Way of Life

Why did God prohibit the Israelites from peering too deeply into the future, and what does that mean for those of us who follow Jesus today? This sermon was preached on Saturday, May 31, 2025.

Beyond the qualifications for leaders, does the Bible allow for individuals to serve in greater leadership roles like that of Pope or the Patriarch of Constantinople? This sermon was preached on Saturday, May 24, 2025.

How do we know what is just, and will God bless us for whatever justice we pursue? This sermon was preached on Saturday, May 17, 2025.

What does it really mean to worship God in spirit and in truth, and how might the yearly schedule of Israel help us to know what it means to be disciples of Jesus? This sermon was preached on Saturday, May 10, 2025.

How was the Festival of Shavuot (or Sevens) fulfilled in the year Jesus died, rose bodily, and ascended into the heavens, and what might that fulfillment mean for us? This sermon was preached on Saturday, May 3, 2025.

How might the pilgrimage festivals of Ancient Israel help us to understand what is happening in the natural world today? This sermon was preached on Saturday, April 26, 2025.

What aspects of the Passover should Christians be sure to practice today in our celebration of the Eucharist/Holy Communion? This sermon was preached on Saturday, April 19, 2025.

What might we learn about creation, the cross, and life itself from the Covenant of Sinai's requirement that all firstling males of Israel's flocks and herds be sacrificed to God? This sermon was preached on Saturday, April 12, 2025.

What can the Covenant of Sinai teach us about God's ethics of hospitality, generosity, and mercy? This sermon was preached on Saturday, April 5, 2025.

What is tithing, how did it work in Israel, and how might it apply to Christians today? This sermon was preached on Saturday, March 29, 2025.

This word was spoken on Thursday, March 27, 2025.

Why did God prohibit Israel from eating certain foods, and are there dietary restrictions we should consider putting into practice today? This sermon was preached on Saturday, March 22, 2025.

Who are the two types of people who are most difficult for us to resist if they attempt to lead us into rebellion against God? This sermon was preached on Saturday, March 15, 2025.

This message was delivered on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

What does it mean for contemporary Christians to obey the Covenant of Sinai? This sermon was preached on Saturday, March 8, 2025.

If Jesus taught us to live by the Law of Love, then what precisely is the Law of Love? This sermon was preached on Saturday, March 1, 2025.

How does the Bible's teaching that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works, come together with the Scripture's insistence that God's people must be people who behave as Jesus behaved and walk as Jesus walked? This sermon was preached on Saturday, February 22, 2025.

Why did God create the earth as it is? Why did God create humanity and place us upon this earth? This sermon was preached on Saturday, February 15, 2025.

We worship what we fear. If we wish to live a life free of fear, we must come to fear only the One, True, God. This sermon was preached on Saturday, February 8, 2025.

How has Israel's displacement of the seven nations of Canaan fulfilled God's plan to save all nations and bless them through Abraham? This sermon was preached on Saturday, February 1, 2025.

Why have so many forgotten God's Name, and why do those who remember fear to pronounce it? This sermon was preached on Saturday, January 25, 2025.

Why does God send prophets; does God still send prophets; and how do we distinguish true prophets from false prophets? This sermon was preached on Saturday, January 18, 2025.

What can the Ten Commandments tell us about loving our neighbors both in Ancient Israel and today? This sermon was preached on Saturday, January 11, 2025. J. Thomas's other sermons on Sabbath eluded to in this discussion can be found at the following links:   Foundations Series - Discussion 2: Margin (Leviticus 19:9-10) https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-na8b3-dc2c46   Living with Margin Series - Discussion 2: A Margin for Contentment (Exodus 20:8-17) https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-2e5j6-12ec736   Luke Series - Discussion 42: Law, Mercy, & the Justice of God (Luke 13:1-17; 14:1-6) https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-anvcq-15dca8c   John Series - Discussion 21: Sabbath (John 7:14-24) https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-advuu-ef733b   1 Corinthians Series - Discussion 32: Sabbath Faith (1 Corinthians 16:1-4) https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-advuu-ef733b  

This prayer was first prayed on February 21, 2021. It was a prayer for then, is a prayer for now, and will be a prayer for the days to come.

Why are the Ten Commandments different in Judaism, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism; what exactly did God require of Israel; and what does God require of Christians today? This sermon was preached on Saturday, January 4, 2025.

Why did God command Israel to establish six 'cities of refuge', and what might they tell us about murder, capital punishment, and eating meat? This sermon was preached on Saturday, December 28, 2024.

Why did God choose the people of Israel, and what does that mean for those of us who have been grafted into Israel by faith in Jesus? This sermon was preached on Saturday, December 21, 2024.

Why has God prohibited all who worship Him from utilizing carved or sculpted images in our interactions with Him? This sermon was preached on December 14, 2024.

How is it that both Ancient Israel and the Church have fallen constantly into idolatry, and how might we change course in the future? This sermon was preached on Saturday, December 7, 2024.

Why did God refuse to forgive Moses, and what might that mean for us? This sermon was preached on Saturday, November 30, 2024.

Why did God call the Israelites to attack some nations while avoiding others? This sermon was preached on Saturday, November 23, 2024.

Who were the Anakim, why did Israel fear them, and do we still fear them today? This sermon was preached on Saturday, November 16, 2024.

What might the administrative organization both of Moses and of the Apostles teach us about leadership in Christian communities today? This sermon was preached on Saturday, November 9, 2024.

J. Thomas's books can be ordered from Amazon.com at the following links: "And the Word of the Lord Came..." : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D92ZVM4N "Babel Revisited": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GTRGT32 "A Faithful Person, Who Can Find?": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KLFKQQK "The gods of the West": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B75VGYK4 "When God Doesn't Look Like God": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CB55YV8R    

What exactly is the Gospel of Jesus, according to Luke? This sermon was preached on Saturday, November 2, 2024.

What might the resurrection of Jesus teach us about the nature of reality? This sermon was preached on Saturday, October 26, 2024.

Why did God conceal Himself so thoroughly in the Person of Jesus that most of His contemporaries had no idea Who He was? This sermon was preached on Saturday, October 19, 2024.

On His way to die, why did Jesus tell the women of Jerusalem to weep? This sermon was preached on Saturday, October 12, 2024.

How did God become humanity's enemy, and what has led both our ancestors and ourselves to condemn God to death? This sermon was preached on Saturday, October 5, 2024.

How did Satan effectively sift Jesus' disciples as wheat? This sermon was preached on Saturday, September 28, 2024.

According to Jesus, what kind of experience, skill, and character qualify a person for leadership in the Kingdom of God? This sermon was preached on Saturday, September 21, 2024.

When Jesus said, "This is my body," and, "This is my blood," what did He mean? This sermon was preached on Saturday, September 14, 2024.

This word was received on Monday, May 16, 2022, and it was declared on Monday, September 9, 2024.

What did Luke mean when he said, "Satan entered into Judas," and can the same thing happen to us? This sermon was preached on Saturday, September 7, 2024.

What do Jesus' prophecies of the end times tell us both about our history and about our future? This sermon was preached on August 31, 2024.

How might we know if what we have built for God truly honors God? This sermon was preached on Saturday, August 24, 2024.

When a person reaches deep for inspiration, with whom are they communing? This sermon was preached on Saturday, August 17, 2024.

When Jesus said that there will be no marriage in heaven, what did He mean to reveal to us? This sermon was preached on Saturday, August 10, 2024.

How does Jesus' response to the question of paying taxes help us to understand what it means to live as exiles in the world? This sermon was preached on Saturday, August 3, 2024.

Who authorizes a prophet, and how might Jesus have proven His credentials? This sermon was preached on Saturday, July 27, 2024.

When Jesus rode a formerly unridden foal of a donkey into Jerusalem, what did He come to offer us? This sermon was preached on Saturday, July 20, 2024.