Wednesdays with Wesley

Host Bob Kaylor offers a brief update on the show and his impending move into a new season of ministry. Wednesdays with Wesley will be back in a few weeks but, in the interim, send your suggestions for future episodes to revbkaylor@gmail.com (note the new address). Watch for new episodes coming soon!

In this episode we go a little deeper into John Wesley's understanding of the good news by looking at his definition of "true religion" found in Jesus' proclamation of the kingdom of God. It's a religion of the heart that is evidenced in the believer's life in "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." As Wesley puts it, "This is the way; walk ye in it!" Host Bob Kaylor walks us through this important sermon that gets at the essence of the gospel and how it's lived out in the lives of those who will "repent and believe the good news." Read The Way of the Kingdom [http://www.wordsofwesley.com/libtext.cfm?srm=7] Leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform and email the host with your questions and comments at pastorbk@tlumc.org. Follow Bob on Twitter @revbkaylor.

Many evangelical Christians are aware of The Four Spiritual Laws as a shorthand version of the gospel used in evangelism. While millions of Christians have come to faith through this simple presentation, which has its roots in the Reformed tradition, those in the Methodist tribe might wonder if there is a Wesleyan version of The Four Spiritual Laws that expresses not only the salvation we have in Christ but also a version of the "wonderful plan" for our lives that involves sanctification, restoration in the image of God, and power over sin.  Host Bob Kaylor believes he may have found it in John Wesley's letter to Ebenezer Blackwell [http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-letters-of-john-wesley/wesleys-letters-1751/]on December 20, 1751. Near the end of the letter, Wesley outlines in four statements the gospel that the early Methodist preached and believed: 1. God loves you: therefore love and obey him. 2. Christ died for you: therefore die to sin. 3. Christ has risen: therefore rise in the image of God. 4. Christ lives evermore: therefore live to God till you live with Him in glory.  "This is the scriptural way, the Methodist way, the true way," said Wesley. "God grant that we may never turn therefrom, to the right hand or to the left." What would it mean for 21st century Methodists to adopt this as our "Four Spiritual Laws" for evangelizing the world?  Send your questions and comments to Bob Kaylor at pastorbk@tlumc.org and follow Bob on Twitter @revbkaylor.

The spontaneous revival at Asbury University has now moved into its second week. What started as a regular Wednesday chapel service has grown into a move of God that is attracting hundreds of people to Wilmore, KY, to experience this outpouring of God’s Spirit. People are coming to experience the power of confession and repentance, healing and reconciliation, testimony and spontaneous praise. There’s no central leader, no direction or agenda, just people gathering together, drawn in and sent out by the Spirit  in a way that is so unusual that national news outlets are picking it up. But while many are rejoicing at this movement of God that began with college students and is spreading to other campuses, others are skeptical and even critical--and, not surprisingly, a lot of that criticism seems to be coming from those who are actually in the church. Some merely chalk up the revival to emotionalism, while others sniff that it’s not immediately following their prescribed social justice agenda. Still others have never been part of such a spontaneous outpouring and question any kind of ecstatic experience. In Wesley's day, movements of the God outside the established church were considered to be a dangerous form of "enthusiasm," or an irrational religious madness.  The reality is, however, that these kinds of revivals and spiritual watershed events are a hallmark of the Wesleyan holiness tradition. Asbury experienced a similar revival back in 1970 that launched a generation of pastors and missionaries. Camp meetings and other gatherings were, and in many places still are, opportunities for the Spirit to bring renewed vision in the midst of prayer, worship, healing, and testimony. Indeed, from the very beginning, Methodism has been a movement of the Holy Spirit and a movement that has always raised questions for those in the institutional church.  In "The Nature of Enthusiasm," written in 1750, John Wesley responds to critics of the movement by redefining what "enthusiasm" actually means and offers a prescription for discerning the work of the Holy Spirit and the will of God. It's a timely sermon for this moment in history and one that both supporters and critics of revival need to consider.  Read The Nature of Enthusiasm [http://www.wordsofwesley.com/libtext.cfm?srm=37] Read Kevin Watson's helpful summary [https://kevinmwatson.com/2021/03/30/john-wesleys-sermon-the-nature-of-enthusiasm-a-brief-summary/] Send your questions and comments to host Bob Kaylor at pastorbk@tlumc.org and follow him on Twitter @revbkaylor.

In Discourse I, John Wesley described the way in which people (and especially preachers) void the moral law of God by an overemphasis on faith alone. In Discourse II, he offers three ways to properly establish the law through faith: through preaching a fully biblical doctrine, through seeing faith as a means toward holiness, and through living out that law of love in our hearts and lives. The Wesleyan way sees faith and law working together to produce Christ-like character expressed in holy love of God and neighbor.  Read The Law Established Through Faith, Discourse II [http://www.wordsofwesley.com/libtext.cfm?srm=36] Read Dr. Kevin Watson's helpful summary [https://kevinmwatson.com/2021/03/23/john-wesleys-sermon-the-law-established-through-faith-ii-a-brief-summary/] Send your questions and comments to host Bob Kaylor at pastorbk@tlumc.org and follow Bob on Twitter @revbkaylor. Leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform!