Sermons on Susannah Wesley:

Where's The Love? Series

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on Apr 18, 2004

This is the first of a seven part series: "Seven Letters to Seven Chruches" based on the letters to the seven churches in Revelation.

Intro to the “Seven Letters to Seven Churches” series. Seven churches enduring difficult times: persecution. As we go through this the next 7 weeks, let’s ask ourselves, “Is this our church? What is similar? What can we learn?” I remember the “Where’s the beef?” Wendy’s commercials. It had ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:1-7

Denomination: Wesleyan

God Encounters: Jacob Series

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on Jun 20, 2004

This is about Jacob’s wrestling match with God and the significance for us.

Jacob was the grandson of Abe. Give brief background of Jacob’s life. Sneaky, underhanded, trickster, etc. Jacob had tricked his father, Isaac, and his father-in-law, Laban. He was a marked man by Esau. He is older now, and he is headed to meet his brother. Read Genesis 32:22-32. What we ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 32:22-32

Denomination: Wesleyan

God Encounters: Moses Series

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on Jun 28, 2004

This is on Moses’ God encounter.

Don’t you love excuses? Nine GI’s were late for morning roll call. The first arrived at 7 PM. He had a date missed the bus, hired a cab then it broke down. He went to a farmhouse and bought a horse. Ten miles from camp it fell over dead. “I walked the last ten miles.” The CO wasn’t happy but ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan

God Encounters: Gideon Series

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on Jul 3, 2004

This is about Gideon’s God encounter.

Have you ever felt inadequate for the task at hand? When I was a kid, a professional carpenter helped us re-roof our house. I took ten swings of the hammer to the nail in, but he only took two. Once my boss asked me to take a look at her care engine. Then there was the time that our kids were ...read more

Scripture: Judges 6:11-27

Denomination: Wesleyan

God Encounters: Isaiah Series

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on Jul 10, 2004

This is about Isaiah’s God encounter.

What comes to mind when I say, “In the year 2001”? 2001 was a year that changed the way we look at security. The WTC attack rocked our world. It had been 60 years. OKC was domestic. WTC ’93 failed. We were hit at home. Life is not the same. Threat level codes. Air marshals. Dep. of ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8

Denomination: Wesleyan

The Spirit Of Unity

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on Jul 17, 2004

This is a Pentecost sermon.

The late 1960s was a time of great disunity in our nation. People were protesting the war in Vietnam. Race riots occurred in many major cities. Upheaval was prevalent on college campuses. Meanwhile, in baseball, the New York Mets had been the laughingstock of Major League Baseball for the ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:1-21

Denomination: Wesleyan

The Verse

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on Jul 17, 2004

This is about Jesus conversation with Nicodemus.

It is perhaps the best known verse of the Bible. Almost anyone can quote it, at least in paraphrase. It is the verse that every child learns in Sunday school and VBS. I remember making a little wall plaque in Bible school with the verse on it. I remember that 15 to 20 years ago, you would see ...read more

Scripture: John 3:1-17

Denomination: Wesleyan

God Encounters: Jeremiah Series

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on Jul 17, 2004

This is about Jeremiah’s God encounter.

Too Young the Hero is a movie about 12 year old Calvin Graham who managed to enlist in the Navy during WWII. Read Jeremiah 1:4-10. Jeremiah was young. How young? We don’t know. The word translated “youth, child, boy” could mean an infant to a young man. I. God’s CALL. We typically think of ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 1:4-10

Denomination: Wesleyan

God Encounters: Ezekiel (Religious Experience Vs. Religious Action) Series

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on Jul 24, 2004

This is about Ezekiel’s God encounter. It explores the difference between religious experience and religious action. Religious EXPERIENCE means nothing without ACTION.

Read Ezekiel 1:4-3:15. This is a bizarre vision. Not all God encounters are alike. We see here two things: Religious Experience (ch. 1) and Religious Action (chs. 2 & 3). What is the difference between the two? * Religious Experience is… In chapter 1, we see Ezekiel’s strange religious ...read more

Denomination: Wesleyan

God Encounters: Simeon And Anna Series

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on Jul 31, 2004

This is about Simeon’s and Anna’s encounter with Jesus in the Temple.

We’ve been looking at God encounters: Abe, Jacob, Moses, Gideon, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. They pointed to the Messiah (Christ). We turn now to encounters in the NT; encounters with Christ. Outside of the shepherds, this is the first one. Read Luke 2:21-38. Verse 21 was eight days after ...read more

Scripture: Luke 2:21-38

Denomination: Wesleyan

God Encounters: Nathanael Series

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on Aug 8, 2004

This is about Nathanael’s encounter with Jesus.

Jesus is beginning his ministry. John the Baptist had baptized him. He has just called Andrew and Peter. He had been a carpenter. Read John 1:43-51. I. Proposal. Jesus makes a proposal to Philip: “Follow me.” He was from the same town as Andrew and Peter. It was a simple and direct proposal. ...read more

Scripture: John 1:43-51

Denomination: Wesleyan

Comfort For Difficult Times Series

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on Apr 25, 2004

This is on the Letter to Smyrna.

This is the only mention in the Bible about the Church of Smyrna. Smyrna was very close to Ephesus, which we looked at last week. Paul likely started the church while he was in Ephesus for three years. Acts 19:10 says, “This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:8-11

Denomination: Wesleyan

How Should We Respond To Pressures? Series

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on May 1, 2004

This about the letter to the Church in Pergamum.

We hear a lot in our day about pressure. We have pressure here. We have pressure there. Pressure, pressure, everywhere pressure. We talk about pressure with the weather. One thing I have noticed is that when we have low pressure, we get hurricanes. High pressure brings a clear, sunny ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:12-17

Denomination: Wesleyan

Keeping Up Appearances Series

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on May 6, 2004

This is about the letter to Thyatira.

There is a British comedy show called Keeping Up Appearances. (Give brief overview of the show.) Things aren’t always as they appear. The middle church of the seven is a church where things weren’t as they appeared. Read Revelation 2:18-29. One thing that is fascinating about this letter is ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:18-29

Denomination: Wesleyan

Wake Up And Smell The Coffee Series

Contributed by Wesley Bishop on May 14, 2004

This is on the letter to Sardis.

Do your remember the Folgers commercial where that college student named Peter sneaks into the house at Christmas and started making coffee? Everyone in the house soon woke up to rich aroma. The churches of chapter 2 are told to “remember,” “repent,” “be faithful,” “hold fast,” and other things. ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:1-6

Denomination: Wesleyan