follow Jesus. He knew the right things to DO.    And then one night, when he was particularly low, he went to a prayer meeting, and something was said there, something happened, and because of it, he felt different. JW would later write that he KNEW (in that moment) that God loved him. Even him. He knew it. He trusted it. He had a new confidence in it. He believed that God SO LOVED him. He believed that God's love was enough to save him. And out of that feeling, he wanted nothing more than to love GOD back. And he responded by letting his actions morph and transform, his inward life had been so affected by this love of God that it HAD to shape his outward life!   In John 3:20-21, Jesus says (MSG), “Everyone who practices evil, addicted to self-denial and illusion, hates the light and won't come near it, [for fear of] painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes the light so the work can be seen for the God-work that it is.” That's just another way of saying what Wesley experienced. Having a confidence in and a trust that God loves you causes you to want to work, to do, to live that love in such a way as to respond to God's love with a simple, “I love you too.”   And ultimately, Paul would tell a church in Colossae, that this is what it means to be “in Christ.” The term Christian rarely appears in the Bible. People are more often referred to as ones who live “in Christ.”  What does that mean?    Eugene Peterson says, “‘In Christ' means that [we] are those who have heard the call of God's love and grace, responded to it, and consequently entered into a union of fellowship with God.” We are no longer spectators. We are players. And “[We] are [now] in the arena of God's working love, redeeming grace, and delivering power. [We] are in Christ.”   And when we are IN CHRIST,  we develop and pursue a trust…   1-that God truly SO LOVES us 2-that God could ACTUALLY used a cross and an empty tomb to save the world   And (3), when we are IN CHRIST, we seek to love God back in the way we live our lives.   Confirmation Introduction. Today, in the life of the church, is Confirmation Sunday. What that means is that for 13 students, they have been working together all year with Paul and others to better understand faith in Jesus and the vows of membership in the United Methodist Church (and these vows are how we love God back).   Confirmation is something that occurs in conjunction with baptism. For some of our students today and for many of us, we were baptized as infants. Other students will be baptized today!   For any who are baptized (whether today or years ago) through the sacrament of baptism we are initiated into the church. We are incorporated into God's mighty acts of salvation and given new birth through water and the Spirit. And this gift comes without price. In baptism, God essentially embraces us, gives us a hug, and says to us, “I SO LOVE you.”   And in confirmation, we renew the covenant declared at our baptism, and we acknowledge what God is doing for us (that God is working in us, sanctifying us, and we affirm our commitment to Christ's holy church (essentially saying, “We're in!”)). And if baptism is God's embrace of us, giving us a hug, telling us “I love you,” Confirmation is my decision to embrace God back, hug God back, to respond to God's “I love you,” with our own, “I love you too.”    This is an embrace, a partnership. God wants us to know that we are SO LOVED…and God desires for us to join in on his work in the world. And if we believe, have faith, set our feet in the direction of God, then our LIVES truly will show the evidence of our heart.    The confirmands will make some promises, parts of a covenant, that don't just focus on our heart, on our belief. They focus on the DOs and DONTs, our actions. They focus on the HOW of loving God back.     QUESTIONS LIKE: Do you repent? Do you accept the freedom God gives you to battle evil and injustice and oppression?   BUT after THOSE questions, THEN comes the confession of Jesus as savior and in our UMC Hymnal, faith/belief is characterized as TRUST in his GRACE.    In the end, what we do is important, but it cannot eclipse who God says that we are. And who does God say that we are? SO LOVED.    And for many, the question soon becomes, “How could I not want to love a God like that? How could I not want to be a partner in that? So that others might know that they too are SO loved.”   John Wesley: “What is salvation? The salvation which is here spoken of is not what is frequently understood by that word, the going to heaven, eternal happiness. …It is not a blessing which lies on the other side of death…it is a present thing…[it] might be extended to the entire work of God, from the first dawning of grace in the soul till it is consummated in glory.” And it all stems from the fact that GOD SO LOVED YOU. AND GOD SO LOVED ME.    How could I not let that LOVE flow from me into the world?   Amen.

可以搜索公号【璐璐的英文小酒馆】或者添加【luluxjg】咨询课程or加入社群，查看文稿和其他精彩内容哦~ When Wilson had gone, Holmes turned to me. “Well, Watson,” he asked. “What do you think?”“I have no idea,” I answered. “It is very strange. What are you going to do?”“Go hear some music,” replied Holmes. “There is a violin concert at St. James's Hall this afternoon. Come along. We have time to make a stop on the way.”We took the underground train to Aldersgate. A short walk, and we were in Coburg Square.One of the corner houses wore a sign that read “J. B. Wilson.” Holmes stopped in front of the house. He thumped on the pavement with his stick. He pounded in two or three more spots. Then he walked up and knocked on the door.Mr. Wilson's helper answered. He was a bright, clean looking young man.“So sorry to bother you,” said Holmes. “But can you tell me how to get to the Strand?”“Third right, fourth left,” the young man answered. He closed the door.“That,” said Holmes as we walked away, “is the fourth smartest man in London. I have seen him before. Did you get a look at his knees?”“What about his knees?” I asked. “What do you know, Holmes? Why did you hit the pavement like that?”“My dear Watson,” said Holmes. “This is no time to talk. This is the time to look. Let's see what lies behind this quiet street.” We turned the corner.To my surprise, we found ourselves on a busy street. “Let's see,” said Holmes. “There's a cigar store. And there's the City Bank. And there is a restaurant. Hmm, yes …”He turned to me. “I'll want your help,” he said. “Can you be ready at ten tonight? Good. See you then. Oh, and Dr. Watson. Do you have your gun? You had better bring it along.”He waved his hand. Then he disappeared.I got back to Baker Street just before ten o'clock that evening. Two horse-drawn cabs were waiting outside. Inside, I found two men with Holmes.”“Ah! We are all here now!” Holmes said. “You know Inspector Jones of Scotland Yard, don't you, Watson? And this is Mr. Merryweather.”Mr. Merryweather was long, thin, and sad-faced. He wore a very shiny top hat. He did not look at all happy. “This had better not be a waste of time,” he said. “I'm missing my Saturday night card game. First time in twenty years.”Holmes laughed. “You'll play a more exciting game tonight,” he said. “You, Mr. Merryweather, stand to win or lose thirty thousand pounds. And you, Mr. Jones? You will get your man.”“That's right!” cried Inspector Jones. “John Clay. Killer. Robber. He's a young man. But he's one of the most wanted criminals in London”“Yes—he's quite a man, John Clay. The grandson of a duke. Went to the most expensive private schools. His head is as quick as his fingers. I've been on his trail for years. I've never even set eyes on him yet.”“I hope you will meet him tonight,” said Holmes. “Let's go. Two cabs are waiting outside. You two men take the first cab. Dr. Watson and I will follow in the second.”

====================================================SUSCRIBETEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNpffyr-7_zP1x1lS89ByaQ?sub_confirmation=1==================================================== LECCIÓN DE ESCUELA SABÁTICA         III TRIMESTRE DEL 2023Narrado por: Gustavo PérezDesde: Málaga, EspañaUna cortesía de DR'Ministries y Canaan Seventh-Day Adventist ChurchLUNES 25 DE SEPTIEMBRENUESTRA REDENCIÓN TIENE IMPACTO COMUNITARIOMientras lees Efesios 2, trata de responder esta pregunta: ¿Qué ha hecho Dios por nosotros mediante su Hijo Jesucristo? “Pero Dios [...]”. Esas dos palabras deben ser las más esperanzadoras para la humanidad. En Efesios 2:1 al 10, Pablo describe el pasado sombrío de su audiencia. Estos creyentes, que compartían la difícil situación de toda la humanidad, se inclinaron hacia la rebelión en contra de Dios, por lo que el pecado y Satanás dominaban sus vidas (Efe. 2:1-3). “Pero Dios, que es rico en misericordia [...]”. ¿Y qué hizo Dios por ellos y por nosotros? 1. Él nos dio vida con Cristo: la resurrección de Cristo es la nuestra. 2. Nos elevó con Cristo: la ascensión de Cristo es la nuestra. 3. En el Cielo, nos hizo sentar con Cristo: la coronación de Cristo es la nuestra (Efe. 2:4-7). ¡No somos meros espectadores de los acontecimientos de la vida de Cristo que transforman el cosmos! Dios lleva a cabo estas notables acciones no por ningún mérito en nosotros, sino por su gracia (Efe. 2:8, 9), y pretende que los creyentes vivan en solidaridad con Jesús y practiquen las “buenas obras” (Efe. 2:10). Si Efesios 2:1 al 10 enseña que vivimos en solidaridad con Jesús, Efesios 2:11 al 22 enseña que vivimos en solidaridad con los demás como parte de su iglesia. La muerte de Jesús tiene beneficios verticales, que restablecen la relación del creyente con Dios (Efe. 2:1–10), y horizontales, que cimentan nuestra relación con los demás (Efe. 2:11–22). Mediante la Cruz, Jesús derriba todo lo que divide a los creyentes gentiles de los judíos, incluyendo el uso indebido de la ley, lo que profundiza el abismo (Efe. 2:11–18). Jesús también construye algo: un asombroso “templo” nuevo compuesto por creyentes. Los gentiles, que en otro tiempo estuvieron excluidos del culto en los lugares santos del Templo, ahora se unen a los creyentes judíos para llegar a ser uno. Nosotros también llegamos a ser parte de la iglesia de Dios, un “templo santo en el Señor” (Efe. 2:19–22).Por la gracia de Dios, tienes el privilegio de vivir este día en solidaridad con Jesús y con tus hermanos en la fe. Efesios 2:8 al 10 ha desempeñado un papel en la conversión de muchos. Martín Lutero halló en estos versículos la gracia que conquistó su corazón, y descubrió también algunas declaraciones esenciales de la Reforma: la salvación se obtiene solo por la fe, solo por la gracia, solo por Cristo, y solo para la gloria de Dios. En 1738, 18 días después de experimentar la conversión en la calle Aldersgate de Londres, John Wesley predicó en la Universidad de Oxford, donde presentó “un grito del corazón” y “el manifiesto de un nuevo movimiento”. ¿Su texto? Efesios 2:8. (Ver A. Skevington Wood, “Strangely Warmed: The Wesleys and the Evangelical Awakening”, Christian History [revista], t. 5, Nº 1 [1984].) 

Hey, y'all! Welcome to the Gary Church Podcast . . . from Gary Church, here in Wheaton, IL. We would love to have you worship with us! You may find more information about our next worship service at www.garychurch.org. This is the scripture and sermon from May 21, 2023- the 7th Sunday of Easter, Ascension Sunday and Aldersgate Sunday! Our scripture is read by Cindi Copeland (00:05) and the sermon by Rev. Dr. Chris Pierson “Ascending and Descending” (02:44). At Gary Church our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world!Psalm 68:4-10Acts 1:6-14Revised Common Lectionary

We're thrilled to welcome Liam Goddard, Director of Wellness at Aldersgate, a Life Plan Community in Charlotte, North Carolina. Listen in as Liam shares his insights and lessons learned throughout his education and career journey.

Aldersgate - 4.30.23

Mark Barrow is the CEO of Aldersgate Ministries, a renewal movement within the United Methodist Church that has been contending for Spirit-filled ministry for decades. Aldersgate's mission is offer opportunities for every follower of Jesus to experience transforming growth through the love of the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Mark's work as a leader in this ministry is to connect local churches with opportunities for growth and renewal. We wanted to talk to Mark about where he is seeing moves of the Spirit in the American Church. We hope you listen.