"We Pray with Bishop Samuel J. Quire, Jr. and the People of Liberia" The United Methodist Church Prays in Nashville, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States for Wednesday, 2 May 2018

"We Pray with Bishop Samuel J. Quire, Jr. and the People of Liberia" The United Methodist Church Prays in Nashville, Tennessee, Tennessee, United States for Wednesday, 2 May 2018

WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 2018
[Correction: This week we pray with Bishop Samuel J. Quire, Jr. and the people of Liberia.]
A Word from John Wesley
“But what good works are those, the practice of which you affirm to be necessary to sanctification?” First, all works of piety; such as public prayer, family prayer, and praying in our closet; receiving the supper of the Lord; searching the Scriptures, by hearing, reading, meditating; and using such a measure of fasting or abstinence as our bodily health allows. (John Wesley, Sermon 43: “The Scripture Way of Salvation,” § III.9, page 84.)
A Hymn from Charles Wesley
1. Object of all our knowledge here,
Our one desire, and hope below,
Jesus, the Crucified, draw near,
And with thy disciples go:
Our thoughts and words to thee are known,
We commune of thyself alone.
2. How can it be, our reason cries,
That God should leave his throne above?
Is it for man the Immortal dies!
For man, who tramples on his Love!
For Man, who nailed him to the tree!
O Love! O God! He dies for me!
3. Ah! Lord, if thou indeed art ours,
If thou for us hast burst the tomb,
Visit us with thy quickening powers,
Come to thy mournful followers come,
Thyself to thy weak members join,
And fill us with the Life Divine. (Hymns for our Lord’s Resurrection-1746, #5:1, 2 & 5.)
Questions for Reflection:

1. In John Wesley’s sermon above, he makes it clear that there are works of obedience to the revealed will of God, spiritual practices that assist us on the way to sanctification. Do you agree or disagree? Why?
2. What is the meaning of Charles Wesley’s hymn for us today?
3. Charles Wesley believed that Christian faith results in a salvation that will “fill us with the Life Divine.” Do you agree? When have you experienced this?

Prayer*God you sent your Son into the world that we might live through him. May we abide in his risen love so that we may bear the fruit of love for one another and know the fullness of joy. Amen.
*The Wesley excerpts are from A Disciple’s Journal—2018: A Guide for Daily Prayer, Bible Reading, and Discipleship, by Steven W. Manskar. Copyright © 2018 Discipleship Resources, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Used by permission. The prayer is reprinted with permission from Revised Common Lectionary Prayers, copyright © 2002, Consultation on Common Texts.

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