Two new books about the thoughts of two Johns – highly recommended to the people called Methodists, and indeed, other Christians as well – have just been published. One is a collection of themes and biblical texts of Methodism founder John Wesley’s 44 sermons adapted and reinterpreted by today’s leading Methodist scholars, and the other is a compilation of extracts from the diary of John Sung, one of Asia’s most respected Methodist evangelists.     

Unique volume of new Wesleyan sermons

44 Sermons to Serve the Present Age

Editors: Angela Shier-Jones and Kimberly D. Reisman

Publisher: Epworth. 274 pp.  £19.99

THIS book, 44 Sermons to Serve the Present Age, which has just been released by Epworth, is a unique collection of new, original and contextual sermons by leading Methodist scholars from around the world. 

With contributions from Methodist preachers and leaders, the collection engages readers to see how the great themes and texts of John Wesley’s 44 sermons are being adapted and reinterpreted to speak to the global context of Methodism’s expanding world parish.

John Wesley’s 44 sermons are part of the Methodist doctrinal standard and are said to contain the heart of his theology and to represent the extent of his commitment to the evangelical faith.

At a time when PowerPoint presentations seem to be calling the art of preaching into question, the book demonstrates the value of a well-crafted sermon.

The two editors, Angela Shier-Jones and Kimberly Reisman, have put together a very readable volume of sermons written by the Methodists of today. Their sermons stay close to the doctrines which Wesley held and taught nearly 250 years ago.

The Rev Dr Shier-Jones and the Rev Kimberly Reisman have also contributed to the book – the former on the topic “Christian Perfection” and the latter on “Upon Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount Discourse 2”.

Shier-Jones is Director of Academic Studies and Research at Wesley College, Bristol, and serves as a consultant to the European Council of Churches Council for Theological Education. Reisman is the Executive Director of Next Step Evangelism Ministries in West Lafayette, Indiana, and an author of several books. 
            

The other contributors include the Rev Dr George Freeman, General Secretary of the World Methodist Council; the Rev Dr Richard P. Heitzenrater, Professor of Church History and Wesley Studies at Duke University; Dr Walter Klaiber, a retired bishop of The United Methodist Church; the Rev Dr H. Mvume Dandala, General Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches; the Rev Dr Karen Westerfield Tucker, Professor of Worship at the Boston University School of Theology; the Rev David Deeks, General Secretary of the British Methodist Church; Dr Rudiger R. Minor, Bishop of The United Methodist Church; and the Rev Dr Frances Young, a retired theology  professor.

Among the Asian contributors are Bishop Dr Robert Solomon, whose contribution is on “Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount Discourse 13”.  Other Asian contributions are from the Rev Dr J. C. Park, Professor at the Methodist Theological Seminary in Seoul; the Rev Jeong Ae-seong of the Korean Methodist Church; the Rev Dr Israel Selvanayagam of the Church of South India; and the Rev Prof Lo Lung-kwong, President of The Methodist Church, Hong Kong, and Director of Divinity School of Chung Chi College, the Chinese University of Hong Kong.