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About two week ago, I watched a sermon, “Lukewarm and loving it,” by Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love and teaching pastor at Cornerstone Church at Simi Valley. A good way and a good reminder to begin the 40 days of Lent. Like his book, Chan poignantly points out the danger of being lukewarm: Lukewarm people give money to charity and to the church…so long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. Lukewarm people tend to choose what is popular over what is right. Lukewarm people don’t really want to be saved from their sin; they want to be saved from the penalty of their sin. Lukewarm people rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts, and rarely consider trying to give as much as possible to the poor. Lent is about sacrifice. We commemorate Lent to remember how Jesus has sacrificed everything and suffered for us. There would not be a Cross if Jesus only gave comfortably. We wouldn’t know ab...

Reading Wesley’s journal was belaboring. His 485 pages of journal spanning 17 years of his life often started with “I preached,” “I traveled,” “I finished,” and “I read.” It was like reading someone’s agenda rather than reading a journal. Very little was mentioned about his personal life, probably because the journal was for publishing. It was meant to be a tool for his cause of Methodism than his personal life revealed. Nonetheless, I learned an important lesson. Wesley, known for his dynamic preaching, was for a period of time inhabited to preach from the Anglican pulpit for his emphasis in personal conversion and holiness. This forced him and his brother, Charles Wesley, to seize every opportunity to preach in houses, farmhouses, in the field, and in open air. They faced a lot of oppositions in preaching outside the four church walls. However, as a result of this endeavor, a lot of people who didn’t fit into the established church were reached. Most of them are middle-class workers ...

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