Way of Life

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.

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.

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 - Discu...

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.