Grits and the Gospel - June 28, 2026

Hello friends and welcome to this week's episode of grits in the gospel. My name is Reverend Katie Griffiths It is good to be with you this June 28th, I right now all of the animals are quiet and Somewhat and The kitten is sleeping. So hopefully we'll get through this without much of a hubbub I know some people come on here just to listen for the hubbub But it is my hope that they are quiet and happy It is good to be given the souls of God's creatures Even the four-legged ones to love and to care for and I'm thankful for them even when they're a little itchy Welcome to this fifth Sunday after Pentecost Let us come together now in a time of worship the Lord be with you and also with you Today's epistle lesson is from Ephesians one of John Wesley's favorites. It is the second chapter verses 12 through 22 here now the word of the Lord Remember that you were at that time without Christ being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise Having no hope and without God in the world But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off had been brought near by the blood of Christ For he is our peace in his flesh. He has made both into one And has broken down the dividing wall That the hostility between us abolishing the law with its commandments or ordinances that he might create in himself One new humanity in place of the two thus making peace It might reconcile both to God in one body through the cross thus putting to death that hostility through it So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near for through him Both of us have access to the Spirit to the Father So then you are no longer strangers and aliens But you are fellow citizens with the Saints and also members of the household of God Built upon the foundation of the Apostles and the prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone in Him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord in Whom you are also built together Spiritually into a dwelling place for God the word of God for us the people of God Thanks be to God Let us come together now and remind ourselves not just of the things of Wesley John Wesley and his ideals of faith But in those bigger ideals of the Universal Church and faith Friends what do we believe I? Believe in God the Father Almighty Maker of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit? Born of the Virgin Mary Suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried the third day he rose from the dead He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead I believe in the Holy Spirit the Holy Catholic Church the communion of Saints the forgiveness of sins The resurrection of the body and the life everlasting Amen, let us pray dear Lord we come to you today Just humbled by these messages that we have been studying that were given to John Wesley a flawed and Imperfect man just like we are flawed and imperfect Help us to see you through his eyes and learn about our own faith as we hear about his Hear us now as we pray that those words that your son our Lord Savior taught us to pray Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespassed against us And lead us not into temptation And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever Amen Today's gospel lesson comes from the gospel according to John We're in the first chapter verses 6 through 18 here now the word of the Lord There was a man sent from God whose name was John He came as a witness to testify to the light so that all might believe through him He himself was not the light but he came to testify to the light the true light which entitles everyone Was coming into the world? He was in the world and the world came into being through him and yet the world did not know him He came to what was his own and his own people did not accept him But to all who received him who believed in his name He gave power to become children of God Who were born not of blood or the will or the of the flesh or of the will of man but of God And the word became flesh and live among us lived among us And we have seen his glory the glory as of a father's only son full of grace and truth John testified to him and cried out. This was he of whom I said He who came after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me From his fullness. We have all received grace upon grace The law indeed was given through Moses grace and truth came through Jesus Christ not one has ever seen God It is the only son himself God Who is close to the father's heart? Who has made him known? The word of God for us the people of God, thanks be to God Would you pray with me dear Lord as we come together today to hear? the interpretation of the gospel of John through John Wesley Reveal to us your truth your ultimate truth That we may see your face and find love and care and all we do Let the words of My mouth and the mediation of all of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight. Oh Lord our strength in our Redeemer I'm in in 1765 Wesley was at his seemingly full-time job of offending people and causing trouble What came out of that need to continue defending himself and his thoughts on faith and grace is The sermon that is published and preached the most by Wesley The scriptural way of salvation outlines in no uncertain terms exactly what he thinks about faith What these people who were questioning Wesley forced him to do was work out and research and defend Exactly what he believed What that means for us today is that we have one document that sums up the basic ideals of the United Methodist Church was Wesley perfect No Indeed he was not He had real issues with women Not with women in the church, but with his dating and home life with women He set some ideals and standards that he was not able to live up to Wesley was after all a human male and was not perfect Maybe next summer we should look at the scandals of the Methodist Church. He would be first on that list If you want to sneak peek just Google Wesley returned to England even though he was flawed and maybe because he is flawed and admits it and Speaks of how he tries to learn from and work through his issues. I Think his ideals of cell ideas of salvation are not only closest to my own but show the humanity of faith and why we need salvation to begin with and Because he spoke not what others wanted to hear but what the spirit moved him to say he spoke God's truth no matter what who he offended and This three-point sermon gives us a broad view of what he was Defending and what we have come to see is the basic ideas of faith and Methodism With scriptural references for each point most of which don't have actual chapter and verse references Wesley asks three questions What is salvation where he outlines his thoughts on faith and grace? What is the faith whereby we are saved which is how we live into that faith and How are we saved by it? and this talks about the means of grace that we studied last week and Not that I want to be Wesley's editor, but I think there is one key component missing One of the most beautiful parts of the United Methodist doctrine is the connection we have to each other across the denomination And that is manifested in how we work together to show others God's grace in The first section we see how salvation is an idea far beyond what happens to us after death or the hope of heaven We also see how this idea of salvation goes seamlessly with Wesley's ideas of grace Wesley says this of salvation It is not a blessing which lies on the other side of death or as we usually speak in the other world The very words of the text itself put this beyond all question ye are Saved it's not something in a distance. It is a present thing a blessing which Through the free mercy of God Ye are now in possession of nay The words may be rendered and that with equal property you have been saved So that the salvation which is here spoken of might be extended to the entire work of God From the first dawning of grace in the soul till it is consummated in glory Salvation is already given grace already Covers from the beginning of time for every soul God's grace is there which is the basic definition of provenient grace Our Salvation is there for us freely given by God to all he created Then he moves to the idea of justifying grace or pardon for our sins When we accept that grace and salvation that is already there, then we find justifying grace But as we are all sinful humans and as we know Wesley certainly was We still fall short even after we find that part that pardoning of our sins through grace Which is where his third idea of grace comes in sanctifying grace comes after acceptance and pardon as we move toward perfection and What is perfection exactly? Wesley tells us he said it is love excluding sin Love filling the heart taking up the whole capacity of the soul It is love rejoicing evermore praying without ceasing and Everything giving thanks the second point of Wesley's sermon is that we should have a faith of assurance and not a faith of adherence He makes this clear in his translation from the original text It is important I believe that we look to this practice when we look for meaning in any scripture it becomes dangerous to rely on a translation of a translation I Love books like the cotton-patch gospel and the message, but it's very important to remember that these are Interpretations of a translation of scripture and not an actual translation Are these things useful of course they are but they have to be kept in perspective, that's why I love Seeing that Wesley uses direct Translations for some of his sermons. It gives me confidence in his study and application of scripture to the faith. He describes He looks to the definition of faith from the Apostle Paul and translates it for us all as a Divine evidence and conviction of things not seen Not visible not perceived either by sight or by any other senses He goes on to further explain it implies both a supernatural evidence of God and of the things of God a kind of spiritual light exhibited to the soul and a supernatural sight of Perception thereof I Love that phrase spiritual light exhibited to the soul Faith feels like that sometimes doesn't it when we have those moments of the spirit feeling closer when we have those Revelations and assurances of faith. It feels like a light shining on our souls The third section should sound a little familiar if you were here last week How are we saved by grace? First it is repentance a turn from sinful ways when temptation strikes But then he goes on to discuss works of piety and works of mercy Works of piety are the same as the means of grace that he outlined before for us prayer study of scripture and receiving the Lord's Supper in The works of mercy Wesley shows us that he is a Matthew 25 believer He reminds us that whether they relate to the bodies or souls of men Such as feeding the hungry clothing the naked entertaining the stranger visiting those that are in prison or sick or variously afflicted such as the Endeavoring to instruct the ignorant to awaken the stupid sinner to quicken the lukewarm To confirm the wavering to comfort the feeble-minded To succor the tempted or to contribute in any manner to the saving of souls from death This is the repentance and these fruits meet for repentance, which is necessary to full sanctification This is the way where in God hath appointed his children to wait for complete salvation I love that idea salvation does not come from works But works are the fruits of repentance What a beautiful way to see our faith and our call to take care of each other It is that concept that brings the fourth ideal of United Methodism that I love so much Connection Wesley believed in doing the works of piety and bands and in groups Excuse me He believed that we are better when we have each other to study with and pray with and to hold each other accountable And we are also better together when we do works of mercy as one When we work with our friends up at Byronville United Methodist Church at their food bank We are more impactful and strong for our neighbors When we laugh and worship and play harmonicas and ukuleles with our friends at Midway United Methodist Church We are fed body and soul with reckless abandon When we are even in connection with churches outside of the United Methodist connection We are better for our community and make a difference far beyond our own walls and denomination like the partnership We are fostering with st. Mark Baptist Being in community and connection makes all of these works better doing these works gives us a chance to live into the repentance and salvation and grace That we seek and are given these ideas of the basis are the basis not of our faith But of our belief and the Wesleyan tradition of our faith Based on the spirit filled writings of a flawed and repentant man He worked with his brother and was influenced heavily by his mother to spread the good news of grace and love To the people of the Georgia coast and far beyond He went where he was called He preached the words that the spirit gave him He spoke the truth even if it meant that he was ridiculed and questioned John Wesley was a man. He was not an idol to be worshipped, but he showed us how faith and life Could be saved through grace It is good to remember our roots It is good to remember the origins of our denomination But it is done in vain if we only look to Wesley for inspiration The ending of this sermon reminds us of that very idea Wesley says Christ is ready and He is all you want. He is waiting for you. He is at the door Let your inmost soul cry out come in come in now heavenly guest nor hence again remove But sup with me and let the feast Be everlasting love I'm in As we go throughout our week Let us look for ways To live into that grace through acts of piety and acts of mercy for ourselves and for our neighbors Because in life and death in life beyond death. God is with us We are not alone Thanks to be to God. I'm in You