Wednesdays with Wesley is back from hiatus with an episode on the Wesley Covenant Service, which some Methodist churches use on the first Sunday of the New Year. Host Bob Kaylor offers a brief history of the service and then takes a look at the elements of the liturgy that renew our covenant with God and counter our culture's rugged individualism with a promise of surrender to God's will. 

You can access the United Methodist version of the Wesley Covenant Service here for your church or for your own use. 

Email the show at [email protected] and follow Bob on Twitter @revbkaylor. 

As we near Holy Week and Easter, this sermon from John Wesley gives us a solid foundation not only for understanding the resurrection of Jesus but also for leaning into the promise of our own resurrection. Using Paul's treatise on the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 and borrowing from an earlier work by Benjamin Calamy, Wesley addresses the question that Paul raises: "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?" (1 Corinthians 15:35 NRSV). Understanding the resurrection from a biblical perspective challenges the Platonist and disembodied ways in which many Christians have perceived it and invites us to live out the implications of a new embodied life in the present as well as the future. 

Read Sermon 137: On the Resurrection of the Dead

Get a copy of N.T. Wright's book Surprised by Hope

Send your questions and comments to Bob Kaylor at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @revbkaylor

As the United Methodist Church goes through a painful separation, John Wesley's sermon "On Schism" is instructive. Bob Kaylor looks at Wesley's definition of schism, what the criteria for separation should be, and how to avoid the "evil tempers" that always accompany divisions in the body of Christ. 

Read On Schism

Email your questions and comments to [email protected]. Follow Bob on Twitter @revbkaylor and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform. 

In 1786, near the end of his life, John Wesley wrote "Thoughts Upon Methodism" as both a historic look back at the origins of the Methodist movement and a cautionary look ahead to its future. This short piece, which appeared in The Arminian Magazine in 1787, is best known for its opening quote: 

"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."

But what did Wesley mean by "doctrine, spirit, and discipline?" What was the biggest obstacle to the movement's goal of cultivating "holiness of heart and life" in its people? In this episode, host Bob Kaylor breaks down Wesley's views and offers some of his own on how a "mainline" Methodism needs to recapture its roots in order to be viable for the present and future. 

Read Thoughts Upon Methodism (beginning at page 134 of the pdf)

Send your questions and comments to [email protected] and follow Bob Kaylor on Twitter @revbkaylor. 

In this special episode, Bob chats with Madeline Henners about her essay on the role of the Holy Spirit in Wesleyan Christianity in the new book The Next Methodism: Theological, Social, and Missional Foundations for Global Methodism. Madeline suggests that while most Methodists see Wesley's Aldersgate experience as the catalyst of the movement, the real "Methodist Pentecost" happened on January 1, 1739, at Fetter Lane. Madeline discusses the reasons why mainline Methodism seems to have neglected the power of the Holy Spirit and offers some suggestions about how we might reengage the Spirit's power. 

Get your copy of The Next Methodism. 

Contact Madeline at [email protected]

Contact the show at [email protected] and follow Bob on Twitter @revbkaylor. 

One of the byproducts of the pandemic and its times of isolation has been our tendency to get lost in our own thoughts. Many people have reported having difficulty in focusing, being more anxious than usual, spending too much time on their devices, or struggling with their relationship with God. A lot of our problems stem from what Adam Grant calls "languishing," or "a state of stagnation and emptiness" that feels as though we are muddling through our days and "looking at life through a foggy windshield." John Wesley's sermon on "Wandering Thoughts" is thus a helpful guide for our times and an encouragement to refocus our thought life on what really matters. Written long before the days of cell phones, screens, and notifications, Wesley offers some wisdom for sorting out which thought patterns lead to sin from those distractions that are merely part of being human. Learning to mitigate those distractions and "take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5) is key to living a sanctified life. 

Read Wandering Thoughts

Read Adam Grant's article on "languishing" in The New York Times (may be behind paywall) or, better yet, listen to his TED Talk on languishing.

Check out Cal Newport's book Digital Minimalism 

Send your questions and comments to host Bob Kaylor at [email protected] and follow Bob on Twitter @revbkaylor

John Wesley's bestselling book was not a work of theology, but a book of medical remedies titled Primitive Physick, or an easy and natural Method of Curing Most Diseases. In a time when medical care by doctors was primarily the privilege of the wealthy, Wesley offered medical advice and free pills and elixirs to the poor as a way of upholding the Methodist General Rule of doing all the good you can to the souls and bodies of people. While Wesley's remedies may seem quaint and misguided by modern medical standards, they do reveal the heart of the Methodist movement as being concerned for the salvation of the whole person. In this episode, host Bob Kaylor offers a glimpse into this fascinating (and quirky) work of Wesley.

Grab a copy of Primitive Physick.

Read Samuel Rogal's interesting article in The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine. 

Send your questions and comments to the host at [email protected] and follow Bob Kaylor on Twitter @revbkaylor. 

In this sequel to "The Wilderness State," John Wesley describes the "heaviness" that all Christians experience through various trials that come their way; and yet this "heaviness" is not the same as the "darkness" he described in the previous sermon. While "the wilderness state" can lead to a loss of faith, a period of "heaviness" can lead to an increase of faith, hope, love, and holiness. While God doesn't visit these trials on us, says Wesley, God does allow them as a way of purifying our faith, confirming our hope, and perfecting us in love. 

Read Heaviness Through Manifold Temptations

Note: "Wednesdays with Wesley" will be taking a hiatus for the holidays. We'll be back in January 2022 with a look at more of Wesley's sermons and writings. Happy Advent and Christmas to all! 

One of the troubling trends of recent years has been the "deconstructing" of the Christian faith by some high-profile Christian leaders. Add to that the rise of "ex-vangelicals," the "nones," and the "dones" and it seems like a lot of people are moving away from Christianity. What they're moving toward, however, isn't the absence of faith, but rather faith in a different sort of secular religion where the overarching narrative of Scripture is replaced by the story of the self.

The people of God have always faced the temptation of rival religions and the "greener grass" of getting out from under the "repressive" rules and difficult way of cross-bearing discipleship. Like the Israelites in the wilderness, we've often faced the temptation to go back to Egypt and its delights--forgetting, of course, that Egypt also meant slavery! The big question is, "How do we avoid getting stuck in a spiritual wilderness and avoid the temptation to give in and go back to the self-focused life? That's the question with which John Wesley wrestles in "The Wilderness State."

Read The Wilderness State

Check out Carl Trueman's book The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self.

Send your questions and comments to host Bob Kaylor at [email protected] and follow Bob on Twitter @revbkaylor.

In this sermon, John Wesley offers what is arguably one of the greatest (and simplest) messages on financial stewardship in all of Christian history. Wesley doesn't see money itself as evil--on the contrary, when it is used well it can have a tremendous impact for the Kingdom of God. "Gain all you can. Save all you can. Give all you can." It's good advice for every Christian in evaluating his or her use of money! 

Read The Use of Money

Send your comments and questions to host Bob Kaylor at [email protected]. Follow Bob on Twitter @revbkaylor.