Category Archives: John Wesley

What Does Church Train People To Be?

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Steve Simms

Two ways a church service can train people: 1) Church could train people to be passionate, prophetic, Spirit-prompted participators. 2) Instead church tends to train people to be silent, sedentary, subservient spectators. What is the church you attend training you to … Continue reading →

Posted in Apostle Paul, Beneath Two Flags, books, Charles Finney, evangelism, John Wesley, Martin Luther, Maud Booth, Nashville, organic chruch | Tagged church, church history, quotes, Salvation Army, training | 6 Comments

Sermon-Free Church Rocked The Early Methodists

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Steve Simms

The early Methodists practiced a type of sermon-free church known as class meetings. These were weekly, participatory meetings where every person present was given the opportunity to talk about their life with God. The first Methodist class meeting was started … Continue reading →

Posted in bear one another's burdens, Christian experience, Christianity, church, Frederick William Briggs, John Bate, John Berry McFerrin, John Wesley, Kevin Watson, Methodism, Methodist revivalists, Methodists, Nashville, Nashville adventure, Nashville charity, Quotations, quote, renewal, revival, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, simple church, Spirit-led, spiritual awakening, spiritual growth, spiritual life, spiritual movement, The Salvation Army | Tagged Methodist Class Meetings, organic church, quotes, religion | 15 Comments

Is America Violent & Alienated From God Like Jean Valjean In Les Misérables?

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Steve Simms

Les Misérables, the new movie musical staring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and Amanda Seyfried, beautifully brings Victor Hugo’s 1862 French novel to life. However, it made me wonder: Is America violent and alienated from God like the main … Continue reading →

Posted in 20th Century, 21st Century, alternative lifestyle, Augustine, brainwashed, brainwashing, C.S. Lewis, Christ, Christ-centered, Christian, Christian community, Christian values, Christianity, conscience, conversion, convert, conviction, conviction of sin, cruel, devotion, discouragement, evangelism, faith, faith-based, faithfulness, fear, feelings, freedom, French novels, God, harmful thinking, hearing God, history, human nature, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, life, lifestyle Christianity, lifestyles, meaning, message, misery, moral failure, moral principles, morality, morals, movie, movie review, movies, musicals, mysticism, new birth, obedience, persecution, popular culture, prayer, relevation, religion, repentance, salvation, search for significance, spiritual, spiritual awakening, spiritual formation, spiritual healing, spiritual themes, spiritual transformation, values, Victor Hugo | Tagged Amanda Seyfried, Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Les mis, Les Miserables, movies, quotations, Russell Crowe, Victory Hugo, violence | 5 Comments

Aiming For Your Heart

Posted on October 19, 2012 by Steve Simms

Television and movies aim to reach your desire to be entertained. Advertising aims to for your emotions. Negative political advertisements aim to reach your fears. Classes, seminars, and even sermons aim for your mind. Love, however, aims to reach your … Continue reading →

Posted in advertising, alternative lifestyle, belief, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible reading, biblical, Biblical concept, burning heart, Christ followers, Christ-centered, Christian, Christian history, church, church history, curriculum, devotion, fire, fire of the Holy Spirit, inner peace, inner rivers, inspiration, intellect, intelligence, invisible, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, joy, kingdom of God, lecture, Methodist class meeting, Methodist revivalists, Methodists, ministry, movement, Music City, Nashville, normal Christianity, relevation, Salvation Army church, Salvation Army Corps, Salvationists, seminars, Spirit-led, spiritual, spiritual awakening, spiritual formation, testimonies, testimony, The Salvation Army | Tagged Bible, Christianity, heart, love, media, political advertisements, religion, television | 2 Comments

Blind Belief? Or Spiritual Conversion

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Steve Simms

In some Arab countries it is against the law for a person to convert to another religion than the religion of her/his birth and upbringing. However, having been raised in a particular religion is no indication of its truth or … Continue reading →

Posted in alternative lifestyle, American, change, change management, Christ, Christian history, Christianity, church, church history, conscience, conversion, disciple making, English, evangelicals, fire, forgiveness, freedom, glory, God, grace, history, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus Movement, Jesus Take The Wheel, John Wesley, joy, kingdom of God, life, lifestyles, miracles, movement, mystery, mysticism, non-material reality, Oh my God, praise and worship, prayer, proof of God, recovery, religion, repent, revelation, salvation, saved, self-image, soul, spiritual, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual skills, spiritual warfare, supernatural, trust, Uncategorized, Why be a Christian?, worship | Tagged 1700s, 17th, 18th, a deep work, a heart work, accepting, adhering, adopts, against the law, American Colonies, another religion, Arab, based, been converted, being justified, believer, birth, blind belief, born again, called, centuries, change, childhood, Christ, convert, convinced, countries, deceptions, defined, direct, divine perfection, Dwight L. Moody, encountered, England, entire life, Exemine yourself to see, faith, few, follow, frustrated, goal, God's own likeness, goes thoughout, Gordon D. Fee, greatest human, has to give up, helped spark, His will, Holy Spirit, I came to America, I felt my heart strangely warmed, in the faith, Indians, indication, infect, infection, intorduced, invaded by, Jesus Christ, John wesley, Joseph Alleine, lack of success, Ledyard Cuyler, living, man, members, mighty, mind, multitudes, never, on fire, particular religion, passionate preaching, Paul of Tarsis, perhaps, person, personal, personal transformation, questioning, quotations, raised, realized, receive the Spirit, redeemed, relationship with God, returned home, rish his life, rote rituals, salvation, saved, set in, some, soul, spiritual awakening, spiritual conversion, spiritual illumination, spiritual movement, suggestion, teachings, the living God, the reality of, think, thoughts, truly, truth, trying to convert, upbringing, validity, ways, whether you are, who will convert me?, wish it otherwise, witnessing | 2 Comments

How To Regularly Experience The Inner Flow Of The Holy Spirit

Posted on September 15, 2011 by Steve Simms

Jesus promised His followers an inner flow of the Holy Spirit. He said: “Out of your inner most being shall flow rivers of living water.” This is not just theology, theory, or doctrine, but an actual, ongoing experience. Believers have amazing spiritual … Continue reading →

Posted in Anabaptists, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Bible, books, Christian history, Christianity, church history, English literature, Holy Spirit, house church, Jesus Christ, Jesus Movement, John Wesley, morality, morals, mysticism, Nashville, organic church, pentecostals, Philokalia, prayer, Quakers, reading, religion, revelation, salvation, simple church, spiritual, Uncategorized | Tagged 225, 37207, acts like Jesus, actual, amazing, Anabaptists, behaviors, believers, Berry Street, Bible, books, Catholic, characer, church, church fathers, come, command, consequences, daily lives, desires, devotionally, do it, doctrine, dutifully, early, encouragement, experience, feared, floow, flow, flow in the Spirit, flow-ers, focusing, follow, followers, free, fruit, gifts, Give, hang out, hearts, Holy Spirit, how, humbly, inner, Jesus, Jesus' mother, keys, lay down, little, live in, llife, love letter, Mary, Methodists, ministry, missionaries, monks, moral, more caught than taught, mystics, Nashville, New Testament, nudging, obey, of the Spirit, one-on-one, ongoing, opinions, Orthocox, out of the box, Out of your inner most being, participatory, Paul, Pentecostals, people, Philokalia, potential, power, practical, prayer, problems, promised, prompted, promptly, Protestant, Quakers, Quench not the Spirit, quit, read, realize, regardless, regularly, releasing, requests, right away, rivers of living water, Scriptures, sense, shall flow, share, show, sin, spend time, Spirit led, Spirit of God, spiritual, spiritual potential, steps, stir, stir up the gift, stirrings, stop, suggestions, Sundays, surrender, tells, testimonies, textbook, that is within you, The Salvation Army, theology, theory, things, thoughts, unaware of, way, Whatever He says to you, words, Worship Center, writings, wrongdoing, wrongful | 13 Comments

Conversion/Salvation/Being Born Again Or Blind Belief?

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Steve Simms

In some Arab countries it is against the law for a person to convert to another religion than the religion of her/his birth and/or upbringing. However, having been raised in a particular religion is no indication of its truth or … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, Bible, biography, Creator, freedom, God, history, human rights, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, lifestyles, Oh my God, popular culture, prayer, Quotations, Quotes, religion, The Salvation Army, Uncategorized, What is church? | Tagged 1700s, 18th Century, a direct, accepting without questioning, adhering, adopts, against the law, America, American, another religion, Arab countries, being, belief, believer, birth, blind belief, born again, called, change, childhood, Christ, Colonies, coming into, conversion, deceptions, deep work, defined, devoted, divine perfection, Dwight L. Moody, encountered, England, entire life, Examine yourself, experience, faith, frustrated, give up, goal, goes, Gordon D. Fee, heart work, Holy Spirit, home, human, I came to, I felt my heart strangly warmed, illumination of the soul, Indians, indication, infect, infection, introduced, invaded, Jesus Christ, John wesley, Joseph Alleine, lack of success, likeness, living, living God, man, members, mighty, mind, movement, multitudes, on fire, one of the greatest, otherwise, particular, passionate, Paul of Tarsus, person, personal relationship, personal transformation, personally convinced, preaching, quote, raised, realized, receive, returned, risk his life, rituals, rote, salvation, set in, some, spark, spiritual, spiritual awakening, suggestion, teachings, Theodore Ledyard Cuyler, think, thoughts, throughtout, to convert, truth, trying to convert others, upbringing, validity, ways, who will convert me?, will, wish, with God, witnessing | 1 Comment

Category Archives: John Wesley

What Does Church Train People To Be?

Sermon-Free Church Rocked The Early Methodists

Is America Violent & Alienated From God Like Jean Valjean In Les Misérables?

Aiming For Your Heart

Blind Belief? Or Spiritual Conversion

Conversion/Salvation/Being Born Again Or Blind Belief?

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