Knowing What We Have: The Methodist Liturgical Heritage (Part III) by Matt Sigler

“The efforts at Methodist liturgical revision that culminated in the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal and 1992 Book of Worship were often disregarded by those seeking to make their worship services more “contemporary.” As “contemporary worship” became an increasingly viable option for Methodists, many completely rejected the hymnal or anything that appeared to be rooted in the past. While Methodist “contemporary”

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Christian Perfection: Problem Or Promise? by Kevin Watson

“Sanctification is not about something that I either have to do to make myself better, or for which I have to feel guilty about not being good enough. It is a ‘work of God’s grace.’ Entire sanctification is really nothing more than
God’s grace freeing us from everything that has kept us chained to sin and death. The Triune

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Maxie Dunnam ~ Prayer and Fasting: Embracing Voluntary Weakness

Fasting is more than denying ourselves food. It is choosing to act out, by temporarily denying ourselves food, that we do not live by bread alone. We are completely dependent upon God, and we deliberately choose voluntary weakness. We become identifiably humble in the face of the problems with which we are dealing. We admit to each other, and primarily

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Holy Communion: Celebrating God With Us (Part 1) by Ken Loyer

The more Christians link Communion with spiritual formation and daily faith practice, the more likely the church will be invigorated and empowered to carry out its missional mandate to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Through the service of Communion, the church remembers and celebrates the presence of God with us.

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Truth, Beauty & Tragedy: How To Be Happy by Elizabeth Glass Turner

“Jack, take your hands off of your ears.” “But I don’t want to hear what you are saying!” This is what shoppers strolling down store aisles could overhear recently. Alas, the four year old had acted up; alas, Mama had to intervene with a reminder of behavior expectations. But the child had realized that with hearing comes accountability. If I

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Rise Up!

Some time ago, I was called to an assisted living home. The staff wanted me to talk with a guy who was really giving them a hard time and they were at their wit’s end. This 92-year old guy who claimed to be an atheist was struggling because he felt like he might die any day and he didn’t know

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Knowing What We Have: The Methodist Liturgical Heritage (Part II) by Matthew Sigler

At issue was the question of what made Methodist worship distinctly Methodist. Drawing from Wesley’s example, Summers argued that form and freedom should go hand in hand in Methodist worship. Even today these disagreements over what makes Methodist worship “Methodist” continue. For all the talk over “high” and “low” church; “spirit-led” and “ordered;” or “contemporary” and “traditional”—whatever the current iteration

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The Parable-Life by Cole Bodkin

Do you ever find yourself struggling with bridging the horizons from ancient to modern? Recently, I was allotted the task to preach the Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32). Realizing that this passage is difficult to understand apart from its context, I decided to expand the sermon to Matthew 21:23-32. As I was drawing things together and preparing for

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Birthing A Church by Michael Smith

As pastors we have to understand that as we serve our church, it will begin to look like us. Our shared life will rub off on each other. We will take on the DNA of that local church body and always carry it with us. And part of who we are will always stay with them. We are related after

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Doubt’s Big Bang by Talbot Davis

I have known for several years that on some level behavior precedes doubt.
In other words, we don’t arrive at our shadow of doubt by objective analysis of relevant facts; instead, most of us begin to act a certain way and then circle back around and develop some doubts to substantiate that behavior.
We don’t think our way

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The Bible: Source of the Transformed Life

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/21890009/height/100/width//thumbnail/no/render-playlist/no/theme/custom/tdest_id/3433802/custom-color/87A93A” height=”100″ width=”100%” scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen] Rev. Dr. Dave Smith serves as Associate Professor at Indiana Wesleyan University’s School of Theology and Ministry as well as Assistant Pastor at College Wesleyan Church www.profdavesmith.com Let us hear from you: podcast@worldmethodist.org www.worldmethodist.org Connect with Rob on Social Media: @DrRobHaynes Find us on Social Media: Facebook Twitter Instagram

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The Breath of God by Kim Reisman

Scripture Focus: God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me – my whole life one long, obedient response. Guide me down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway! Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up

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Centering Prayer: Interview with Dr. Brian Russell

Dr. Brian Russell is the author of Centering Prayer: Sitting Quietly in God’s Presence Can Change Your Life, a uniquely rich resource for spiritual formation that draws on meaningful traditions of the church across centuries. For those sensing the need for fresh practices to widen or deepen their prayer habits, Centering Prayer beckons with wisdom that outlasts stale New Year’s

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Mobilizing Evangelists

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/21790325/height/100/width//thumbnail/no/render-playlist/no/theme/custom/tdest_id/3433802/custom-color/87A93A” height=”100″ width=”100%” scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen] Rev. Dr. Desmond Henry is Executive Director, Global Network of Evangelists, Luis Palau Association https://www.evangelist.global/  desmond.henry@palau.org Let us hear from you: podcast@worldmethodist.org  www.worldmethodist.org Connect with Rob on Social Media: @DrRobHaynes Find us on Social Media: Facebook Twitter Instagram  Check out this episode!

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The Post-Pandemic Church

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/21637583/height/100/width//thumbnail/no/render-playlist/no/theme/custom/tdest_id/3433802/custom-color/87A93A” height=”100″ width=”100%” scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen] Stuart Kellogg is Regional Cohort Director/Fellows Program at Colson Center for Christian Worldview Book: bit.ly/PostCovidChurchBook Web site: www.thepostcovidchurch.com Facebook Group: bit.ly/thepostcovidchurch Contact me: stuart@thepostcovidchurch.org Let us hear from you: podcast@worldmethodist.org Connect with Rob on Social Media: @DrRobHaynes Find us on Social Media: Facebook Twitter Instagram  Check out this episode!

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Embrace the Change: End of the Year Episode

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/21525284/height/100/width//thumbnail/no/render-playlist/no/theme/custom/tdest_id/3433802/custom-color/87A93A” height=”100″ width=”100%” scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen] Your host is Rob Haynes, Direct of Education and Leadership for World Methodist Evangelism www.worldmethodist.org/podcast Let us hear from you: podcast@worldmethodist.org Connect with Rob on Social Media: @DrRobHaynes Find us on Social Media: Facebook Twitter Instagram Check out this episode!

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Redeeming the Tragedy by Rob Haynes

In 1940, Sergei Prokofiev shook the world with his ballet adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Prokofiev, an accomplished composer and artist, brought many new elements to his rendition of Romeo and Juliet. However, he stirred a great deal of controversy when he gave this well-known tragedy a happy ending. Audiences were appalled at the idea. Since 1597 people

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Mental Health and the Church: Disordered Eating

[iframe style=”border:none” src=”//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/21374111/height/100/width//thumbnail/no/render-playlist/no/theme/custom/tdest_id/3433802/custom-color/87A93A” height=”100″ width=”100%” scrolling=”no” allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen] Rev. Dr. Liz Kent is the Director of the Wesley Study Centre of St John’s College, Durham University. https://www.dur.ac.uk/st-johns.college/ elizabeth.kent@durham.ac.uk Let us hear from you: podcast@worldmethodist.org Connect with Rob on Social Media: @DrRobHaynes Find us on Social Media: Facebook Twitter Instagram  Check out this episode!

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Quietly Anchored by Advent

Some things you only discover over the long course of years. This frustrates an economy of optimization, hyper-fixated on immediate improvement and benefit. Wisdom can’t be reduced to “insights” gleaned by data, metrics, or analytics though, even if they’re useful from a strategic point of view. The season of Advent stubbornly persists in forcing the door open for the hard-to-quantify

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The Path of God by Kim Reisman

Scripture focus: Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. (Psalm 25:4-5, NLT)   Our Christmas nativity scenes often include the magi who patiently

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