the ministry of PRESENCE METHODISM 101 PRAYERS, PRESENCE, GIFTS, SERVICE, and WITNESS 4/6/16

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1 METHODISM 101 In our Covenant membership vows we promise to be loyal to Christ through The United Methodist Church and to faithfully participate in the ministries of the church with our PRAYERS, PRESENCE, GIFTS, SERVICE, and WITNESS the ministry of PRESENCE 1

2 ALDERSGATE STREET The Aldersgate experience and was crucial for Wesley s own life and an inspiration for the whole Wesleyan movement. It is fair to say Wesley experienced the presence of the Lord in a new and profound way The Aldersgate Prayer 2

3 The last words of John Wesley: the best of all God is with us The Ministry of Presence Showing Up Matters! PRESENCE let s begin with God s presence with us 3

4 God s presence with us before creation in creation pillars of cloud and fire by the prophets by the Spirit of the Lord God s presence with us before creation in creation pillars of cloud and fire by the prophets by the Spirit of the Lord in his Son, Jesus Christ! God s presence with us God s presence with us and with all of creation is most clearly and most definitively seen in the Son the incarnation the Word made flesh 4

5 and God s presence continues to be made known to us by the power of the Holy Spirit TABLE TALK 1 God s Presence with Us: WHAT DOES IT MATTER THAT GOD COMES TO US IN CHRIST AND BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? The Incarnation During the season of Advent, we anticipate the presence of God with us Emmanuel. We anticipate that God promises to send the Messiah and Savior of the people. We anticipate that God comes to us in Christ. 5

6 The Incarnation During the season of Christmas, we celebrate the presence of God with us. We celebrate that God: comes to us as one of us The Incarnation God in Christ comes to us as one of us o so that nothing of us remains untouched o to preach, teach, heal, and show us how to live by example o (and) by the power of the Holy Spirit to continue God s work of creation, re-creation, and salvation TABLE TALK 2 So what does God s presence with us have to do with our promise to faithfully support the ministries of Christ s church with our presence? 6

7 PRESENCE: WORSHIP PRESENCE: CLASS MEETINGS TABLE TALK 3 HOW HAS PARTICIPATION AND PRESENCE IN A SMALL GROUP STRENGTHENED YOUR DISCIPLESHIP? 7

8 PRESENCE: CONFERENCING TABLE TALK 4 HOW DOES THIS CHANGE YOUR VIEW OF THE CONFERENCE? The last words of John Wesley: the best of all God is with us 8

9 A COVENANT PRAYER IN THE WESLEYAN TRADITION I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for thee, or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low by thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Thou art mine and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen. 9

10 WESLEY QUOTES Blest Be the Dear Uniting Love Blest be the dear uniting love that will not let us part; Our bodies may far off remove, we still are one in heart. Joined in one spirit to our Head, where he appoints we go, And still in Jesus footsteps tread, and do his work below. O may we ever walk in him, and nothing know beside, Nothing desire, nothing esteem but Jesus crucified. We all are one who him receive, and each with each agree, In him the One, the Truth, we live, blest point of unity! Partakers of the Savior s grace, the same in mind and heart, Nor joy, nor grief, nor time, nor place, nor life, nor death can part. And Are We Yet Alive And are we yet alive, and see each other s face? Glory and thanks to Jesus give for his almighty grace! Preserved by power divine to full salvation here, Again in Jesus name we join, and in his sight appear. What troubles have we seen, what mighty conflicts past, Fightings without and fears within since we assembled last! Yet out of all the Lord hath brought us by his love; And still he doth his help afford, and hides our life above. Then let us make our boast of his redeeming power, Which saves us to the uttermost, till we can sin no more. Let us take up the cross till we the crown obtain, And gladly reckon all things loss so we may Jesus gain. - Charles Wesley, Charles Wesley, 1749

11 Rules for the Band- Societies The design of our meeting is, to obey that command of God, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed." To this end, we intend,- 1. To meet once a week, at the least. 2. To come punctually at the hour appointed, without some extraordinary reason. 3. To begin (those of us who are present) exactly at the hour, with singing or prayer. 4. To speak each of us in order, freely and plainly, the true state of our souls, with the faults we have committed in thought, word, or deed, and the temptations we have felt, since our last meeting. 5. To end every meeting with prayer, suited to the state of each person present. 6. To desire some person among us; to speak his own state first, and then to ask the rest, in order, as many and as searching questions as may be, concerning their state, sins, and temptations. Some of the questions proposed to every one before he is admitted among us may be to this effect:- 1. Have you the forgiveness of your sins? 2. Have you peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ? 3. Have you the witness of God's Spirit with your spirit, that you are a child of God? 4. Is the love of God shed abroad in your heart? 5. Has no sin, inward or outward, dominion over you? 6. Do you desire to be told your faults? 7. Do you desire to be told of all your faults, and that plain and home? 8. Do you desire that every one of us should tell you, from time to time, whatsoever is in his heart concerning you? 9. Consider! Do you desire we should tell you whatsoever we think, whatsoever we fear, whatsoever we hear, concerning you? 10. Do you desire that, in doing this, we should come as close as possible, that we should cut to the quick, and search your heart to the bottom? 11. Is it your desire and design to be on this, and all other occasions, entirely open, so as to speak everything that is in your heart without exception, without disguise, and without reserve? *Any of the preceding questions may be asked as often as occasion offers; the four following at every meeting:- 1. What known sins have you committed since our last meeting? 2. What temptations have you met with? 3. How were you delivered? 4. What have you thought, said, or done, of which you doubt whether it be sin or not? - John Wesley, 1738