John Wesley has had a primary influence on my discernment of God’s calling in my life to pastoral ministry. What drew me to personally further my knowledge of the great founder and theologian of the Methodist denomination was his life and preaching of “love” and “grace”. John Wesley is known for encouraging people to enter into a personal intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
I felt God’s calling into pastoral ministry as a very young boy who looked on with admiration as I watched my father successfully lead and ignite the faith of others as the pastor in the United Methodist Church. At 16 years of age at a United Methodist summer church camp, my own faith was ignited. At that camp that summer, I received salvation with a humbled heart, …show more content…
In college I spent much of my time in personal reading and learning about many topics, one specifically being grace and the beliefs of John Wesley. I quickly related to his views on human depravity, out of disgust for my own sin, and both Wesley and my understanding of the need for grace. Wesley believed that ever since original sin was committed by Adam and Eve that the disease of sin consumes this world and touches the nature of every one born into this world. Once I acknowledged that we, as humans, are born sinful and in need of the sufficiency that comes only by God’s grace, I knew I needed to change. This desire for change was in response to noticing that the friends which I spent 4-5 days a week with changed me into a man that simply wore the label of “Christian,” but did not have a heart or the actions that reflected a heart’s desire for God and holiness. God convicted me and starting churning inside of me a desire for change within my soul, actions, thoughts, and friendships. Regardless of the conviction I felt daily, I continued to ignore God’s calling on my life for something greater and maintained the same unsatisfying life routine of friends, college, video games, sleep, …show more content…
The poem articulates the great love that Christ had for us sinners, when he laid down his life for us. By the infinite and free grace of God, we have the opportunity to enter into a personal relationship with Christ and in doing so receive salvation from our sins. It was my daily conviction of desiring God in my heart while my body desired the offerings of this world that made me aware of my need for God’s grace in order to receive salvation. My soul has heard Him calling and my eyes have seen His great works, and in my lowly humbled state I have responded to that
I felt God’s calling into pastoral ministry as a very young boy who looked on with admiration as I watched my father successfully lead and ignite the faith of others as the pastor in the United Methodist Church. At 16 years of age at a United Methodist summer church camp, my own faith was ignited. At that camp that summer, I received salvation with a humbled heart, …show more content…
In college I spent much of my time in personal reading and learning about many topics, one specifically being grace and the beliefs of John Wesley. I quickly related to his views on human depravity, out of disgust for my own sin, and both Wesley and my understanding of the need for grace. Wesley believed that ever since original sin was committed by Adam and Eve that the disease of sin consumes this world and touches the nature of every one born into this world. Once I acknowledged that we, as humans, are born sinful and in need of the sufficiency that comes only by God’s grace, I knew I needed to change. This desire for change was in response to noticing that the friends which I spent 4-5 days a week with changed me into a man that simply wore the label of “Christian,” but did not have a heart or the actions that reflected a heart’s desire for God and holiness. God convicted me and starting churning inside of me a desire for change within my soul, actions, thoughts, and friendships. Regardless of the conviction I felt daily, I continued to ignore God’s calling on my life for something greater and maintained the same unsatisfying life routine of friends, college, video games, sleep, …show more content…
The poem articulates the great love that Christ had for us sinners, when he laid down his life for us. By the infinite and free grace of God, we have the opportunity to enter into a personal relationship with Christ and in doing so receive salvation from our sins. It was my daily conviction of desiring God in my heart while my body desired the offerings of this world that made me aware of my need for God’s grace in order to receive salvation. My soul has heard Him calling and my eyes have seen His great works, and in my lowly humbled state I have responded to that