Back in 2018, I took up the spiritual discipline of (re)reading the fifty-two Standard Sermons of John Wesley; one each week for the fifty-two weeks of the year. The idea originally came to me from my Facebook friend, the Rev'd. William Shontz, and it was a great idea!
Now, it should be said that when Wesley's "standard four volumes of sermons" were first published in England, there were forty-four sermons. - However, Wesley later published the standard sermons with nine additions, making fifty-three. Typically, the fifty-third, "On the Death of the Rev'd. George Whitefield," is excluded from the list, since it was a more biographical piece. Thus, (at least in American Methodism) these fifty-two are usually counted as the "Standard Sermons," and they have been very important for the entire Wesleyan/Methodist family.Of course, having fifty-two sermons fits nicely in a fifty-two week year! - As I indicated the last time, I believe that such a discipline is very helpful in reminding and grounding Wesleyan pastors of all stripes in our Wesleyan theological tradition, as well as helping to form us spiritually. It should be noted, this, rather than the development of a systematic theology, was Wesley's chosen approach to passing on his "practical divinity." Such an approach stands in the tradition of Wesley's Anglicanism and its Book of Homilies.
In 2018 I took the opportunity to read the sermons in "modern English," using Kenneth Kinghorn's three volume set. This time around, I will be reading from The Sermons of John Wesley: A Collection for the Christian Journey, edited by Kenneth J. Collins and Jason E. Vickers. In this edition, rather than ordering the sermons chronologically, they have placed them in order according to the via salutis, i.e., the way of salvation. This ordering of the sermons has the work of formation and catechesis at the forefront.
Also unique to this particular edition of the sermons is the addition of eight more of Wesley's sermons to the traditional fifty-two. I agree with the editors that these sermons, especially On Working Out Our Own Salvation and The Duty of Constant Communion, are vital for the Wesleyan theological tradition. - Of course, this means an adjustment to the plan for one sermon per week. What I have decided to do is, when one of these additional eight sermons come up, I will read two sermons for that week. - It's an easy fix!
So, as the title of this article indicates, I want to challenge and encourage all members and friends of the Wesleyan-Anglican Society, all of my Nazarene colleagues, my United Methodist colleagues, and all other Wesleyan/Methodist and Anglican visitors to this blog: join me in (re)reading John Wesley's standard sermons for 2023!
For those who do not have a copy of Wesley's "Standard Sermons," they can readily be purchased via a google search. On the other hand, one can find fifty of the fifty-two, here. The two that are missing are The Good Steward and The Reformation of Manners.
Obviously, I'm a little late in issuing this challenge. We are already in week two of the new year. However, I urge you not to let that hinder your accepting the challenge. Surely everyone can make up the difference without too much extra effort, and I think that you will discover that it was all well worth it!
May God, indeed, be glorified in our lives and ministries in 2023!
