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Craig L's Blog

Commonplace Holiness

Category: Church

  • Fulfilling the Word — Luke 4:14-21

    Fulfilling the Word — Luke 4:14-21

    Luke is the New Testament writer whose narratives emphasize the activity of the Holy Spirit. Thus, Luke’s account of the life of Jesus, and the mission of the early Church are linked to the Old Testament witness of the creative and inspirational Spirit of God: The Spirit of God that swept over the waters in creation (Genesis 1:1-2), the Spirit who inspired the craftsmen who made the sacred objects for the tabernacle (see, for example, Exodus 31:1-6), who inspired the prophets. Luke is making the implicit claim that this same creative, energizing Spirit of God is at work again in the life and ministry of Jesus. Luke will also make this same claim about the expanding mission of the early Church — in his record in the book of Acts.

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  • The Beatitudes – Matthew 5:1-12

    The Beatitudes – Matthew 5:1-12

    19th Century Campmeeting

    In the summer of 2014 (as I recall) I preached for the evening services at the Family Bible Camp at the Albright Park Camp & Retreat Center in Reed City, Michigan. It was a very natural place for me to be, and I was glad to preach there. I have a fondness for the tradition of the holiness camp meeting (as you may have noticed), and it felt right to be there preaching in that old tabernacle.

    It occurred to me: why not preach on the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew? I remembered the importance of the Sermon on the Mount in the preaching of John Wesley, and I wondered if a series of messages suitable to a camp meeting could be delivered based on it. I think it went very well.

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  • John Wesley Did Not Burn His Old Sermons (And Other Things He Never Said)

    John Wesley Did Not Burn His Old Sermons (And Other Things He Never Said)

    Here is an alleged John Wesley quote frequently encountered on Social Media and on Internet quote sites: Did John Wesley say (as it is claimed, for example here):

    Once in seven years I burn all my sermons; for it is a shame if I cannot write better sermons now than I did seven years ago.

    NO! He quoted someone else (“a good man” he says) who said this — and then said that he disagreed with this idea! Now, look. It’s just not reasonable that he advocated burning his old sermons. He published many of his sermons — even ones he no longer fully endorsed! How could he do that if he burned them? He didn’t burn them, and it’s not reasonable to think he advocated doing so! Here is the relevant entry from John Wesley’s Journal: September 1, 1778:

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  • How John Wesley Spent the New Year in 1785.

    How John Wesley Spent the New Year in 1785.

    From the Journal of John Wesley:

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  • What John Wesley Actually Said About the Bible

    What John Wesley Actually Said About the Bible


    John Wesley saw the Methodist movement as a return to the original life & faith & experience of Christianity. He wanted to return to the faith of the apostles and the early church — to find that same dynamic quality of faith and life that the early Christians had. So, Scripture had a place of central importance in Wesley’s teaching and preaching.


    In Wesley’s view, devotion to the teachings of the Scripture is absolutely essential for the task of keeping and renewing the Christian faith.


    So, in light of this, I’ve gathered together on this page everything substantive that John Wesley said about the Bible. I have not attempted to “tone down” or alter any of his opinions — though I have updated the language in the first quote. My goal here has been completeness.

    Yes, there is some room for argument about what he may have meant by some of these remarks — of course. And, I certainly wouldn’t say the man was in any way infallible. A very valuable line of inquiry would be: how did this actually work out in practice, as he commented on Scripture in his Explanatory Notes.


    But, here is what he actually said.

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