Concord United Sermons

Ordinary Being Extraordinary | Rev. Wil Cantrell

We often hear in church that we should pray and read the Bible.  Those seem like good answers to the question of how to be a good Christian.  For John Wesley, praying, reading scripture, fasting, and Holy Communion weren’t just about being a good Christian. Participating in the “means of grace” for Wesley was about engaging in the means which convey God’s grace.  These means are not about earning God’s grace, but experiencing God’s grace.  As individuals and as a community of faith, engaging in the means of grace are a part of who we are. 

 

As Jesus gathered with his disciples on the night in which he was betrayed, he shared in The Last Supper, a meal far more than bread and wine.  John Wesley described the sacraments of Holy Communion and baptism as “outward signs of inward grace”.  Each time we come to the communion table or baptize someone, we are claiming the truth about God’s grace at work. 

Scripture - Acts 2:42-47; Luke 22:14-20

Life Together | Rev. Sabine Collins

Following Jesus is not limited to one hour a week on Sunday.  The “method” part of Methodism comes from the methodical ways that Methodists live.  A part of the method is living in a community together.  For Wesley, this community of small groups was not limited to teaching and listening.  For Wesley, being part of a weekly group where folks really knew you was significant for growing in faith and following of Jesus.  There were two types of groups: class meetings and bands.  The class meetings were approximately 12 persons who met weekly with a leader with the purpose to “watch over one another in love”.  These groups were focused on checking in on the condition of one’s soul and to encourage, loving God and loving others. 

Scripture - Matthew 22:37-40; Hebrews 10:19-25

Life Together | Rev. Brooke Hartman

Following Jesus is not limited to one hour a week on Sunday.  The “method” part of Methodism comes from the methodical ways that Methodists live.  A part of the method is living in a community together.  For Wesley, this community of small groups was not limited to teaching and listening.  For Wesley, being part of a weekly group where folks really knew you was significant for growing in faith and following of Jesus.  There were two types of groups: class meetings and bands.  The class meetings were approximately 12 persons who met weekly with a leader with the purpose to “watch over one another in love”.  These groups were focused on checking in on the condition of one’s soul and to encourage, loving God and loving others. 

Scripture - Matthew 22:37-40; Hebrews 10:19-25

A New Way | Rev. Wil Cantrell

Nicodemus, a Pharisee, comes to Jesus at night.  Their conversation focuses being born again.  Jesus explains that this is a birth of the spirit not of the flesh.  In John Wesley’s sermon, The New Birth, he speaks of justifying and sanctifying grace.  Wesley used the analogy of a house to describe grace.  The driveway/porch is prevenient grace, God’s love drawing us to him.  Justifying grace is the door entering the house.  We walk through.  We move from unbelief to belief.  This is not our own doing, but God’s work in us. Sanctifying grace is God’s grace in our lives as we seek to live a life following him.  The inside of the house completes Wesley’s analogy of grace, signifying our lives are a process of God’s love at work in and through us.  Coming to faith is not an event, it is a process for a lifetime. 

Scripture - John 3:1-17

A New Way | Rev. Brooke Hartman

Nicodemus, a Pharisee, comes to Jesus at night.  Their conversation focuses being born again.  Jesus explains that this is a birth of the spirit not of the flesh.  In John Wesley’s sermon, The New Birth, he speaks of justifying and sanctifying grace.  Wesley used the analogy of a house to describe grace.  The driveway/porch is prevenient grace, God’s love drawing us to him.  Justifying grace is the door entering the house.  We walk through.  We move from unbelief to belief.  This is not our own doing, but God’s work in us. Sanctifying grace is God’s grace in our lives as we seek to live a life following him.  The inside of the house completes Wesley’s analogy of grace, signifying our lives are a process of God’s love at work in and through us.  Coming to faith is not an event, it is a process for a lifetime. 

Scripture - John 3:1-17

There’s Got to be More Than This | Rev. Brooke Hartman

Armed with his knowledge and experiences of the methodical ways of a small group, Wesley headed to the colony of Georgia to convert those living in the colony.  His experience was unsuccessful in multiple ways.  He returned to his home in England in a crisis of faith.  He had head knowledge, yet something was missing.  A significant event for Wesley was witnessing a group of Moravians respond to a life and death situation at sea.  He wondered why he feared death and they had peace.  Wesley would soon have what he described as “his heart strangely warmed” at Aldersgate while listening to Luther’s Preface to Romans.  Wesley’s Aldersgate’s experience transformed him and ignited in him an experience that transcended his head knowledge.  The words of Romans 5 rest at the heart of Wesley’s experience and ours too. 

Scripture - Romans 5:1-11

There’s Got to be More Than This | Rev. Wil Cantrell

Armed with his knowledge and experiences of the methodical ways of a small group, Wesley headed to the colony of Georgia to convert those living in the colony.  His experience was unsuccessful in multiple ways.  He returned to his home in England in a crisis of faith.  He had head knowledge, yet something was missing.  A significant event for Wesley was witnessing a group of Moravians respond to a life and death situation at sea.  He wondered why he feared death and they had peace.  Wesley would soon have what he described as “his heart strangely warmed” at Aldersgate while listening to Luther’s Preface to Romans.  Wesley’s Aldersgate’s experience transformed him and ignited in him an experience that transcended his head knowledge.  The words of Romans 5 rest at the heart of Wesley’s experience and ours too. 

Scripture: Romans 5:1-11

God Goes First | Rev. Wil Cantrell

Scripture:  Ephesians 2:8-10

Wesley Sermon:  The Scripture Way of Salvation

At the heart of Wesleyan belief is prevenient grace.  Prevenient grace is that God loves us first, that God pursues us.  God’s loving us first is evidenced in the words of Ephesians 2:8, “it is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”.  John Wesley was raised in a religious home with parents who influenced his understanding of God.  Wesley’s early life experiences, education, in addition to his family experiences informed his understanding of who God is.  God’s preventing grace was at work within Wesley throughout his early life, just as with each of us.  God pursues us.   We point to Wesley because Wesley points to Jesus. 

God Goes First | Rev. Brooke Hartman

Scripture:  Ephesians 2:8-10

Wesley Sermon:  The Scripture Way of Salvation

At the heart of Wesleyan belief is prevenient grace.  Prevenient grace is that God loves us first, that God pursues us.  God’s loving us first is evidenced in the words of Ephesians 2:8, “it is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God”.  John Wesley was raised in a religious home with parents who influenced his understanding of God.  Wesley’s early life experiences, education, in addition to his family experiences informed his understanding of who God is.  God’s preventing grace was at work within Wesley throughout his early life, just as with each of us.  God pursues us.   We point to Wesley because Wesley points to Jesus. 

Where to Find Jesus | Rev. Wil Cantrell

When the women came to the tomb to anoint Jesus body, the angel asked them a pointed question: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” They were looking for Jesus in the wrong place. Where should we look to find the Risen Christ? According to Luke’s Gospel, we should look to find his presence with the least, the last, and the lost. And we should look to find Jesus in our own hearts if they are humble enough to receive him. Sometimes we have a pride that says, Jesus couldn’t really be present in our hearts and couldn’t really be alive and at work in our world b/c we can’t understand intellectually how he could rise from the dead, or because we can’t feel him near all the time or because life’s harder than we wish it was. But if we learn to be humble and to love the people Jesus loved, we will see his resurrected presence all around us.

Scripture - Luke 24:1-11