The Wesleyan Way

In a few hours many of us will make a New Year's Resolution. The beginning of a new year brings a sense of hope and a feeling that this year things may improve. Some of us will resolve to improve ourselves. To eat healthier. To exercise more. Our culture tries to sell us these self-improvement strategies--to point out that we're not ideal, that we don't measure up. Think about this, on January 2nd, if you eat a piece of chocolate, you're "bad." But if you go to the gym, you're "good." Are these really moral choices? The real question is, Are we really trying to improve ourselves or are we trying to be worthy of love? Ephesians 1:4-5 proclaims, "He chose us in him before the world was made, so as to be holy and irreproachable before him in love. He foreordained us for himself, to be adopted as sons and daughters through Jesus the king." Please know that making changes to improve our health is a good thing. So loosing a few pou...

Luke 2:6-7 : While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Jesus' life began from the margin of society. There wasn't room for him at the inn. When he began his ministry, he called people from the margins. There wasn't room for him in the religious center. From the margins, Jesus fulfilled his mission. William Barclay writes, "That there was no room in the inn was symbolic of what was to happen to Jesus." In our communion ritual during Christmas we say, "As Mary and Joseph went from Galilee to Bethlehem and there found no room, so Jesus went from Galilee to Jerusalem and was despised and rejected." Do you ever feel like you are on the margins? You know, when you say you're alright but you're really not. When you try to be strong but you're falling apart on the inside. ...

The fancy name for Mary's song is the Magnificat . Why? Because that's the first word in the Latin translation. When Martin Luther translated the Bible from Latin to German, he left the Magnificat in Latin because the German princes didn't care for this image of the mighty being brought low. Historically, the Church has been uncomfortable with this song. We typically think of Mary as sweet and kind, meek and mild. But this is so much more than a simple song of praise. Stanley Jones says, "the Magnificat is the most revolutionary document in the world." Luke 1:46-48, 52: And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed. . . . He has brought the powerful down from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly." If you're well-versed in the Bible, you know Mary's song reflects Hannah song in the O...

Advent is about anticipation and expectation. During John the Baptist's time, people were anticipating the Messiah. But how would the Messiah expect them to live? This question, "How should we live?" is one John addresses. Luke 3:7-9 NIV:  John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves,'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." John calls these people a "brood of vipers." That certainly is an interesting choice of words. But what does it mean? You know vipers are snakes. You probably know vipers are poisonous. But did you know that after a viper bites something, it continues to lat...

In the early winter of AD 28, an extraordinary rumor spread across the shores of Galilee. A new prophet is on the scene. God had been silent for so long. Believers had longed for a new word from God. The last prophet to speak about the Messiah lived nearly 400 years ago. Some thought prophecy was dead. Others hoped it would be revived. Many longed for a movement which would bring them a new kind of freedom. Then John appears. Crowds come to hear this voice in the wilderness. It may helpful to remember the Exodus story: When Israel left Egypt, they were ed through the Red Sea, through the wilderness of Sinai, and, finally, through the Jordan into the promised land. People were desperate for a new exodus, a new freedom. Then John appears. He tells people to turn their lives around. He calls for people to change their hearts and lives. He's not calling for a one-time event. Instead, this is a radical change of life. John is preparing the road for the Lord to return. He...

Advent is about three comings: the first coming of Jesus, when he was born as a baby in Bethlehem; the coming of Jesus into our hearts, making us new people; and the final coming of Jesus when time as we know it will stop. Advent addresses those comings in reverse order. We begin with the end. Today we consider the end of the story. When we think about the end, it's so easy for us to think about books we've read or movies that we've seen and to picture a destructive apocalypse. But we're going to look at what Jesus himself says about the end. It may surprise you to realize that when he speaks about the end, Jesus doesn't talk about doomsday. He doesn't talk about winter and death. Jesus speaks about spring and new life. The coming kingdom brings new life. I don't know if any English teacher has ever told you this before, but the Gospels are considered literary masterpieces. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are not four guys who are writing about the life...