Charles Wesley (1707-1788) is widely recognized as one of the greatest writers of the English hymn. The importance of Charles, however, extends well beyond his undoubted poetic abilities, for he is a figure of central importance in the context of the birth and early growth of Methodism, amovement which today has a worldwide presence. It was Charles and not John who first started the Oxford 'Holy Club' from which the ethos and structures of organised Methodism were eventually to emerge. It was Charles rather than John who first experienced the 'strange warming of the heart' thatcharacterised the experience of many eighteenth-century evangelicals; and in the early years it was Charles no less than John who sought to spread, mainly through his preaching, the evangelical message across England, Wales, and Ireland. Eye witness testimony suggests that Charles was a powerfuland effective preacher whose homiletic work and skill did much to establish and further the early Methodist cause.In this book this other side of Charles Wesley is brought clearly into focus through the publication, for the first time, of all of the known Charles Wesley sermon texts. In the four substantial introductory chapters a case is made for the inclusion of the 23 sermons here presented and there isdiscussion also of the significant text-critical problems that have been negotiated in the production of this volume. Other chapters present a summary of Charles's life and preaching career and seek to show by example how the sermons, no less than the hymns, are significant vehicles for thetransmission of Charles's message. This book hence makes a plea for a reassessment of the place of Charles Wesley in English Church history and argues that he deserves to be recognised as more than just 'The Sweet Singer of Methodism'.

This volume is the first attempt to explore Charles Wesley's understanding of "participation in the divine nature," often described by the church fathers as deification and/or theosis, within the full spectrum of his prose and poetical compositions and in relation to many of the church fathers. While the Eastern Church has been the primary harbinger of the doctrine of deification from the patristic era to the present, Charles Wesley's theology illustrates that this emphasis is by no means absent in the West. Though patristic influences on Charles Wesley's thought are primarily through secondary sources such as the writings of Lancelot Andrewes and Richard Hooker, as well as through the influence of his brother John, this volume underscores prominent resonances with the church fathers. The extent of these resonances in Charles's theology as regards "participation in the divine nature" is so widespread in his writings that they form the matrix of his ideas of salvation, perfection, and holiness, all of which are intimately bound with life lived in and through the Eucharist. If taken seriously, Charles Wesley's ideas on "participation in the divine nature" will require a rethinking of the role of Wesleyan theology in spiritual formation and in ecumenical conversation.

This is the fourth in an eagerly awaited series of four volumes of John Wesley's 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 Wesley's manuscripts. Of all the genres in Wesley's prodigious output, his sermons most clearly focus and expound his understanding of Christian existence. Outler's 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 Wesley's manuscripts. These constitute the core of Wesley's doctrinal teachings upon which his own evangelical movement was founded. Following Wesley's own ordering, Dr. Outler begins with the familiar Sermons on Several Occasions, which present Wesley's 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 Wesley's 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. All Works of John Wesley volumes are designed to keep the pages clean and in place for years to come., with casebound non-cloth hardcover, dust jacket, and secure adhesive binding.