John Wesley na Historia ya Umethodisti — Sehemu ya 2: Epworth na Oxford: Familia ya Wesley na Holy ClubJohn Wesley and the History of Methodism — Unit 2: Epworth and Oxford: The Wesley Family and the Holy Club

Mstari MkuuKey Verse

"tena ya kuwa tangu utoto umeyajua Maandiko Matakatifu, ambayo yaweza kukupa hekima, hata upate wokovu kwa imani iliyo katika Kristo Yesu." (2 Timotheo 3:15, SUV)"and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:15, NKJV)

Malengo ya KujifunzaLearning Objectives

Utakapomaliza kipindi hiki, unapaswa kuweza:When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

1. Kuieleza familia ya Wesley huko Epworth na nafasi waliyokuwa nayo Samuel na Susanna Wesley katika maisha ya awali ya John.1. Describe the Wesley family at Epworth and the part played by Samuel and Susanna Wesley in John's early life.

2. Kueleza njia ya Susanna Wesley ya kuwafundisha watoto wake na mikutano aliyoifanya jikoni kwake mwaka 1712.2. Explain Susanna Wesley's method of teaching her children and the meetings she held in her kitchen in 1712.

3. Kufuatilia njia ya John Wesley kutoka Epworth kupitia shule na Oxford hadi kuwekwa wakfu na Holy Club.3. Trace John Wesley's path from Epworth through school and Oxford to ordination and the Holy Club.

4. Kutaja desturi za Holy Club na wanachama wake wakuu, na kueleza jinsi walivyopokelewa.4. Name the practices of the Holy Club and its main members, and explain how they were received.

5. Kueleza kwa haki mjadala kuhusu kama Holy Club ilikuwa mwanzo wa kweli wa Umethodisti au hatua ya kutafuta, na kutoa jibu la Kiwesley.5. State fairly the debate about whether the Holy Club was a true beginning of Methodism or a stage of seeking, and give the Wesleyan answer.

Sauti ya Kipindi HikiThe Voice of This Unit

Kipindi hiki kimeandikwa kutoka ndani ya mapokeo ya Wesley kwa wanafunzi wa Wesley. Tunaiheshimu familia ya Wesley kama zawadi ya Mungu kwa kanisa, na pia tunasema ukweli kuihusu. Familia hiyo ilikuwa ya kimungu, maskini, yenye vipaji, na mara nyingi yenye migogoro. Wanahistoria wameandika juu yao kwa kusifu na kwa kukosoa. Tunaeleza yote mawili na kutoa jibu letu, tukikumbuka kwamba Maandiko peke yake ndiyo kanuni yetu ya mwisho.This unit is written from inside the Wesleyan tradition for Wesleyan students. We honor the Wesley family as a gift of God to the church, and we also tell the truth about them. The family was godly, poor, gifted and often in conflict. Historians have written about them with admiration and with criticism. We state both and give our answer, remembering that Scripture alone is our final rule.

Nyumba ya Mchungaji huko EpworthThe Rectory at Epworth

Epworth ni mji mdogo wa soko katika Lincolnshire, mashariki mwa Uingereza. Baba yake John Wesley, Samuel Wesley, alikuwa mchungaji wake (rector) tangu mwaka 1695. Alikuwa kasisi wa Kanisa la Uingereza, msomi na mwandishi wa mashairi. Mkewe, Susanna, alikuwa binti wa mhudumu maarufu wa Nonconformist, naye alikuwa amechagua mwenyewe kujiunga na Kanisa la Uingereza. Wawili hao walikuwa watu wenye nia thabiti na imani ya kina.Epworth is a small market town in Lincolnshire, in the east of England. John Wesley's father, Samuel Wesley, became its rector in 1695. He was a priest of the Church of England, a scholar and a writer of verse. His wife, Susanna, was the daughter of a well-known Nonconformist minister, and she had chosen for herself to join the Church of England. The two were strong-willed people of deep faith.

Maisha katika nyumba ya mchungaji yalikuwa magumu. Mapato ya Samuel yalikuwa madogo, na familia ilikosa pesa daima. Wakati mmoja Samuel alitiwa gerezani kwa deni. Susanna alizaa watoto kumi na tisa, na takriban kumi kati yao waliishi kupita utoto mdogo. Miongoni mwa walionusurika walikuwa John, aliyezaliwa mwaka 1703, na Charles, aliyezaliwa mwaka 1707. Nyumba ya mchungaji ilikuwa na msongamano, kelele na umaskini, na pia ilikuwa nyumba ya sala na ya kujifunza.Life at the rectory was hard. Samuel's income was small, and the family was always short of money. At one time Samuel was put in prison for debt. Susanna bore nineteen children, and about ten of them lived beyond infancy. Among the survivors were John, born in 1703, and Charles, born in 1707. The rectory was crowded, noisy and poor, and it was also a house of prayer and learning.

Parokia yao haikuwa rahisi. Baadhi ya watu wa Epworth walimchukia mchungaji wao na kuitendea familia kwa ukali. Kwa sababu hiyo, John alikua akijua maana ya kutumikia mahali pagumu. Wengi wenu mnalijua jambo hilo hilo.Their parish was not easy. Some of the people of Epworth disliked their rector and treated the family harshly. Because of this, John grew up knowing what it is to serve in a hard place. Many of you know the same thing.

Susanna Wesley na Kuwafundisha WatotoSusanna Wesley and the Teaching of the Children

Susanna aliwafundisha watoto wake mwenyewe. Hakuiacha elimu yao kwa bahati. Mtoto alipofikia umri wa miaka mitano, alianza masomo naye kwa ratiba maalum ya saa, na aliwafundisha watoto kusoma kabla ya kitu kingine chochote. Kitabu chao cha kwanza kikuu kilikuwa Biblia. Pia aliweka wakati maalum kwa kila mtoto kuzungumza naye faraghani juu ya roho yake. Alitaka kila mmoja ajifunze kutii, kuomba na kumpenda Mungu tangu utotoni.Susanna taught her children herself. She did not leave their education to chance. When a child reached the age of five, she began lessons with him in a fixed schedule of hours, and she taught the children to read before anything else. Their first great textbook was the Bible. She also set a regular time for each child to talk with her privately about his soul. She wanted each one to learn to obey, to pray and to love God from his earliest years.

Mstari mkuu wa kipindi hiki unatukumbusha Timotheo, aliyeyajua Maandiko Matakatifu tangu utoto kupitia mama yake na bibi yake (2 Timotheo 1:5). Maandiko pia yanazungumzia wajibu wa wazazi: "Nawe uwafundishe watoto wako kwa bidii, ukanena nao uketipo nyumbani kwako, na utembeapo njiani, na ulalapo, na uondokapo" (Kumbukumbu la Torati 6:7). Susanna alichukulia wajibu huu kwa uzito. Baadaye John alimkumbuka mama yake kama mwalimu wa imani, na Wamethodisti wamemheshimu kama "mama wa Umethodisti" tangu wakati huo.The key verse for this unit reminds us of Timothy, who knew the Holy Scriptures from childhood through his mother and his grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5). Scripture speaks also of the duty of parents: "And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up" (Deuteronomy 6:7). Susanna took this duty seriously. John later looked back on his mother as a teacher of the faith, and Methodists have honored her as "the mother of Methodism" ever since.

Mikutano ya jikoni ya mwaka 1712The kitchen meetings of 1712

Mwaka 1712 Samuel alikuwa London kwa miezi mingi, na kasisi kijana msaidizi (curate) alifanya ibada za Jumapili huko Epworth. Susanna aliongoza sala pamoja na watoto wake mwenyewe katika nyumba ya mchungaji jioni za Jumapili. Majirani waliomba kujiunga, na punde watu wengi walikuwa wanakuja. Alisoma mahubiri na kuomba nao, kwa sababu ibada za kanisani hazikuwalisha watu.In 1712 Samuel was away in London for many months, and a young curate took the Sunday services at Epworth. Susanna led prayers with her own children in the rectory on Sunday evenings. Neighbors asked to join, and soon a large number of people were coming. She read sermons and prayed with them, because the services in the church were not feeding the people.

Kasisi msaidizi alimlalamikia Samuel, naye Samuel akamwandikia kumwomba aache. Susanna alijibu kwa sababu. Alisema kwamba mikutano hiyo ilikuwa inaleta mema, na kwamba hakutaka kuacha isipokuwa Samuel atoe amri iliyo wazi. Tukio hili hutajwa mara nyingi, kwani linaonyesha mfano wa mapema wa kile ambacho baadaye kikawa desturi ya Kimethodisti: watu wa kawaida walei, wakiwemo wanawake, wakikusanyika kwa ajili ya sala na Maandiko ili kutimiza hitaji ambalo ibada za kawaida hazikulitimiza.The curate complained to Samuel, and Samuel wrote to ask her to stop. Susanna answered with reasons. She said that the meetings were doing good, and that she did not wish to stop unless he gave a plain command. This episode is often cited, for it shows an early case of what later became Methodist practice: ordinary lay people, including women, gathering for prayer and Scripture to meet a need the regular services did not meet.

Wanahistoria na SusannaHistorians and Susanna

Wanahistoria wameuliza ni uzito gani wa kumpa Susanna. Waandishi wengine wa zamani walimfanya karibu kuwa mtakatifu na kumpa sifa kwa kila kitu katika Umethodisti. Waandishi wengine wamesema kwamba njia zake zilikuwa ngumu na baridi, na kwamba picha ya nyumba kamilifu imekuzwa kupita kiasi. Ukweli unaojulikana ni mdogo. Tuna barua zake, baadhi ya maandishi yake, na masimulizi ya baadaye. Jibu letu ni la usawa. Susanna alikuwa mwanamke halisi, mwenye nguvu na mapungufu. Ushahidi unaonyesha kwamba aliwapa watoto wake ujuzi wa kina wa Maandiko, mazoea ya utaratibu na moyo wa kujali roho. Hatuhitaji kumfanya mkamilifu ili kumshukuru Mungu kwa ajili yake.Historians have asked how much weight to give to Susanna. Some writers in the past made her almost a saint and gave her credit for everything in Methodism. Other writers have said that her methods were rigid and cold, and that the picture of a perfect household has been overdrawn. The facts are limited. We have her letters, some of her writings, and later accounts. Our answer is balanced. Susanna was a real woman, with strengths and faults. The evidence shows that she gave her children a deep knowledge of Scripture, a habit of order and a concern for the soul. We do not need to make her perfect to thank God for her.

Moto wa Mwaka 1709The Fire of 1709

Mnamo Februari 1709 nyumba ya mchungaji huko Epworth iliteketea. Watoto walitolewa nje haraka usiku. John, aliyekuwa na umri wa miaka mitano, aliachwa katika chumba cha ghorofani hadi jirani alipopanda juu ya mabega ya mtu mwingine na kumvuta kupitia dirishani kabla tu ya paa kuanguka. Hakusahau kamwe. Miaka baadaye alijiita "kinga kilichotolewa motoni" (brand plucked from the burning), msemo kutoka Maandiko (Zekaria 3:2; Amosi 4:11). Aliamini kwamba Mungu alimwokoa kwa kusudi. Iwe tunalisoma tukio hili kama Wesley alivyofanya au la, tunaweza kusema kwa hakika kwamba Mungu alilitumia kumuumba mtu aliyetoa maisha yake kuwaokoa wengine kutoka katika moto wa dhambi.In February 1709 the rectory at Epworth burned. The children were hurried out into the night. Five-year-old John was left behind in an upper room until a neighbor stood on another man's shoulders and pulled him from the window just before the roof fell in. He never forgot it. Years later he called himself a "brand plucked from the burning," a phrase from Scripture (Zechariah 3:2; Amos 4:11). He believed that God had spared him for a purpose. Whether or not we read this event as Wesley did, we may certainly say that God used it to shape a man who gave his life to rescue others from the fire of sin.

Kutoka Epworth hadi OxfordFrom Epworth to Oxford

John alipelekwa katika shule ya Charterhouse huko London mwaka 1714. Mwaka 1720 aliingia Christ Church, Oxford. Alipata shahada yake ya kwanza mwaka 1724, alipewa daraja la shemasi katika Kanisa la Uingereza mwaka 1725, na mwaka 1726 alichaguliwa kuwa mwanachama (fellow) wa Lincoln College, jambo lililompa makazi na kipato chuoni. Alipata shahada ya uzamili mwaka 1727. Kwa muda alimsaidia baba yake kwa kuhudumu kama kasisi msaidizi huko Wroot, karibu na Epworth. Alipewa daraja la kasisi mwaka 1728, na mwaka 1729 alirudi Oxford kuchukua majukumu yake kama mwanachama wa chuo.John was sent to the Charterhouse school in London in 1714. In 1720 he entered Christ Church, Oxford. He received his first degree in 1724, was ordained a deacon in the Church of England in 1725, and in 1726 was elected a fellow of Lincoln College, which gave him a home and income at the university. He took his master's degree in 1727. For a time he helped his father by serving as a curate at Wroot, near Epworth. He was ordained a priest in 1728, and in 1729 he returned to Oxford to take up his duties as a fellow.

Katika miaka hii Wesley alikuwa kijana makini, mwenye njaa ya Mungu. Vitabu vitatu vilimwathiri sana. Cha kwanza kilikuwa Holy Living and Holy Dying (Kuishi kwa Utakatifu na Kufa kwa Utakatifu) cha Jeremy Taylor, kilichomfundisha kumpa Mungu kila sehemu ya maisha yake. Cha pili kilikuwa The Imitation of Christ (Kumwiga Kristo), kinachohusishwa na Thomas à Kempis, kilichomwelekeza kwenye moyo uliotolewa kabisa kwa Mungu. Cha tatu kilikuwa kazi ya William Law juu ya ukamilifu wa Kikristo na maisha ya uchaji. Kutoka kwa waandishi hawa Wesley alijifunza kwamba Mungu anataka moyo wote na maisha yote. Hili likawa kiini cha maisha yake yote, ingawa katika miaka yake ya awali bado hakuwa ameelewa kikamilifu jinsi utakatifu huo unavyopokelewa kwa imani.During these years Wesley was a serious young man, hungry for God. Three books affected him greatly. The first was Holy Living and Holy Dying by Jeremy Taylor, which taught him to give every part of his life to God. The second was The Imitation of Christ, attributed to Thomas à Kempis, which pointed him to a heart wholly given to God. The third was William Law's work on Christian perfection and the devout life. From these writers Wesley learned that God desires the whole heart and all of life. This became a lifelong theme, though in his early years he did not yet fully understand how such holiness is received by faith.

Holy Club (Kikundi Kitakatifu)The Holy Club

John alipokuwa Wroot, ndugu yake mdogo Charles aliingia Oxford na kuanza kukutana na wanafunzi wenzake wachache. Walikubaliana kusoma, kuomba na kuishi kwa kanuni. John aliporudi mwaka 1729, alijiunga nao, na kwa sababu ya umri wake na vipaji vyake punde akawa kiongozi wao. Wengine katika kikundi walikuwa William Morgan na Robert Kirkham. Miaka michache baadaye Benjamin Ingham, James Hervey na George Whitefield nao walijiunga. Whitefield atakuwa mtu muhimu katika Kipindi cha 5.While John was away at Wroot, his younger brother Charles entered Oxford and began to meet with a few fellow students. They agreed to study, to pray, and to live by a rule. When John came back in 1729, he joined them, and because of his age and his gifts he soon became their leader. Others in the group included William Morgan and Robert Kirkham. A few years later Benjamin Ingham, James Hervey and George Whitefield joined them as well. Whitefield will be an important figure in Unit 5.

Desturi za kikundi zilikuwa hizi:The group's practices were these:

• Walishiriki Meza ya Bwana kila wiki, jambo lisilo la kawaida wakati ule.• They took the Lord's Supper every week, which was unusual at the time.

• Walifunga siku za Jumatano na Ijumaa, kama Wakristo wengine wa kwanza walivyofanya.• They fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays, as some early Christians had done.

• Walisoma pamoja Agano Jipya la Kigiriki na vitabu vingine vya ibada.• They studied the Greek New Testament and other devotional books together.

• Walitenga saa maalum za sala na kuweka kumbukumbu makini za jinsi walivyotumia siku zao.• They set aside fixed hours for prayer and kept careful records of how they spent their days.

• Walitembelea wafungwa katika gereza la Oxford, wagonjwa na maskini, na kuwafundisha watoto maskini kusoma.• They visited the prisoners in the Oxford jail, the sick, and the poor, and they taught poor children to read.

• Walitoa pesa, wakati mwingine sehemu kubwa ya walichokuwa nacho.• They gave away money, sometimes much of what they had.

Wanafunzi wenzao waliwacheka na kutumia majina ya utani "Holy Club" na "Wamethodisti," kama tulivyoona katika Kipindi cha 1. Wesley aliikubali kazi hiyo kwa jinsi ilivyokuwa: jaribio makini la kuishi imani. Huduma kwa wafungwa na maskini inaonyesha kwamba tangu mwanzo wasiwasi wake kwa utakatifu ulijumuisha upendo kwa jirani. "Dini safi isiyo na uchafu mbele za Mungu Baba ni hii, kuwazuru yatima na wajane katika dhiki zao, na kujitunza asiwe na mawaa atokanayo na dunia" (Yakobo 1:27).Fellow students laughed at them and used the nicknames "Holy Club" and "Methodists," as we saw in Unit 1. Wesley accepted the work for what it was: a serious attempt to live out the faith. The ministry among prisoners and the poor shows that from the start his concern for holiness included love of neighbor. "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27).

Mjadala: Mwanzo au Hatua ya Kutafuta?The Debate: A Beginning or a Stage of Seeking?

Hili ndilo swali kuu wanalouliza wanahistoria kuhusu Oxford. Je, Holy Club ilikuwa mwanzo wa kweli wa Umethodisti? Au ilikuwa hatua tu ambayo Wesley, mtu mwenye bidii ya dhati, alijaribu kustahili kukubaliwa na Mungu?This is the main question historians ask about Oxford. Was the Holy Club the true beginning of Methodism? Or was it only a stage in which Wesley, a sincere man, was trying to earn his way to God?

Mtazamo mmoja unasema kwamba Holy Club ilikuwa mbegu ya kila kitu kilichofuata. Mkutano mdogo wa kila wiki, kuwatembelea maskini, nidhamu ya wakati, upendo kwa Meza ya Bwana na kujifunza Maandiko vyote vinajitokeza tena katika jumuiya, madarasa na vikundi vya kuungama. Kwa usomaji huu, Umethodisti ulianza Oxford.One view says that the Holy Club was the seed of everything that followed. The weekly small meeting, the visits to the poor, the discipline of time, the love of the Lord's Supper and the study of Scripture all show up again in the societies, classes and bands. On this reading, Methodism began at Oxford.

Mtazamo mwingine ni ule wa Wesley mwenyewe katika miaka ya baadaye. Alitazama nyuma na kusema kwamba siku zile alikuwa akijaribu kukubaliwa na Mungu kwa juhudi zake mwenyewe na maisha ya ukali. Alikuwa akimtumikia Mungu, alisema, lakini bado hakuwa na amani ya mtoto wa Mungu. Baadhi ya wakosoaji leo huenda mbali zaidi na kusema kwamba Holy Club inaonyesha Umethodisti kuwa dini ya matendo.The other view is that of Wesley himself in later years. He looked back and said that in those days he was trying to be accepted by God through his own effort and strict living. He was serving God, he said, but he did not yet have the peace of a child of God. Some critics today go further and say that the Holy Club shows Methodism to be a religion of works.

Jibu letu. Tunadhani kwamba sehemu zote mbili za ukweli lazima zishikwe pamoja. Holy Club ilikuwa mwanzo wa kweli. Mungu aliitumia kumpa Wesley upendo kwa Biblia, kwa sakramenti, kwa maskini na kwa utakatifu, nasi tunamshukuru kwa hilo. Lakini bado haikuwa injili kamili, na Wesley mwenyewe alisema hivyo. Wokovu hautokani na kutenda. "Maana mmeokolewa kwa neema, kwa njia ya imani; wala hii haikutokana na nafsi zenu; ni kipawa cha Mungu; wala si kwa matendo" (Waefeso 2:8-9). Ilimbidi Wesley ajifunze huko Aldersgate lile ambalo kitabu cha Warumi kinafundisha: kwamba tunahesabiwa haki kwa imani. Hili ndilo somo la Kipindi cha 3.Our answer. We think that both parts of the truth must be held together. The Holy Club was a real beginning. God used it to give Wesley a love for the Bible, for the sacrament, for the poor and for holiness, and we thank Him for it. But it was not yet the full gospel, and Wesley himself said so. Salvation does not come by doing. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Wesley had to learn at Aldersgate what the book of Romans teaches: that we are justified by faith. This is the subject of Unit 3.

Hata hivyo, tusiruke kwenda upande wa pili wa kosa. Nidhamu za Holy Club zilikuwa nzuri zenyewe. Maandiko yasema, "kadhalika imani pasipo matendo imekufa" (Yakobo 2:26). Baadaye Wesley aliziita desturi kama hizo "njia za neema" (means of grace), njia ambazo Mungu hukutana nazo na wale wanaomtafuta. Kosa la Oxford halikuwa kwamba Wesley aliomba, alifunga na kuwahudumia maskini. Kosa lilikuwa kuamini matendo hayo kuwa msingi wa kukubaliwa kwake, badala ya kazi iliyokamilika ya Kristo. Mwesley wa kweli anashikilia yote mawili: tunaokolewa kwa neema kwa njia ya imani peke yake, na mtu aliyeokoka atajitoa kwa sala, kwa Maandiko, kwa Meza ya Bwana na kwa maskini.Yet we must not swing to the opposite error. The disciplines of the Holy Club were good in themselves. Scripture says, "faith without works is dead also" (James 2:26). Wesley later called such practices "means of grace," ways in which God meets those who seek Him. The error at Oxford was not that Wesley prayed, fasted and served the poor. The error was trusting these actions as the ground of his acceptance, rather than the finished work of Christ. A true Wesleyan holds both: we are saved by grace through faith alone, and a saved person will give himself to prayer, to Scripture, to the Supper and to the poor.

Kipindi Hiki Kinawafundisha Nini WachungajiWhat This Unit Teaches Pastors

Mafunzo matatu yanajitokeza.Three lessons stand out.

Kwanza, nyumbani ni shule ya kwanza ya imani. Susanna alikuwa na pesa kidogo na hakuwa na wadhifa rasmi, hata hivyo alimuumba mtu aliyeumba vuguvugu. Mimbari ya kwanza katika familia ni meza ya jikoni.First, the home is the first school of faith. Susanna had little money and no formal office, yet she shaped the man who shaped a movement. The first pulpit in a family is the kitchen table.

Pili, Mungu hutumia watu wa kawaida na vikundi vidogo. Wesley hakuanza na umati. Alianza na wanafunzi wachache waliokubaliana kumchukulia Mungu kwa uzito.Second, God uses ordinary people and small groups. Wesley did not begin with a crowd. He began with a few students who agreed to take God seriously.

Tatu, nidhamu na neema ni vitu vinavyoenda pamoja. Lazima tufundishe mazoea ya sala na utii, na lazima tufundishe wazi kwamba hayatupatii wokovu.Third, discipline and grace belong together. We must teach habits of prayer and obedience, and we must teach clearly that they do not earn our salvation.

Matumizi ya KichungajiPastoral Application

Mama mmoja katika kanisa lenu analea watoto wanne peke yake. Anafanya kazi saa nyingi na amechoka. Jumapili moja anakwambia, "Ninahisi sina maana katika kanisa. Siwezi kufundisha darasa wala kuongoza kikundi. Ni vigumu hata kupata wakati wa kuomba."A mother in your congregation is raising four children alone. She works long hours and is tired. One Sunday she tells you, "I feel useless in the church. I cannot teach a class or lead a group. I barely have time to pray."

Kwanza, unamsikiliza bila kumharakisha. Amebeba mzigo mzito, na anahitaji kusikia kwamba unauona.First, you listen without hurrying her. She is carrying a heavy load, and she needs to hear that it is seen.

Pili, unamweleza habari za Susanna Wesley, ambaye naye alikuwa na pesa kidogo na nyumba iliyojaa. Kuwafundisha kwake watoto wake haikuwa jambo dogo, na Mungu alilitumia sana.Second, you tell her of Susanna Wesley, who also had little money and a crowded house. Her teaching of her children was not a small thing, and God used it greatly.

Tatu, unamsaidia kuchagua mazoea moja rahisi kwa ajili ya familia yake: kusoma Maandiko kidogo na kuomba wakati ule ule kila siku, labda wakati wa chakula cha jioni.Third, you help her to choose one simple habit for her family: a short Scripture reading and prayer at the same time each day, perhaps at the evening meal.

Nne, unamwalika ashiriki mazoea hayo na jirani mmoja au mama mwingine. Kama mkutano wa jikoni huko Epworth, mkusanyiko mdogo nyumbani unaweza kuwa njia ya neema kwa wengine. Unamhakikishia kwamba nafasi yake katika kanisa haipimwi kwa anachofanyia kanisa, bali kwa neema aliyoipokea.Fourth, you invite her to share it with one neighbor or another mother. Like the kitchen meeting at Epworth, a small gathering in a home may become a means of grace for others. You assure her that her place in the church is not measured by what she does for the church, but by the grace she has received.

MuhtasariSummary

John Wesley alizaliwa Epworth mwaka 1703 kwa Samuel, mchungaji wa Kianglikana, na Susanna, aliyewafundisha watoto wake nyumbani, aliweka saa maalum ya kuzungumza na kila mmoja juu ya roho yake, na mwaka 1712 aliongoza sala na usomaji wa Maandiko jikoni kwake. John alinusurika moto wa nyumba ya mchungaji wa mwaka 1709 na baadaye alijiita kinga kilichotolewa motoni. Alisoma Charterhouse na Christ Church, Oxford, alipewa daraja la shemasi mwaka 1725 na la kasisi mwaka 1728, na akawa mwanachama wa Lincoln College. Akiathiriwa na Taylor, à Kempis na Law, aliongoza Holy Club ambayo Charles alikuwa ameianzisha, ambayo wanachama wake walishiriki ushirika wa Meza ya Bwana kila wiki, walifunga, walisoma Maandiko na kuwatembelea wafungwa na maskini. Walidhihakiwa kama Wamethodisti. Wanahistoria wanauliza kama huu ulikuwa mwanzo wa kweli wa Umethodisti au hatua tu ya kutafuta. Tunajibu kwamba ulikuwa mwanzo wa kweli, uliompa Wesley upendo wa utakatifu na huduma, lakini kwamba Wesley bado alipaswa kujifunza wokovu kwa imani peke yake. Nidhamu ni njia za neema, si msingi wa kukubaliwa kwetu.John Wesley was born at Epworth in 1703 to Samuel, an Anglican rector, and Susanna, who taught her children at home, set a regular hour to speak with each about his soul, and in 1712 led prayer and Scripture reading in her kitchen. John survived the rectory fire of 1709 and later called himself a brand plucked from the burning. He attended Charterhouse and Christ Church, Oxford, was ordained a deacon in 1725 and a priest in 1728, and became a fellow of Lincoln College. Influenced by Taylor, à Kempis and Law, he led the Holy Club that Charles had begun, whose members took weekly communion, fasted, studied Scripture and visited prisoners and the poor. They were mocked as Methodists. Historians ask whether this was the true beginning of Methodism or only a stage of seeking. We answer that it was a real beginning, which gave Wesley a love of holiness and service, but that Wesley had still to learn salvation by faith alone. Disciplines are means of grace, not the ground of our acceptance.

Usomaji ZaidiFurther Reading

• John Wesley, The Journal of John Wesley (Shajara ya John Wesley), juzuu za mwanzo.• John Wesley, The Journal of John Wesley, the early volumes.

• John Wesley, Mahubiri "The Means of Grace" (Njia za Neema).• John Wesley, Sermon "The Means of Grace."

• John Wesley, Mahubiri "Salvation by Faith" (Wokovu kwa Imani) (1738).• John Wesley, Sermon "Salvation by Faith" (1738).

• Jeremy Taylor, Holy Living and Holy Dying (Kuishi kwa Utakatifu na Kufa kwa Utakatifu).• Jeremy Taylor, Holy Living and Holy Dying.

• Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ (Kumwiga Kristo).• Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of Christ.

• William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (Wito Mzito kwa Maisha ya Uchaji na Utakatifu) (1728).• William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (1728).

• Holiness Through the Ages (Utakatifu Katika Karne Zote) (Coleman, Danielson na Parry), kitabu cha kiada cha CTS.• Holiness Through the Ages (Coleman, Danielson and Parry), the CTS textbook.

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