Rev. Joan Pell Sierra Pines United Methodist Church Sermon: 04/15/018 Series: Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It Scripture: Revelation :1-5, 3:14- Precursors to Revival NOTE: This sermon is mainly a summary of the ideas in the book and DVD by Adam Hamilton called Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It In any Christians life, spiritual vitality waxes and wanes over time. Fire diminishes and will even go out if we do not tend to it; if we get too busy and are not intentional about our faith. We all need reviving from time to time. Perhaps the word revival conjures up tent meetings and altar calls, but the word also means reinvigorate, restore, renew, revitalize. What is true for individuals is also true for churches and denominations. The book of Revelation was written by Paul to 7 churches, each of whom had once been dynamic centers of Christianity. Listen to what Paul says they are like now. <Revelation :1-5> :1 To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. 3 I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. <Revelation 3:14- selections> 3:14 And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God s creation: 15 I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, 1
I am about to spit you out of my mouth.. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. 0 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. This pattern of declining spiritual vitality was not unique to the 7 churches in the book of Revelation. We see it throughout the Old Testament as the people pledge their allegiance to God and then fall away time and again. We all go through these times. Paul s response to the church in Ephesus is to tell them to repent, and do the works you did at first. The seeds of revival are to be found in the story of our beginning. Adam Hamilton, a UM pastor in Kansas, wrote the book and made the video that this sermon series is based upon. His hope was that by publishing this material, and look at what the early Methodists did so that we can rediscover our own vital faith, and have a modern-day revival. Methodism started as a revival of Christianity in England and spread like wildfire across America. What lessons can we find for our own journey? So we are going on a journey with Rev. Hamilton to my birth country, to England. Each week we are going to watch about a 10-minute video segment and then I will close it out with some further remarks. [Today, I ll go a little longer that the other weeks!] Before we set off let s take a look at the geography. <Explain UK>. Then locate Epworth, Oxford, London, Bristol. Epworth is a village population now about 4000 and 150 miles, 3.5 hours from London.> And now some historical background. For 00 years before John Wesley s birth, (which was in 1703), Europe had been in religious conflict. Europe was Roman Catholic. In 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door in Germany objecting to some Roman Catholic practices and sparking off the Reformation and the breaking away of what became the Protestant Church from the Roman Catholics. At around same time Henry VIII was on the throne in England and wanted a male heir that he and his wife had not produced. He wanted his marriage annulled, which the Pope would not do. In 1534, less than 0 years after Luther nailed 95 theses in Germany, King Henry s desire for divorce led to another Roman Catholic split and the creation of the Church of England / Episcopal Church. This new church was still like Catholics but had no Pope, but Henry VIII as its head.
Edward VI aligned Protestant Mary I restored Catholic and ordered Protestant leaders put to death (bloody Mary) Elizabeth I compromise / Protestant James I, 1603 balance KJV Bible. Puritans arose; they opposed to Catholics, thought Protestants had not gone far enough Charles 1 married a Catholic and alienated Puritans which led to Civil War Oliver Cromwell led Puritans to victory. For 9 years was no monarchy Charles II, 1658 Restoration & Church of England came back, dissenters were punished and had to submit to an Act of Uniformity that was passed The English people were weary after 00 years of religious upheaval. Then the era of the Enlightenment began with its reason and scientific rationalism; which also started to erode religious fervor. This was the seedbed for the 18 th Century revival in which Wesley played a big part. JW s Grandparents were Puritan and his parents were CofE. Let s go to Epworth! <Show Video Chapter 1: Precursors to Revival> 1 In the video Adam Hamilton visits Epworth. The opening scenes include the village of Epworth with the Red Lion pub and the market cross in the village square. Hamilton begins in the rectory (parsonage) and talks about how John Wesley s mother Susanna was highly educated and raised the children educating them in the faith in the kitchen of the rectory. We are in the new rectory because in 1709 the old rectory was burned to ground probably by parishioners who were upset with JW s father Samuel, who was rector (pastor) for 39 years of the parish church of St. Andrew. Next Hamilton takes us to the 1 th Century church; we see the inside the church including the baptismal font and communion chalice, and outside the church, we see Samuel s grave, which JW climbed on top of to preach on one famous occasion. In the garden of the rectory, we learn about the book/pamphlet JW wrote called The Primitive Physic where he described the curative abilities of different plants. Finally, Hamilton talks some more about the parsonage fire and how JW was saved as a 5 year-old and referred thereafter to as a brand plucked from the burning, a reference to the words of the prophet Zechariah; from that point JW felt like he was saved for something special. 1 Adam Hamilton, Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 014), DVD Chapter 1 - Precursors to Revival Epworth. 3
Adrian and I visited Epworth in summer 017. My observations of the place: House not originally this size; it was extended over the years. Church is 0.3 miles away. JW s parents Samuel and Susanna Wesley played a huge part in the forming of his faith. Susanna in particular as we heard was an educated woman, which was unusual in those days. She was very intentional about teaching her children, passing her faith on, in spending time each week individually with each child talking to them about the state of their souls. As an adult JW still valued her thoughts we have lay preachers today because of her insights JW thought it should only be the ordained. Never underestimate the power of a praying mother; or the power of anyone praying for a child. As parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts, we all have a role to play. Do you pray with them, read scripture, talk about faith and spiritually mentor the children who are close to you? You are the fruit of someone s witness. Who is the fruit of yours? If you have ever left the church and come back, someone was praying you back. Who are you praying back to church? JW was also greatly impacted by his father Samuel. John s parents were committed Anglicans embracing the Book of Common Prayer while both sets of grandparents were Puritans who had been cast out of their church because of the Uniformity Act. It wasn t covered on the video just now, but John had to navigate that family dynamic, and adopted a posture called via media or the middle way learning to listen to people on opposite sides of the theological divide and to embrace the best of both sides. One of his most famous sermons is the Catholic Spirit in which he wrote though we can t think alike, may we not love alike? Perhaps we should be taking a lesson in this type of humility in today s polarization where divisiveness and conflict drain us of spiritual vitality. Having a spirit like JW means assuming the best of others not the worst, giving them the benefit of the doubt, speaking well of others, listening more and talking less; not giving up our convictions but testing them. I ve found that it is easy to be adamantly opposed to a viewpoint when no one I care about holds that viewpoint (theological, political or ethical) but when it is your friends or family then it is harder, and the test comes in how we listen, learn from and love others. A key element in personal and corporate revival is a willingness to see the good in others, hold our positions with humility and treat others with respect; so that our hearts are open to God s transformation. Samuel & Susanna Wesley s life was not an easy one. They faced suffering and opposition. They lost 9 children at childbirth or in early childhood. They were often in 4
debt, and Samuel spent some time in debtor s prison. Samuel s beliefs upset parishioners rectory burned down. Yet Samuel did not give up. He had a purpose to pursue. Each time he was knocked down, he returned to the pulpit. As he grew up JW learned don t run, don t turn from your faith, don t give up against the backdrop of knowing his life had been spared in the fire for a purpose. JW came to realize that his purpose in life was to reach those who did not have the gospel in their lives and help them to find Christ; then to send those folk out to live out their faith transforming their communities by embodying the love of Christ; and he felt a call to be a part of renewing the church. Have you had a profound experience like that? Have you persevered through suffering or opposition? Have you worked out the purpose of your life? How are you going to use the time that you have left? What is God calling you to do? So, today we have talked about some important precursors to the 18 th century Methodist revival, and our own personal renewal: Wesley had parents who prayed for and spiritually mentored him, he had a humble, teachable spirit, and he learned perseverance in the face of opposition, and he found his purpose in life. Over the next few weeks, we will look more at that call on his life and how he fulfilled it. Thanks be to God, Amen. Let us pray. Resources Loving God, we confess that sometimes our faithful vitality wilts and we give our spiritual lives little attention. Speak to us through the faithful beginnings of our Methodist heritage. We give thanks for those who have quietly prayed for us over many years, and lift our own children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and the children of this congregation. Free us from our foolish judgments about others and instill in us a loving catholic spirit so that our personal differences seem as incidental to us as they are to you. Place in us an understanding of our purpose in life and what you are calling us to do. Transform us and fill us with vitality. Amen. Hamilton, Adam. Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 014. [Book and DVD]. Adam Hamilton, Revival: Faith as Wesley Lived It (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 014), 3. 5