John Wesley and The Holy Club’s 22 Questions
1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to others what has been said to me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
7. Did the Bible live in me today?
8. Do I give the Bible time to speak to me every day?
9. Am I enjoying prayer?
10. When did I last speak to someone else of my faith?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Am I proud?
19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
22. Is Christ real to me?
"Community" – Pastor Brown
Quote from: William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army
“The chief danger that confronts the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.”
The Why Question:
Why does God have us in this place doing this thing during this season?
Why are we here?
Why has He called us to be present now?
The way that Wesley and those early Methodists answered that question would Define them and it would continue to define the Wesleyan Methodist movement when we're at our best to the present day!
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"The Exaltation" – Pastor Brown
Quote from: Mere Christianity
Written By: C. S. Lewis
"Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed."
Four alls of Wesleyan Theology:
All need to be saved .
All can be saved.
All can know they are saved.
All can be saved to the uttermost.
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"Attitude" – Pastor Brown
Quote from: Mere Christianity
Written By: C. S. Lewis
"Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call ‘humble’ nowadays: he will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed."
Four alls of Wesleyan Theology:
All need to be saved .
All can be saved.
All can know they are saved.
All can be saved to the uttermost.
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"Like-Minded" – Pastor Brown
Quote from: The Four Loves
Written By: C. S. Lewis
"There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket—safe, dark, motionless, air-less—it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell."
Four alls of Wesleyan Theology:
All need to be saved .
All can be saved.
All can know they are saved.
All can be saved to the uttermost.
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The Lord's Supper August 24
The Bacchanal and the Communion Table
Why look for life where there is no life at all?
Written By: David F. Watson
Link to the full Article
“Whenever we look upon the darkness of this world, we should sense again the urgency of evangelism. God calls us to invite people into this upside-down kingdom we inhabit. He calls us to lead them from the bacchanal to the communion table, to demonstrate the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Gospel. The bacchanal is undoubtedly fun for a time, but there is no life there. To paraphrase Augustine, it is part of the human condition to look for life in a land of death. But as Peter said to Jesus when many had left scandalized, “You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). So he does. And thus so do we.”
Four alls of Wesleyan Theology:
All need to be saved .
All can be saved.
All can know they are saved.
All can be saved to the uttermost.
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"The Torn Veil " – Pastor Brown
The Sermons of John Wesley
— Awake, Thou That Sleepest
Sermon 3 — (excerpt)
II. 1. Wherefore, "awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead." God calleth thee now by my mouth; and bids thee know thyself, thou fallen spirit, thy true state and only concern below. "What meanest thou, O sleeper Arise! Call upon thy God, if so be thy God will think upon thee, that thou perish not." A mighty tempest is stirred up round about thee, and thou art sinking into the depths of perdition, the gulf of God's judgements. If thou wouldest escape them, cast thyself into them. "Judge thyself, and thou shalt not be judged of the Lord."
2. Awake, awake! Stand up this moment, lest thou "drink at the Lord's hand the cup of his fury." Stir up thyself to lay hold on the Lord, the Lord thy Righteousness, mighty to save! "Shake thyself from the dust." At least, let the earthquake of God's threatenings shake thee. Awake, and cry out with the trembling jailer, "What must I do to be saved" And never rest till thou believest on the Lord Jesus, with a faith which is his gift, by the operation of his Spirit.
3. If I speak to any one of you, more than to another, it is to thee, who thinkest thyself unconcerned in this exhortation. "I have a message from God unto thee." In his name, I warn thee "to flee from the wrath to come." Thou unholy soul, see thy picture in condemned Peter, lying in the dark dungeon, between the soldiers, bound with two chains, the keepers before the door keeping the prison. The night is far spent, the morning is at hand, when thou art to be brought forth to execution. And in these dreadful circumstances, thou art fast asleep; thou art fast asleep in the devil's arms, on the brink of the pit, in the jaws of everlasting destruction!
Four alls of Wesleyan Theology:
All need to be saved .
All can be saved.
All can know they are saved.
All can be saved to the uttermost.
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"Getting Ready" – Pastor Brown
Sermon 43 John Wesley
The Scripture Way of Salvation — (excerpt)
18— “But does God work this great work in the soul gradually or instantaneously?” Perhaps it may be gradually wrought in some; I mean in this sense, —they do not advert to the particular moment wherein sin ceases to be. But it us infinitely desirable, were it the will of God, that it should be done instantaneously; that the Lord should destroy sin “by the breath of His mouth,” in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. And so He generally does; a plain fact, of which there is evidence enough to satisfy any unprejudiced person. Thou therefore look for it every moment! Look for it in the way above described; in all those good works whereunto thou art “created anew in Christ Jesus.” There in then no danger: you can be no worse, if you are no better, for that expectation. For were you to be disappointed of your hope, still you lose nothing. But you shall not be disappointed of your hope: it will come, and will not tarry. Look for it then every day, every hour, every moment! Why not this hour, this moment? Certainly you may look for it now, if you believe it is by faith. And by this token you may surely know whether you seek it by faith or by works. If by works, you want something to be done first, before you are sanctified. You think, I must first be or do thus or thus. Then you are seeking it by works unto this day. If you seek it by faith, you may expect it as you are; and expect it now. It is of importance to observe, that there is an inseparable connexion between these three points, —expect it by faith; expect it as you are; and expect it now! To deny one of them, is to deny them all; to allow one, is to allow them all. Do you believe we are sanctified by faith? Be true then to your principle; and look for this blessing just as you are, neither better nor worse; as a poor sinner that has still nothing to pay, nothing to plead, but “Christ died.” And if you look for it as you are, then expect it now. Stay for nothing: why should you? Christ is ready; and He is all you want. He is waiting for you: He is at the door! Let your inmost soul cry out,
Come in, come in, thou heavenly Guest!
Nor hence again remove;
But sup with me, and let the feast
Be everlasting love.
Four alls of Wesleyan Theology:
All need to be saved .
All can be saved.
All can know they are saved.
All can be saved to the uttermost.
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"Worship and Murder" – Pastor Brown
Bible Commentaries Genesis 4
Wesley's Explanatory Notes:
Verse 1
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters, Genesis 5:4. But Cain and Abel seem to have been the two eldest. Cain signifies possession; for Eve when she bare him said with joy and thankfulness, and great expectation, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
Verse 2
And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Abel signifies vanity. The name given to this son is put upon the whole race, Psalms 39:5. Every man is at his best estate vanity; Abel, vanity. He chose that employment which did most befriend contemplation and devotion, for that hath been looked upon as the advantage of a pastoral life. Moses and David kept sheep, and in their solitudes conversed with God.
Verse 3
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
In process of time — At the end of days, either at the end of the year when they kept their feast of in-gathering, or at the end of the days of the week, the seventh day; at some set time Cain and Abel brought to Adam, as the priest of the family, each of them an offering to the Lord; for which we have reason to think there was a divine appointment given to Adam, as a token of God’s favour notwithstanding their apostacy.
Verse 4
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
And the Lord God had respect to Abel and to his offering, and shewed his acceptance of it, probably by fire from heaven but to Cain and to his offering he had not respect. We are sure there was a good reason for this difference: that Governor of the world, though an absolute sovereign, doth not act arbitrarily in dispensing his smiles and frowns — 1. There was a difference in the characters of the persons offering: Cain was a wicked man, but Abel was a righteous man, Matthew 23:352. There was a difference in the offerings they brought. Abel’s was a more excellent sacrifice than Cain’s; Cain’s was only a sacrifice of acknowledgment offered to the Creator; the meat-offerings of the fruit of the ground were no more: but Abel brought a sacrifice of atonement, the blood whereof was shed in order to remission, thereby owning himself a sinner, deprecating God’s wrath, and imploring his favour in a Mediator. But the great difference was, Abel offered in faith, and Cain did not. Abel offered with an eye to God’s will as his rule, and in dependence upon the promise of a Redeemer. But Cain did not offer in faith, and so it turned into sin to him.
Verse 5
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
And Cain was wroth, and his countenance fell - Not so much out of grief as malice and rage. His sullen churlish countenance, and down-look, betrayed his passionate resentment.
Verse 7
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
If thou dost well, shalt thou not be accepted? — Either, 1. If thou hadst done well, as thy brother did, thou shouldest have been accepted as he was. God is no respecter of persons; so that if we come short of acceptance with him, the fault is wholly our own. This will justify God in the destruction of sinners, and will aggravate their ruin. There is not a damned sinner in hell, but if he had done well, as he might have done, had been a glorified saint in heaven. Every mouth will shortly be stopt with this. Or, 2. If now thou do well: if thou repent of thy sin, reform thy heart and life, and bring thy sacrifice in a better manner; thou shalt yet be accepted. See how early the gospel was preached, and the benefit of it here offered even to one of the chief of sinners. He sets before him death and a curse; but, if not well - Seeing thou didst not do well, not offer in faith, and in a right manner, sin lieth at the door - That is, sin only hinders thy acceptance. All this considered, Cain had no reason to he angry with his brother, but at himself only.
Unto thee shall be his desire — He shall continue in respect to thee as an elder brother, and thou, as the first-born, shall rule over him as much as ever. God’s acceptance of Abel’s offering did not transfer the birth-right to him, (which Cain was jealous of) nor put upon him that dignity, and power, which is said to belong to it, Genesis 49:3.
Verse 8
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
And Cain talked with Abel his brother — The Chaldee paraphrast adds, that Cain, when they were in discourse, maintained there was no judgment to come, and that when Abel spoke in defence of the truth, Cain took that occasion to fall upon him. The scripture tells us the reason wherefore he slew him, because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous; so that herein he shewed himself to be a child of the devil, as being an enemy to all righteousness. Observe, the first that dies is a saint, the first that went to the grave, went to heaven. God would secure to himself the first fruits, the first born to the dead, that first opened the womb into another world.
Four alls of Wesleyan Theology:
All need to be saved .
All can be saved.
All can know they are saved.
All can be saved to the uttermost.
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" Breaking the Bread " – Pastor Norman Brown
Welcome to “Pastor Norman” & Sue Brown
Bio
“I began as a youth minister in 1981
I graduated from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree in 1984 and served Southern Baptist churches as pastor until 2001. During that time, I also worked with two missionaries in the Quiana Roo jungle of Mexico in isolated Mayan villages.
I became a full-time chaplain for Covenant Hospice and also began my own business as a Florida Supreme Court certified Mediator for four years
I became a UMC pastor and then elder in 2005 serving various churches until June 2014. During that time, I also served as a supply pastor at the English-speaking Peace Church in Munich, Germany.
Upon retirement I was appointed immediately by the bishop as a part-time retired elder to the two-point charge of Castleberry UMC/Baggett’s Chapel and retired from that charge on September 25, 2022, having served eight years.
Sue and I will celebrate our fiftieth wedding anniversary in October.
We have two children and six grandchildren.
Four alls of Wesleyan Theology:
All need to be saved .
All can be saved.
All can know they are saved.
All can be saved to the uttermost.
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5th Sunday June 2024 -- Blessings to Kenny and Roni in their next chapter of ministry
John Wesley --“Thoughts Upon Methodism”
“I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.”
Four alls of Wesleyan Theology:
All need to be saved .
All can be saved.
All can know they are saved.
All can be saved to the uttermost.
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"The Worthy Walk" -- Dr. Ken Moore
John Wesley
“When I had been a member of the University about ten years, I wrote and talked much as you do now. But when I talked to plain people in the Castle or the town, they gaped and stared. This quickly obliged me to alter my style and adopt the language of those I spoke to. And yet there is dignity in this simplicity, which is not disagreeable to those of the highest rank… You are a Christian minister, speaking and writing to save souls. Have this end always in your eye, and you will never designedly use a hard word. Use all the sense, learning and fire you have, forgetting yourself, and remembering only that these are the souls for whom Christ died.”
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"The Ideal Father" -- Dr. Ken Moore
John Wesley Sermon: “SERMON: The Wisdom Of God’s Counsels”
“And, blessed be God, we see he is now doing the same thing in various parts of the kingdom. In the room of those that have fallen from their steadfastness, or are falling at this day, he is continually raising up out of the stones other children to Abraham. This he does at one or another place, according to his own will; pouring out his quickening Spirit on this or another people, just as it pleaseth him. He is raising up those of every age and degree, young men and maidens, old men and children, to be “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; to show forth His praise, who has called them out of darkness into his marvelous light.” And we have no reason to doubt, but he will continue so to do, till the great promise is fulfilled; till “the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea; till all Israel is saved, and the fullness of the Gentiles is come in.”
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"Christian Joy" -- Dr. Ken Moore
John Wesley Sermon: “Christian Perfection.”
“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved,” both in the Law and in the Prophets, and having the prophetic word confirmed unto us in the Gospel, by our blessed Lord and his apostles; “let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” [2 Cor. 7:1]. “Let us fear, lest” so many “promises being made us of entering into his rest,” which he that has entered into, has ceased from his own works, “any of us should come short of it” [Heb. 4:1]. “This one thing let us do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, let us press toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” [Phil. 3:13–14]; crying unto him day and night, till we also are “delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the sons of God!” [Rom. 8:21].
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These things "ought you to do" -- Dr. Ken Moore
John Wesley: 12 Rules for Leaders
What are the Rules of an Assistant?
Be diligent, never be unemployed a moment, never be triflingly employed, never while away time, spend no more time at any place than is strictly necessary.
Be serious. Let your motto be, ‘Holiness unto the Lord.’ Avoid all lightness as you would hell-fire, and laughing as you would cursing and swearing.
Touch no woman. Be as loving as you will, but hold your hands off ‘em. Custom is nothing to us.
Believe evil of no one. If you see it done, well, else take heed how you credit it. Put the best construction on everything. You know the judge is always sup¬posed to be on the prisoner’s side.
Speak evil of no one, else your word especially would eat as doth a canker. Keep your thoughts within your own breast till you come to the person concerned.
Tell everyone what you think wrong in him, and that plainly, and as soon as may be, else it will fester in your own heart. Make all haste, therefore, to cast the fire out of your bosom.
Do nothing as a gentleman: you have no more to do with this character than with that of a dancing master. You are the servant of all, therefore…
Be ashamed of nothing but sin: not of fetching wood, or drawing water, if time permit; not of clean¬ing your own shoes or your neighbours.
Take no money of any one. If they give you food when you are hungry, or clothes when you need them, it is good. But not silver or gold. Let there be no pretence to say, ‘we grow rich by the Gospel.’
Contract no debt without my knowledge.
Be punctual: do everything exactly at the time; and in general do not mend our rules, but keep them, not for wrath but for conscience sake.
Act in all things, not according to your own will, but as a son in the Gospel. As such, it is your part to employ your time in the manner which we direct: partly in visiting the flock from house to house (the sick in particular); partly, in such course of reading, meditation, and prayer, as we advise from time to time. Above all, if you labour with us in our Lord’s vineyard, it is needful you should do that part of the work which we prescribe at those times and places which we judge most for His glory.
You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go always, not only to those who want you, but to those who want you most.
(Minutes of Conference, 29 June 1744, revised 1745)
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"Freedom is not Free" -- Dr. Ken Moore
John Wesley’s journal entry for May 17, 1740 – “I found more and more undeniable proofs, that the Christian state is a continual warfare; and that we have need every moment to watch and pray lest we enter into temptation.”
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"Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire!" -- Dr. Ken Moore
If [The Holy Spirit] doth not now bear witness with thy spirit, that thou art a child of God, O that he might convince thee, thou poor unawakened sinner, by his demonstration and power, that thou art a child of the devil! O that, as I prophesy, there might now be “a noise and a shaking;” and may “the bones come together, bone to his bone!” Then “come from the four winds, O Breath! and breathe on these slain, that they may live!” And do not ye harden your hearts, and resist the Holy Ghost, who even now is come to convince you of sin, “because you believe not on the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
– John Wesley from sermon “Awake, Thou that Sleepest”
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"Names Believer's Go By" -- Dr. Ken Moore
‘The right and true Christian faith is’ (to go on in the words of our own Church) ‘not only to believe that Holy Scripture and the articles of our faith are true, but also to have a sure trust and confidence to be saved from everlasting damnation by Christ’ – it is a ‘sure trust and confidence’ which a man hath in God ‘that by the merits of Christ his sins are forgiven, and he reconciled to the favour of God’ – ‘whereof doth follow a loving heart to obey his commandments.’
Now whosoever has this faith which ‘purifies the heart,’ by the power of God who dwelleth therein, from pride, anger, desire, ‘from all unrighteousness,’ ‘from all filthiness of flesh and spirit’; which fills it with love stronger than death both to God and to all mankind – love that doth the works of God, glorying to spend and to be spent for all men, and that endureth with joy, not only the reproach of Christ, the being mocked, despised, and hated of all men, but whatsoever the wisdom of God permits the malice of men or devils to inflict; whosoever has this faith, thus ‘working by love,’ is not almost only, but altogether a Christian. [II.5-6] “The Almost Christian” John Wesley
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"An Earth Shaking Faith" -- Dr. Ken Moore
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"Road Signs on the Christian Highway" -- Dr. Ken Moore
Pride
“In the great divorce, C.S. Lewis wrote, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’” God may abandon us to our own will, and hence to our destruction. ” – David F. Watson
Pastor Larry Brown’s abridged message was taken from his own outline below: John Wesley’s Sermon #2 “The Almost Christian “. Acts 26:28 I What Is Being an Almost Christian?
1. An honest person
2. A truthful and just person
3. Has compassion for others
4. Tries to obey the 10 Commandments (The Moral Law)
5. Follows the Golden Rule
6. Cares for neighbors
7. Can be a humble church attender
8. A Pray-er of thoughtful prayers
9. A Sincere and dedicated Church worker
10. Desires to serve God
11. Can anyone do this and not be a Real Christian?
12. John Wesley is an example before 1738
13. He was all this and not yet a Real Christian.
II What is being a Real Christian?
1. A love of God filling the soul
2. A love of neighbor including his enemies 1Corin. 13
3. Has faith in Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior
4. A faith born in repentance, producing love, and good works
5. A trust that his sins are forgiven And a confidence that she is reconciled to God
6. Whoever has this faith is a Real Christian.
7. Are you a Real Christian?
8. Could you be ever so close, but not quite there?
9. Is the love of God in your heart? A genuine love for your neighbor? Faith in his blood that was shed for you? Does God’s spirit assure your spirit that you are a child of God?
10. Awake! Call out to God! Pray! Believe!
11. God will make you a real Christian even now. One who is justified by faith through Jesus with a heart filled with God’s Love!