The first verse of “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” is an invitation to join the angels who announced Christ’s birth. In fact, Wesley wants all nations to rise and “join the triumph of the skies” in the tumultuous news, “Christ is born in Bethlehem!” Notice the exclamation point. Wesley was inclined that way. It’s hard to end all your sentences with periods when your soul is on the rise.
There aren’t many times in the life of the church where people sit down and say, “Please teach me doctrine.” As a theology nerd, I wish it would happen more. But it just doesn’t happen that much.
Advent is primarily about looking through the baby in the manger to see Christ the King coming on the clouds in glory. The problem for Methodists is that, for decades, we did not have a single hymn in the Methodist hymnal that explicitly referenced the Lord’s physical return.
Wesleyan Accent is excited to welcome Ellsworth Kalas who will be contributing regular reflections on Wesleyan hymns. His first highlights Charles Wesley’s wonderful Advent hymn, “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.”
Familiarity sometimes breeds dullness. It’s true in the whole of life; it is especially true in the way we hear things and reflect on what we hear. The hymns we sing are a great
Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Church, preached this sermon at Taylor University Chapel in 2009. An outline accompanies the podcast. Dr. Jo Anne Lyon – Healing a Broken World
How should we “read” John Wesley? And why is he important for people today? These are important questions for Methodists, most of whom consider themselves to be Wesleyans in some sense. Focusing on the actual
What if, on your way to work between floors in the elevator, someone asked you, “Why are you a Methodist?” That’s shorthand for, “Why have you chosen to live out your discipleship in the
Though Wesleyans are most committed to offering Christ, not to being distinct from other Christian traditions, there are differences in Christian traditions because various parts of the body of Christ articulate their faith with
Several weeks ago, as I was running errands, I heard my two-year old son exclaim from the backseat of our car, “Oh my God!” When I paused for a second to consider how to
Find more Wesleyan Accent voices from a variety of Wesleyan Methodist denominations at https://www.wesleyanaccent.com/ On a recent hot summer day, I pulled down the flap of my mailbox and discovered an official-looking summons. For the first
**This sermon was preached in the days following the tornadoes in Oklahoma earlier this year. Elijah was on the run. He had fled the wrath of his archenemy, Jezebel. The Queen had sworn to kill
