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Author: Timothy Tennent

Timothy Tennent ~ Marriage, Human Sexuality, & the Body: The Meaning of Our Original Nakedness

The utilitarian vision sees the body of a man or woman as an object which can be assessed like a car. Is it bright, new, shiny and full of power, or not? Is your body thin or fat; does it conform to the shapes we admire or not; is your hair the right texture and color or not; are your teeth shiny and straight or not? In the covenantal vision, the mystery and glory is that we have bodies, and those bodies are beautiful to God because they are living sacraments in the world, an outward sign of an inward and spiritual grace, since all of the means of grace come through the physicality of the body.

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Timothy Tennent ~ Marriage, Human Sexuality, and the Body: From the Beginning It Was Not So

For example, we often describe a “sacrament” as an outward sign of an inward and spiritual grace, but then we limit ourselves by thinking of sacraments only in terms of the two which Christ established: baptism and the Eucharist. Wesley, on the other hand, prodded us to think more deeply and expansively about all the means of grace which, for Wesley, is a much larger category than baptism and Eucharist. John Paul II makes the point that Christ is not the only one who provides sacramental means of grace. There are sacraments which flow from the Father and the Spirit. We will actually explore how marriage is the primordial sacrament later in this series. But, for now, let us lay the groundwork that your physical body itself is a kind of sacrament. It is an outward sign of an inward and spiritual grace, because we have been created in the image of God.

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God Calls His People to Be Holy

One of the questions people often ask is, why did God choose the Jewish people? The answer has a lot to do with his desire for the whole world to share in his holiness. Read more in today’s article from Timothy Tennent.

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Timothy Tennent ~ What the Church Can Do During Exile

Jeremiah reminds us that we do not respond with hatred or anger to those who have plotted our demise. We pray for the peace and prosperity of the country. We pray for the well-being of a church which celebrates false prophets (Jeremiah 28). We realize – and this is the real lesson of Jeremiah – that judgement is actually a “means of grace.” The historic churches in the western world are under God’s judgment. I do not want to add to anyone’s weariness by repeating all the signs of this. But I do think we need to remember that Jeremiah promised that in 70 years their exile would come to an end and that God would, once again, bless them.

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5 Things the Holy Spirit Accomplished at Pentecost

But to effectively serve Christ in the world, we must not merely be called holy; we must actually be holy. In today’s article, Timothy Tennent helpfully explains how the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost provides the church with this needed holiness.

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What Are the Ten Commandments?

What are the ten commandments? In today’s article, Timothy Tennent explains how the ten commandments are not simply a set of negative commands, they are a wonderful way for someone to understand the heart of the Law.

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The Cross as the Great Transaction of Holiness

The cross of Jesus Christ is God’s answer to the greatest human predicament in history. Read more today from Timothy Tennent as he explains how the holiness of Jesus satisfies the holiness of the Father, which also makes his church into a holy people.

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Timothy Tennent ~ Help Is On the Way: A New Wesleyan Network in a Post-Denominational World

Let me also remind us that the Wesleyan movement is a global reality, well beyond United Methodism, comprising many movements and denominations and tens of millions of people. This is an, “If your heart is as our heart, give us your hand,” invitation; a call for the historically orthodox Wesleyans of the World to join in covenant relationship. Be clear, this is neither a call for schism or structure but for solidarity in our shared and treasured way of faith and mission.

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