The Sermons of Charles Wesley

The Sermons of Charles Wesley
Author: Charles Wesley
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 422
Release: 2001-09-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0191520624

Charles Wesley (1707-1788) is widely recognized as one of the greatest writers of the English hymn. The importance of Charles, however, extends well beyond his undoubted poetic abilities, for he is a figure of central importance in the context of the birth and early growth of Methodism, a movement which today has a worldwide presence. It was Charles and not John who first started the Oxford 'Holy Club' from which the ethos and structures of organised Methodism were eventually to emerge. It was Charles rather than John who first experienced the 'strange warming of the heart' that characterised the experience of many eighteenth-century evangelicals; and in the early years it was Charles no less than John who sought to spread, mainly through his preaching, the evangelical message across England, Wales, and Ireland. Eye witness testimony suggests that Charles was a powerful and effective preacher whose homiletic work and skill did much to establish and further the early Methodist cause. In this book this other side of Charles Wesley is brought clearly into focus through the publication, for the first time, of all of the known Charles Wesley sermon texts. In the four substantial introductory chapters a case is made for the inclusion of the 23 sermons here presented and there is discussion also of the significant text-critical problems that have been negotiated in the production of this volume. Other chapters present a summary of Charles's life and preaching career and seek to show by example how the sermons, no less than the hymns, are significant vehicles for the transmission of Charles's message. This book hence makes a plea for a reassessment of the place of Charles Wesley in English Church history and argues that he deserves to be recognised as more than just 'The Sweet Singer of Methodism'.

Pain, Passion and Faith

Pain, Passion and Faith
Author: Joanna Cruickshank
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 202
Release: 2009-11-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0810873982

Pain, Passion and Faith: Revisiting the Place of Charles Wesley in Early Methodism is a significant study of the 18th-century poet and preacher Charles Wesley. Wesley was an influential figure in 18th-century English culture and society; he was co-founder of the Methodist revival movement and one of the most prolific hymn-writers in the English language. His hymns depict the Christian life as characterized by a range of intense emotions, from ecstatic joy to profound suffering. With this book, author Joanna Cruickshank examines the theme of suffering in Charles WesleyOs hymns, to help us understand how early Methodist men and women made sense of the physical, emotional and spiritual pains they experienced. Cruickshank uncovers an area of significant disagreement within the Methodist leadership and illuminates Methodist culture more broadly, shedding light on early Methodist responses to contemporary social issues like charity, slavery, and capital punishment.

Wesleyan Eucharistic Spirituality

Wesleyan Eucharistic Spirituality
Author: Lorna Lock-Nah Khoo
Publisher: ATF Press
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2005
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781920691318

The central thesis of the book is that there is a distinctive Wesleyan eucharistic spirituality. Looking at Wesleys's eucharistic practices, theology and sources, the writer identifies a spirituality that has a number of key themes. These revolve around the dynamic encounter with a personal Christ, the grace filled life, the therapeutic growth towards holiness and wholenes. They provide a way of looking at life and the formation of characters which may conform to the image of the Christ. While there were several reasons for the decline of Weslyean eucharistic spirituality after the death of the Wesleys, the writer maintains that this spirituality can be rediscovered, revived and communicated in new forms so as to impact Methodists around the world who are facing the challenges of the 21st century. The author is a pastor in a Methodist Church in Singapore.