Book Review: John Wesley's Sermons

Information about the book

Outler, Albert C. and Richard P. Heitzenrater. John Wesley's Sermons: An Anthology. Abingdon Press, Nashville. 2010.  Cokesbury. Amazon.

Summary

From the Amazon Description: Adapted from Albert Outler's 4-volume text The Works of John Wesley, this anthology of 50 of Wesley's finest sermons. Arranged chronologically with introductory commentary by Richard Heitzenrater.

Impressions

I chose to read this book in along with two classes from BeADisciple class Methodist Identity:  Beliefs and Methodist Identity: Our Story.  I read sermons (about three a week for each 8 week class) that pertained to the topic each week (for the Beliefs class) and then the rest mainly chronologically for the Our Story Class.  I completed reading the 50 sermons by the end of the second class.

Of course, Wesley preached more than 50 sermons, and I don't have the expertise to tell you if the editor chose the most advantageous 50 to include.  The sermons are arranged chronologically, and cover the entirety of John Wesley's life from early in his ministry through the end of his life. 

I particularly liked the Introductory Comments that the editor included.  These introductions were short - about a page each - but they set the stage for the sermon, place it in context in Wesley's work, and helped me to identify themes throughout the sermon.

I would recommend this book to someone who would like to explore Wesley's work.  I would add that all of Wesley's sermons are now available online at this link.

Link: Wesley Sermons