The Works: Sermons IV : 115-151: v. 4

This is the fourth in an eagerly awaited series of four volumes of John Wesleys sermons. This volume contains 18 sermons that were published in the Arminian Magazine from 1789 to 1792. It also contains 19 sermons that were taken from Wesleys manuscripts.Of all the genres in Wesleys prodigious output his sermons most clearly focus and expound his understanding of Christian existence. Outlers introduction in the first volume concentrates two decades of painstaking research and thought on Wesley. From this he ably sets the stage for a fuller understanding and appreciation of a major Christian heritage a heritage which can at last be seen as a whole against the background of its sources. The four volumes contain 151 sermons including a number recovered from Wesleys manuscripts. These constitute the core of Wesleys doctrinal teachings upon which his own evangelical movement was founded. Following Wesleys own ordering Dr. Outler begins with the familiar Sermons on Several Occasions which present Wesleys basic teachings on salvation and form the bulk of the first two volumes in the series. Outler masterfully demonstrates the significance of all the subsequent sermons since they exhibit Wesleys entire approach to the Christian life. Each volume is rich with footnotes that include the identification of quotations elucidation of references the tracing of key themes and vital background information on each sermon. Representing the culmination of twenty years of exhaustive research it is the purpose of these conclusive volumes to keep alive the growing interest in Wesleyan studies for the entire Christian church.