METHODISTS MARK JOHN WESLEY DAY TODAY
Posted on Monday May 24, 2021Story: Emmanuel Ashong | May 24, 2021
Today, May 24 is John
Wesley Day, a day marked by Methodists around the world to remember a
turnaround in the life and ministry of the Founder of the Methodist Movement,
The Rev John Wesley.
On this day in 1738,
Wesley received an "assurance" of salvation.
In his own words:
"In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate
Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans.
About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works
in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt
I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given
me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin
and death."
Wesley was born into a
strong Anglican home: his father, Samuel, was a priest, and his mother,
Susanna, taught religion and morals faithfully to her 19 children.
Wesley attended Oxford,
proved to be a fine scholar, and was soon ordained into the Anglican ministry.
At Oxford, he joined a society (founded by his brother Charles) whose members
took vows to lead holy lives, take Communion once a week, pray daily, and visit
prisons regularly. In addition, they spent three hours every afternoon studying
the Bible and other devotional material.
Wesley died as an
Anglican priest in 1791 but his life and ministry led to the spread of
scriptural holiness in England and the expansion of the Methodism Movement
across the globe.
In Ghana, John Wesley Day
is marked with Church Services, evangelism outreaches, school events etc.
Worship with us this
evening at any Methodist Chapel close to you as we hold a special John Wesley
Day Service. This will be followed by a series of weeklong evangelism
activities in what is known as Aldersgate Week among Methodists worldwide.