John Wesley believed that "it is the duty of every Christian to receive the Lord's Supper as often as he can." Why? Wesley answers, in effect, "Because Jesus says so!" In this episode, Bob Kaylor looks at this important sermon and, along with Wesley, offers a challenge (as well as a bit of a rant) focused on the reasons those in the Methodist tradition should re-engage the practice of weekly communion in our worship services. It is a key means of grace through which "we may be assisted to attain those blessings which he hath prepared for us; that we may obtain holiness on earth and everlasting glory in heaven." 

Read The Duty of Constant Communion 

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What did John Wesley believe about eschatology and the end times? The answer is hard to pin down because he doesn't write much about it. His concern was less about the timing and manner of Christ's return than it was about how we should live in light of his coming and the final judgment. Joining the early Methodist societies required each person to have "a desire to flee from the wrath to come," thus God's judgment was as important to Wesley as God's love, which are two sides of the same coin. In "The Great Assize," Wesley sketches out his thoughts on God's judgment and Christ's return and about living in such a way that we "rejoice" when that day comes. 

Read The Great Assize

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In this last Discourse, Wesley once again circles back to the Beatitudes as the "sum of all true religion" and the character of the one who builds his or her spiritual house on the "rock," obeying the teaching of Jesus by walking the narrow way. Many will say "Lord, Lord!" and show their credentials in good works, Bible study, church attendance, and even following the General Rules, and yet without the inward transformation that leads to holiness of heart and life they will not find their way into the Kingdom. This is a hard teaching but an essential one for followers of Christ to understand and embrace; especially those of us in the Methodist tradition. 

Read Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount: Discourse, the Thirteenth

Read the early Christian document The Didache. 

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In Discourse 12, John Wesley looks at Matthew 7:15-20 and Jesus' teaching on recognizing false prophets. If the "ill example" of the crowd is a way of leading some people on the broad highway to hell, the "ill advice" of false prophets speaking a different version of the gospel and the way of Christ is a way of convincing the rest. Wesley identifies the properties of false prophets and then speaks to them directly, inviting all of us to consider the ways in which we have dabbled on the wide road that leads to destruction and calling us back to the narrow path of discipleship. 

Read Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount: Discourse, the Twelfth

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"No stop sign, speed limit; nobody gonna slow me down!" It's hard to read Matthew 7:13-14 and not think of AC/DC shrieking happily about being on the "Highway to Hell;" but as both Jesus and John Wesley warn, that road leads to a literal and figurative dead end. In this Discourse, Wesley contrasts the "inseparable properties" of the wide way that leads to destruction and the narrow way that leads to life. It's an essential part of the Sermon on the Mount and one that challenges us to ask ourselves, "What road am I on?"

Read Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount: Discourse, the Eleventh

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In Discourse 10 on the Sermon on the Mount, John Wesley looks at some of the "hindrances to holiness" that prevent us from living the kind of "real Christianity" outlined by Jesus thus far. One of the most glaring obstacles to holiness is our tendency to judge others in ways that we ourselves would not want to be judged. Wesley says that Jesus' teaching on judging others in Matthew 7:1-12 is a "plain and equitable rule whereby God permits you to determine for yourselves in what manner he shall deal with you in the judgment of the great day.” Wesley links Jesus' teaching on profaning the holy, asking in prayer, and living the "Golden Rule" to this important statement about judgment. It's a lesson that's especially relevant for Christians today in a culture where social media tends to lead us to snap judgments of others. 

Read Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount: Discourse, the Tenth

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It's been said that the only things that ever stay in the middle of the road for long are yellow lines and roadkill. That's true when it comes to serving God or serving "mammon" or money and possessions. As Bob Dylan sang back in the '80s, "You're gonna have to serve somebody," or as Jesus put it, "No one can serve two masters" (Matthew 6:24). In this important Discourse on the important topics of wealth and worry, John Wesley offers some clear teaching on the contrast between serving the one true God and the materialistic gods of this world, and an invitation to stop living in the past or the future and trust God's provision for the present. 

Read Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount: Discourse, the Ninth

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What does it mean to "lay up treasure on earth" versus having treasure in heaven? In this Discourse, John Wesley looks at the relationship of real Christianity to money and possessions and challenges his readers to consider how their use of these things reflects the glory of God. Having a "single eye" to pleasing God is essential for the Christian life, whether it's in our giving, our prayers, our spiritual practices, or in our bank accounts and homes. 

Read Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount: Discourse, the Eighth

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In this shorter Discourse, Wesley looks at Jesus' teaching on fasting in Matthew 6:16-18. This important and yet often neglected means of grace is one that every Christian should practice individually and that Christian communities should engage in corporately especially in times of trial or preparation. The self-denial we practice in fasting also trains us for the kind of self-denial we need in response to temptation and sin. 

Read Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount: Discourse, the Seventh

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"Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven." (Matthew 6:1). In a world where people are always seeking attention and virtue signaling their goodness on social media, the instructions of Jesus in Matthew 6:1-15 are vital teaching for living out "real Christianity." Here in his sixth Discourse  on the Sermon the Mount, John Wesley expounds on Jesus' teaching and his model for prayer, calling us to conform our lives to the will of God and giving God all the glory. Host Bob Kaylor digs deep into this Discourse and offers some contemporary examples of how we can conduct works of mercy and piety in a way that lifts up the Kingdom. 

Read Upon Our Lord's Sermon the Mount: Discourse, the Sixth

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