By Pastor Tracey Leslie
Scripture:  1 Corinthians 1:18-31

​In America, there are a variety of cultural norms and expectations of which we may not even be consciously aware.  But there are also regional norms and values around which we may be more perceptive.  As I’ve mentioned, I grew up in south central Pennsylvania, the small, Appalachian city of Johnstown.  One of the values in my culture of origin was to live one’s entire life close to home.  My dad’s ministry took my family out of the Johnstown area for a total of eight years… and they were eight of the longest, most difficult years of my mother’s life.  Johnstown was where our family belonged.  When my sister’s husband was laid off early in their marriage by two consecutive companies who went out of business – not at all an uncommon thing in Johnstown’s depressed economy – it did not cross their minds to move to a different geographical area with better employment opportunities.  Johnstown was home.  When I left south central Pennsylvania, I felt that I had betrayed the values of my upbringing.  No one told me I had done wrong but I had internalized this important cultural value that I subsequently transgressed.  To this day, when a distant relative passes away and I am unable to return for the funeral for whatever reason, I hear a faint voice in my head that says, “If you weren’t hundreds of miles away, you could be there.”  It is hard to release our cultural norms and values.  
Perhaps you have had a similar experience.  If you have ever lived in a different geographical culture for an extended period of time, you may have experienced the discomfort of cultural dissonance

By Pastor Tracey Leslie
Scripture:  Matthew 4:12-17; 6:22-23

In May of 1738, John Wesley, the father of Methodism, wrote the following in his journal:  “In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where [some]one was reading [Martin] Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans.  About a quarter before nine, 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 my 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.”[i]
This one small journal entry from Wesley, who produced volumes of sermons, letters, and teachings over the course of his life, is today referred to as his “Aldersgate experience.”  Some have even gone so far as to define it as the moment of Wesley’s conversion.  Yet, biographers of Wesley’s life point out that Wesley clearly and frequently writes of his trust in Christ before his Aldersgate experience and that “in the first six months after Aldersgate he reports numerous instances of spiritual depression.”[ii]

[i] John Wesley, edited by Albert Outler, Oxford University Press, 1964.  This and the subsequent quote are taken from Part One, chapter 2, The Aldersgate Experience, found on pages 51-69.
[ii] Ibid.

By Pastor Tracey Leslie
Scripture:  John 1:35-49

​This morning launches a new sermon series: “20/20 Vision.”  It is, of course, a new year and so it seems an appropriate time to focus on what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  This morning we’re going to consider: what does it mean to “come” to Jesus; to see him for who he is?
 
You know all preachers have a particular style.  But this morning, I’m going to do something out of my norm.  What I’m about to do would make my seminary preaching professor roll over in his grave.  The dearly departed Dr. Kendall McCabe was adamant in making a distinction between preaching and teaching.  But this morning, I am going to blend them because there is just so much incredibly wonderful stuff in this passage of scripture from John, I want you to be able to feast on what John proclaims.  So, this morning’s bible story begins…
John 1:35 The next day John [the Baptist] again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, "Look, here is the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?"