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What the Bible Says about the Afterlife
I’ve been a pastor for twenty years. If there’s one thing people have questions about, it’s the afterlife. If there’s one thing people...
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Matt O'Reilly
5 min read
5 Keys to Fill the "Sanctification Gap" (#UMC, @IVPacademic, @OfficialSeedbed)
Is holiness a missing element in evangelical theology? That’s what Gordon T. Smith says in the opening chapter of his recent book, Called...
Matt O'Reilly
1 min read
New Post: Resurrection Makes Us Holy (@OfficialSeedbed)
During my recent trip to Wilmore, Kentucky, I had the opportunity to film another episode for Seedbed‘s growing Seven Minute Seminary...


Matt O'Reilly
1 min read
Preaching Holiness #UMC
I recently posted a few reflections on John Wesley’s instruction that Methodist preachers ought to preach the doctrine of holiness (or...


Matt O'Reilly
4 min read
John Wesley On What Every Methodist Preacher Should Preach #UMC
What did John Wesley expect his preachers to preach about? What should be the heart of their message? Near the end of his short book, A...
Matt O'Reilly
1 min read
Here’s My New 7 Minute Seminary: Is Sin Essential? #UMC @OfficialSeedbed
Is sin essential to human experience? What if it’s not? What if Jesus died so we could stop sinning? What if full human life is a fully...


Matt O'Reilly
3 min read
Four Thoughts on the Four Virtues
Upon the recommendation of a very good friend, I began reading through Joseph Pieper’s The Four Cardinal Virtues. Not surprisingly, the...
Matt O'Reilly
1 min read
New Podcast: Fully Focused on the Finish #ChristianPerfection #UMC
http://www.podbean.com/media/player/audio/postId/5338718/url/http%253A%252F%252Fstmarkumc.podbean.com%252Fe%252Ffully-focused-on-the-fini...
Matt O'Reilly
1 min read
New Podcast: Christlike in Real Life @StMarkMobile #UMC
http://www.podbean.com/media/player/audio/postId/5320402/url/http%253A%252F%252Fstmarkumc.podbean.com%252Fe%252Fchristlike-in-real-life-p...


Matt O'Reilly
1 min read
New Sermon Podcast: "See Holy, Be Holy" #umc #wesleyanaccent
I’m excited to announce that I’ve just begun a new appointment to St. Mark United Methodist Church in Mobile, Alabama. It’s a great...


Matt O'Reilly
4 min read
What can St. Patrick teach us about Christian Perfection?
Whether using a shamrock to illustrate the Trinity or running the snakes out of Ireland, St. Patrick is known for many legendary and even...


Matt O'Reilly
3 min read
Flames of Holy Love: Or, Why I’m a Methodist (#AndCanItBe)
This is John Wesley. And this vision of Christianity is why I am, and will remain, a Methodist. “Love is the fulfilling of the law, the...


Matt O'Reilly
3 min read
Entire Sanctification in the Early Church (#AndCanItBe)
I’ve often heard that John Wesley’s emphasis on Entire Sanctification (or Christian Perfection) was not only the result of his reading of...


Matt O'Reilly
1 min read
Free Wesleyan-Holiness Resources! @OfficialSeedbed #andcanitbe
Seedbed has just announced a new partnership with First Fruits Publishing to release a number of classic Wesleyan-holiness works and...


Matt O'Reilly
2 min read
The Corrupted Gospel #andcanitbe
John Wesley’s conviction that the Methodist movement existed primarily to proclaim the doctrine of Christian perfection (or entire...


Matt O'Reilly
3 min read
Key United Methodist Beliefs by Abraham and Watson (#andcanitbe)
It has sometimes been suggested that “Methodist beliefs” is an oxymoron. Fortunately, an increasing number of voices are working to...


Matt O'Reilly
3 min read
360-Degree Holiness: @calvintsamuel Lectures @WesleyBiblical (#andcanitbe)
I finally got around to downloading and listening to the Chamberlain Holiness Lectures delivered last fall by Rev. Dr. Calvin T. Samuel...


Matt O'Reilly
2 min read
James Dunn on Biblical Holiness (#AndCanItBe)
I was struck by this quote from James D.G. Dunn on holiness in the Bible: I still want to maintain that wherever the concept of...


Matt O'Reilly
2 min read
Further Thoughts on Wesleyan Renewal: A Respone to @CraigAdams49 (#AndCanItBe)
I’m grateful to Craig Adams for his thoughtful interaction with my previous post on finding our Wesleyan voice. Craig made some good...


Matt O'Reilly
2 min read
Why I Love the United Methodist Church
Grace that transforms I recall reading John Wesley’s A Plain Account of Christian Perfection for the first time. I remember that I was...


Matt O'Reilly
2 min read
A Contemporary Account of Christian Perfection
The doctrine of Christian perfection needs to be recaptured and restated today. And a recent, if unexpected restatement of some core...
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