💬 What Is Salvation? A November Sermon Series

Once when I was teenager, a stranger approached me in a crowd and asked me if I was saved. I had always gone to my Methodist church and been a Christian, so I said yes. She asked me when. I was a little off put but said, “It was a Friday afternoon about 2000 years ago.” She told me that unless I had a specific personal memory of accepting Jesus and being saved, that it didn’t count. 

It was obvious that her brand of Christianity was very different than mine. 

Those of you that also grew up Methodist might have had similar experiences of knowing we don’t line up with the Baptist experience, but maybe not fully understanding what salvation means to us as Methodists. 

In seminary I learned all about the Methodist understanding of salvation. It’s really quite wonderful and not well enough known. This November we will be looking at what does salvation mean from a Methodist perspective and how it differs from other traditions. 

This coming Sunday, November 5th, is the first of our time change. We will celebrate All Saints Sunday which is an excellent time to talk about what salvation means. Over the series, we will spend time looking at how other traditions understand things and how we differ. This isn’t a way to say Methodist is better than other Christians, but rather an opportunity for you to know what John Wesley taught. In the United Methodist Church, you don’t have to believe everything that John Wesley did, it’s just a chance to learn.

If you have specific questions you would like answered please let me know. I’ll make sure we cover what you are wanting to know.

— Pastor Lisa