Living in the New
Living in the New
by Adam Thomas
Imagine with me the imprisoned John the Baptist in the days before his execution. He has sent his disciples to ask Jesus the question from today’s Gospel reading, and they have just returned with Jesus’ answer.
My days are numbered, my friends. Herod is weak. He’s a petty ruler susceptible to the whims and flattery of those around him. One of these days I fear someone I have angered with my words will sway Herod to kill me and that will be that. But until that day comes, I will do everything I can to help you live into the new reality that is happening all around us. You will not be left orphaned when I am gone. I have only ever been a caretaker, a herald for the one who is coming after me. Because of what you just told me, I am convinced more than ever that Jesus is that one.
New Possibilities
New Possibilities
by Adam Thomas
Today’s sermon is about the unexpected grace of new possibilities. As we continue in our Advent season of preparation and anticipation, we practice opening ourselves up to how God is moving in our lives in the same type of unexpected ways that God moved in the lives of Mary and Joseph as they welcomed Jesus into the world. Mary practiced this openness when she said “Yes” to the angel. Joseph practiced this openness when he made a family with Mary despite pressure to reject her. Our openness to new possibilities is a symptom of the hope we place in the God who makes all things new. So let’s talk about new possibilities today: first we’ll look at the beginning of this morning’s reading from the Prophet Isaiah, then we will talk about three ways we can test that the new possibilities we are reaching for come from God.
Tolle Lege
Tolle Lege
by Adam Thomas
Today marks the beginning of Advent, the four week season to prepare for Christmas, that great and joyful mystery of God’s Word becoming flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Advent is a time of preparation and anticipation, a time in which we share the story of Jesus’ earthly family getting ready for his arrival, along with the words of the Hebrew prophets who came close enough to God to imagine a world where peace and reconciliation come to pass.
So today, on this First Sunday of Advent, lets talk about preparation. But instead of talking about our immediate preparations for this particular celebration of Christmas, I’d like to zoom out and talk about how God use the raw materials of our entire lives to prepare us to become the people God dreams for us to be.
God’s Point of View (Updated)
Gods Point of View (Updated)
by Adam Thomas
Jesus’ words to the Sadducees in today’s Gospel are words that speak of the sublime mystery and majesty of God. I’m so excited that we got to hear this story today because Jesus’ words light my theological imagination on fire. We’re going to spend all of today’s sermon in my theological imagination as we envision as best we can our way into God’s point of view. None of us is really qualified to talk about God’s point of view, so you’ll have to take everything I say today with a grain of salt – or as a professor of mine used to say, “with salt mine.” In the next few minutes I might say something that is true, but if I do, it will have been by accident because what I’m really going to talk about is Adam’s point of view about God’s point of view. But maybe the Holy Spirit will help us glimpse the corner of the edge of the majesty of how God sees things.
This is the Way
This is the Way
by Adam Thomas
Today, on the day we celebrate all the saints, I’d like to talk to you about one element of sainthood that binds together nearly all the saints – their utter dedication to the words Jesus speaks in this morning’s Gospel lesson. The people we honor as saints were not superheroes of the faith; rather, they were ordinary people who trusted God to shape their lives into vessels of justice, peace, and love. The saints who were martyred could have fought back, but chose death instead of abandoning their commitment to nonviolence. The saints who modeled the values of God’s reign could have shrunk into the scenery of their centuries, but chose instead to speak out about the injustices happening around them. The saints who were denigrated in their time could have reflected the hate and fear and indifference of their societies, but chose instead to shine brightly with the light and the love of God.
Learning Humility
Learning Humility
by Adam Thomas
Our last couple of sermons have been about big topics, about how the life of faith compels us to confront injustice, violence, and falsehood. Today, I’m going to change gears and tell you a personal story. The story is about me embracing humility – not as a matter of course, but as a last resort. I’m sharing this story today for three reasons. First, the end of the Gospel reading about exalting and humbling one’s self got me thinking about true humility. Second, today is the two-year anniversary of the climactic moment of the story, so it seems like a good day to share it. And third, talking about mental health openly is the way to destigmatize it, especially for people like me, who think we can just muscle our way through mental health issues.
New Covenant
by Adam Thomas
This week we reflect on God’s promise through the Prophet Jeremiah of a new covenant—one not written on tablets of stone, but on our very hearts. Jeremiah spoke these words during Israel’s darkest hour, when exile and despair seemed certain. Yet even then, God promised renewal, a deeper intimacy than ever before. This sermon traces how this covenant unfolds through Scripture—from Abraham’s promise, to Moses’ law, to Jeremiah’s vision—and how it comes to fullness in Jesus Christ, God drawing near to dwell among us. The new covenant is not about rule-keeping but heart-living: allowing God’s presence to transform who we are from the inside out.
The Fabric of Faith
The Fabric of Faith
This week, we reflect on how God weaves our individual stories into a beautiful tapestry of faith and community. Sharing a bit of my own journey — times when I tried to keep my heart safe behind walls, and how love still found a way in, mending what was broken like the Japanese art of kintsugi.
We’ll also look at Lois and Eunice, the women who passed their faith on to Timothy, and how their story reminds us that faith is something we receive and pass along. Encouraging us all to remember those who nurtured our faith and to keep weaving ourselves into the fabric of God’s love — a community where healing, grace, and connection are at the heart of who we are.