John Wesley designated 44 sermons as one of the doctrinal standards for the Methodist people. Volume 1 includes 15 of these sermons (sermons 1-15). They represent the core of his teaching and remain the critical standard for much of global Methodism. What makes them especially important is that they constitute a handbook of spiritual direction, a feature that brings them into conversation with wider developments in ascetic theology, ancient and modern. Thus the first fifteen sermons included in volume 1 develop the theme of becoming a Christian. The first group works through crucial concepts and experiences the beginner needs to understand and undergo; and they clearly delineate holiness (love for God and neighbor) as the goal of the spiritual life. Topics in all three volumes include such matters as the place of law in the Christian life, how to avoid bigotry, how to handle misunderstandings of the goal of the Christian life, what to do with spiritual depression, how to tackle self-indulgence as represented by the quest for pleasure, and love of gossip and money.