By Pastor Tracey Leslie
Scripture:  John 3:1-17

You may recall me having said in the past that the Church has its own calendar.  And just as we have holidays on our national calendar – 4th of July, Memorial Day – likewise we have holidays – or holy days – on our Christian calendar; holy days that usually commemorate special events recorded in scripture.  Christmas celebrates Jesus’ birth; Easter celebrates Jesus’ resurrection. 
Today is another special day on the Church’s calendar but one most folks are unfamiliar with.  Today is Trinity Sunday.  Now admittedly, at our church every Sunday is Trinity Sunday.  But today is Trinity Sunday everywhere and it is a holy day on the Church’s calendar that is not associated with a particular bible story or event.  Rather, it is doctrine or theological belief that is grounded in scripture as a whole; scattered throughout its pages and passages.

A Pentecost sermon on Acts, chapter 2
By Pastor Tracey Leslie
​https://youtu.be/aRg0XW6siPY

Last Monday evening we concluded our discussion group on the short stories of Hans Christian Andersen.  In discussing last week’s story, someone in the group made a comment that stuck with me.  They mentioned that effective communication is not only about content, but also about context.  In other words, content needs to be considerate of context in order to be impactful.  Effective communicators know their audience.  We never speak into a vacuum.  We speak into context; into people’s lives – their ideas, experiences and values.  I was still thinking about that comment when I met someone Tuesday morning for coffee and the topic of evangelism came up; specifically, how we evangelize in ways that are respectful of others and not judgmental or manipulative.  We recognize we’re now living in a culture where people do a lot of talking at people and not much dialoguing with people.  We recognize that as feeling disrespectful and even oppressive and objectifying.

A Sermon for Ascension Sunday
By Pastor Tracey Leslie
Luke 24:44-53
https://youtu.be/aW0_OGa5SVc

When I was a little kid, there was a song titled "Spinning Wheel," which affirmed Sir Isaac Newton's metaphysical truth that "What goes up must come down."  Now, Newton's scientific determinations could not help but have an effect on the religious thought of his day.  Newton saw God as a master creator whose existence could not be denied in the face of the grandeur of creation.  Newton's scientific theories, however, led many to reason that God, producing such an exact and ordered universe, was no longer involved in its day to day operations.  After all, if God had set up the universe to work in such a precise and methodical fashion, then any subsequent meddling on God’s part would imply that God had made some sort of mistake from the get go.  Therefore, some reasoned, any necessary “adjustments” along the way would be left up to humanity, on our own.  Today, we call this theological perspective deism.