Way of Life

Way of Life in the Shadow of the Cross Ministry Links: Website: https://shadowofthecross.org/ Podcast: https://wayoflife.podbean.com/ Patron Page: https://patron.podbean.com/wayoflifepodcast YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/jthomasjohnson Bible Reading Plans: https://shadowofthecross.org/bible-reading-plans/   Books by J. Thomas Johnson: And the Word of the Lord Came... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FLQJDZ16 When God Doesn't Look Like God https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SK17BB The gods of the West https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7BQZTZD Babel Revisited https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GXKMP8R A Faithful Person, Who Can Find? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KNGCF9R  

What does marrying widows and punishing dirty tactics during fights have to do with God's care for future generations? This sermon was preached on Saturday, September 6, 2025.

When God asks us to love our neighbors as ourselves, He has not left us to decide what that means for ourselves. God has told us specifically how to love our neighbors as ourselves. How are we doing? This sermon was preached on Saturday, August 30, 2025.

Is divorce allowable for followers of the One, True God? Are there any consequences for those who divorce and/or remarry? This sermon was preached on Saturday, August 23, 2025. Here is a link to J. Thomas's sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:10-16: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-7nvzg-c622c9  

How have we accumulated our wealth and possessions? Have we benefited from practices prohibited by God, or have we acquired what we have by ways approved by God and intended by Him? This sermon was preached on Saturday, August 15, 2025.

What do God's requirements with respect to human excrement and sexual excretions tell us about God and about what He expects from us? This sermon was preached on Saturday, August 9, 2025.

The words in this message were received from the Lord between 2020 and 2023.

What does God's judgment of Ammon and Moab have to do with the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats? How do God's rules about participation in the assembly of Israel apply to Christians today? This sermon was preached on Saturday, August 2, 2025.

The LORD spoke this word on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 (21 Sivan, 5785 on the Hebrew Calendar), and He has bid me to declare it today, July 31, 2025 (6 Av, 5785).

The LORD spoke this Word on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 (23 Iyar 5785 on the Hebrew Calendar), but He asked Me to proclaim it today on Wednesday, July 30, 2025 (5 Av 5785).

Does male-female sexual intimacy create a permanent bond which cannot be dissolved? If that is true, then how should we live? This sermon was preached on Saturday, July 26, 2025.

How are Christians to live today in light of the Covenant of Sinai's requirements for hunting, building codes, farming, garment-making, and horticulture? This sermon was preached on Saturday, July 19, 2025.

Why did God differentiate humanity into male and female, and is this differentiation essential to who we are? This sermon was preached on Saturday, July 12, 2025.

How might the requirements of Sinai help Christians today to understand what Jesus meant by loving our enemies? This sermon was preached on Saturday, July 5, 2025.

Way of Life in the Shadow of the Cross Links: Website: https://shadowofthecross.org/ Bible Reading Plans: https://shadowofthecross.org/bible-reading-plans/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/jthomasjohnson Patron Program: https://patron.podbean.com/wayoflifepodcast   J. Thomas's Books: When God Doesn't Look Like God: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SK17BB And the Word of the Lord Came: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D95MZ3XC The gods of the West: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B7BQZTZD Babel Revisited: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09GXKMP8R A Faithful Person Who Can Find?: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09KNGCF9R  

How might the Covenant of Sinai's strange requirements for slavery, polygamy, and becoming a parental informant help us to better understand God's intentions for humanity? This sermon was preached on Saturday, June 28, 2025.

How might God's commands to Israel with respect to corpses help us better to understand Him and better to live? This sermon was preached on Saturday, June 21, 2025.

How might the Covenant of Sinai's rules of war direct Christians today? This sermon was preached on Saturday, June 14, 2025.

Why was Israel not to move boundary markers, and what might that mean for Christians today? This sermon was preached on Saturday, June 7, 2025.

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.