Aldersgate Day is celebrated on 24th May 1738 (or the Sunday closest) to commemorate the day when John Wesley experienced assurance of his salvation. Wesley reluctantly attended a group meeting that evening on Aldersgate Street in London. Romans 8 vv3 ‘God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own son.’ . As he heard a reading from Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans, he felt his "heart strangely warmed." Wesley wrote in his journal that at about 8:45 p.m. "while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."
Charles Wesley only a few days before had also had a conversion experience in a building that still stands on an adjacent street. We do not know whether the building where John Wesley's experience took place still exists. A monument at the London Museum on Aldersgate Street marks where some think the building may have been.
After Jesus died and came back to life, He promised His followers that they would receive the Holy Spirit to guide and inspire them. Wesley Day on 24 May (and Aldersgate Sunday on the preceding Sunday) marks one of Methodism founder John Wesley’s own transformative experiences, as he felt God's love in a most personal and life-giving way during a meeting with other Christians. What does this mean for us today? A Methodist Way of Life encourages us to develop a way of living which help us encounter God, including noticing God in Scripture and the world. On that Wednesday evening, Wesley met God in a new way. God is there, ready and willing to meet us. It won’t be exactly the same as the Wesleys’ experiences, as God meets each of us differently but we might have a feeling of God’s presence and love like the Wesleys.
Charles Wesley most powerful hymns were written in the immediate aftermath of his own "conversion". ‘Where shall my wondering soul begin’? Charles began writing this hymn two days after his conversion experience on 21 May 1738. He and John are said to have sung it following John’s own experience in Aldersgate Street. ‘And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Saviour's blood’? Wesley contrasts light and darkness, life and death, slavery and freedom, and Christ's righteousness and our unrighteousness, in order to express the mystery of God's grace extended to sinners who turn to Christ in faith. Like “Where shall my wondering soul begin?”, Charles wrote this hymn shortly following his own conversion. Its many scriptural references reflect his intimate knowledge of the Bible.
Pray Revive us, Lord, in all we do. Reach into our hearts, through Spirit, wind and flame. Renew us, Lord, in word and deed. In us build a new creation. May our hearts be strangely warmed, that we might grow and change together. We pray your spirit come, that it might be on earth as in heaven; that we might be bold to speak and pray, that your church might grow again. Lord God, revive your church, Help us share your love with others. Enable us to teach your word. May we be alive to Him. Help us be alert to each other’s needs; disciplined in prayer and deed. Build in us a vision for your kingdom, received in grace, peace and wisdom. Amen.