Sunday Morning 1st Service | I AM #6 | Pastor Rob Thomas

May 31, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Weight of Sandals on Holy Ground

Moses stood barefoot before the burning bush, confronted by a God who refused to remain distant. This moment captures the tension between divine holiness and intimate pursuit. Yahweh, the self-existent One, steps into human history not as a detached deity but as a God who enters messiness. He reveals His name not to demand formality but to invite relationship. Holiness here isn’t about rules—it’s about nearness. The same God who told Moses to remove his sandals now draws us to walk with Him on sacred ground. [47:39]

“God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: “I AM has sent me to you.”’” (Exodus 3:14, ESV)

Reflection: Where has God felt more like a distant concept than a close companion? What would it look like to “remove your sandals” and meet Him in your current struggle?

Day 2: When “Lord” Becomes a Lifeline

Abraham’s cry of “Adonai” cracked open the night sky—a raw admission that God alone could fulfill impossible promises. Surrender isn’t passive resignation; it’s grabbing hold of the One who holds time. Like Abraham, we often white-knuckle control until our hands ache. Adonai waits in the tension, not to scold our doubt but to shoulder the weight we were never meant to carry. True freedom begins when we stop pretending we’re the master of our story. [01:01:08]

“But Abram said, ‘O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless…’” (Genesis 15:2, ESV)

Reflection: What promise have you stopped believing God for? How might naming Him “Adonai” over that area shift your posture from striving to trusting?

Day 3: From Yahweh to Daddy

Centuries of reverence left God’s name unspoken—until Jesus wept “Abba” in a garden. The shift from Yahweh to Abba isn’t casual; it’s cosmic. This intimacy wasn’t earned but given, turning slaves into sons. Abba isn’t a title—it’s the gasp of a child mid-tantrum, the midnight whisper of one who knows they’re safe to come messy. The same lips that spoke galaxies into being now bend low to hear our stuttered prayers. [01:11:59]

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Romans 8:15, ESV)

Reflection: Do your prayers feel more like formal petitions or a child’s unfiltered thoughts? What would you say to Abba right now if fear of “getting it wrong” vanished?

Day 4: Crocs in the Throne Room

The rich young ruler clung to wealth like a security blanket, missing that true safety lies in surrendered hands. Our culture mocks submission, yet Jesus redefines it as trading chains for a throne room key. Adonai isn’t a tyrant—He’s the Shepherd-King who invites us to govern alongside Him. Balance isn’t about perfect reverence but holding both awe and access: approaching holiness with grass-stained knees and a heart bold enough to call Him Papa. [01:03:25]

“And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him… ‘Come, follow me.’ But disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Mark 10:21–22, ESV)

Reflection: What “possession”—literal or emotional—are you clutching that keeps you from following Jesus fully? How might releasing it deepen your trust in Adonai?

Day 5: Sweat Like Blood, Cry Like a Child

In Gethsemane, Jesus didn’t theologize His pain—He wept “Abba” through blood-streaked tears. Agony and intimacy collided as the Son showed how to be both raw and reverent. Our darkest moments aren’t proof of God’s absence but invitations to experience Him as Abba. Like a toddler gripping a parent’s leg, we’re called to hold on, not because the storm calms, but because His presence steadies us. [01:10:12]

“And he said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.’” (Mark 14:36, ESV)

Reflection: When life feels like Gethsemane, do you hide your anguish or bring it to Abba? What one honest cry do you need to voice to Him today?

Sermon Summary

The Name Yahweh, given at the burning bush, sets the tone: the great I AM is not a distant deity but the One who steps into ordinary struggles and stays close. That covenant Name stands behind the compound titles explored across the series, and it moves today toward two deeply relational names that shape a whole life of worship: Adonai and Abba. The history matters. Ancient Israel wrote YHWH without vowels, learned its sound by oral tradition, then out of reverence chose to say Adonai when reading the text. Later scribes placed Adonai’s vowels with YHWH as a reminder not to pronounce it; centuries on, Europeans read that form as Yehovah, which in English became Jehovah. The point is not pronunciation anxiety but access: through Jesus, those who trust him now come to Yahweh as Father.

Adonai names God as Lord, Master, Owner, and it calls for willing submission, not lip-service. Genesis 15 shows Abram saying, “Adonai,” handing the unfulfilled promise of a son back into the Master’s hands; that surrender contrasts with the rich young ruler who wanted life without Lordship. Under Adonai, submission becomes freedom from the exhausting loop of self-reliance; obedience becomes the ordinary doorway to God’s best; clinging to one’s own plans loosens; real peace rises where control once ruled. Romans 6 frames it starkly: everyone serves what he obeys.

Abba names the warmth. In Gethsemane, Jesus prays the most unvarnished prayer, “Abba, Father… not what I will, but what you will,” and the church learns the grammar of honesty and trust. Abba is the family word, the tender “Papa” that the Spirit himself sets in the mouths of God’s sons and daughters. Romans 8 and Galatians 4 call this adoption, not hireling status: beloved children cry Abba, fear loses its grip, welcome displaces shame. John Newton’s story embodies it; the former slave trader learned to run home messy and honest to a Father whose embrace remade him and his mission.

The summary of the whole is a held tension. The great I AM is both Adonai and Abba, sovereign ruler and good Father. Casual flippancy misses his glory; stiff formality misses his heart. The call lands here: identify the rooms still locked from Adonai, hand him the keys, and then run without pretending to Abba. Say the names, live the names, and watch fear, control, and striving yield to freedom, blessing, and peace.

Key Takeaways

1. Adonai: surrender that brings true freedom [01:04:16] Submission to the Master dismantles the illusion of control and lifts the weight of self-direction. Freedom shows up not as autonomy but as rest under rightful authority. Romans 6 names it plainly, because everyone serves what he obeys. Trading mastery of self for obedience to Adonai is the exchange that quiets the soul. [64:16]
2. Obedience opens the door to blessing [01:04:47] Promises in Scripture regularly travel with pathways of obedience. Abraham’s greatest joys came on the far side of yielded seasons, not in clever self-management. Wanting outcomes without yielding to the Lord’s terms keeps blessing theoretical. Adonai’s commands are not hoops but highways into his good. [64:47]
3. Abba: adoption silences fear and striving [01:11:59] Jesus’ “Abba” in the garden gives language for honest prayer inside unsparing surrender. By the Spirit of adoption, sons and daughters stand near, not on probation, and cry the same word. Fear loses leverage where belonging is settled. The Father’s nearness reframes hardship without denying it. [71:59]
4. Hold reverence and intimacy together [01:16:31] Abba without Adonai drifts into casualness; Adonai without Abba hardens into distance. Honor brings weight to access, and access brings warmth to honor. The throne room welcomes bold approach, yet it is still a throne room. Worship matures where awe and affection grow side by side. [76:31]
5. Say the Name without fear [57:26] The journey from Yahweh to Jehovah tells a story of reverence, not a trap for mispronunciation. The Father delights as a dad when children try his name, receiving heart over precision. All-caps LORD in many Bibles quietly keeps that reverent tradition. Let the concern be truthfulness and trust, not technicalities. [57:26]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[44:16] - Joyful greeting and vision
[45:08] - I AM series recap
[46:43] - Burning bush: I AM
[48:30] - How Yahweh became Jehovah
[51:44] - Reverence and saying Adonai
[55:22] - From Yehovah to Jehovah
[58:39] - LORD in all caps
[59:01] - Adonai: Lord and Master
[61:53] - Abraham’s surrender
[63:25] - Rich young ruler
[64:16] - Freedom, blessing, peace of surrender
[69:56] - Abba in Gethsemane
[71:59] - Spirit of adoption: Abba Father
[76:31] - Holding reverence and intimacy together

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Genesis 15:2 (ESV): “But Abram said, ‘O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’”
- Romans 8:15 (ESV): “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’”

Observation questions

In Genesis 15:2, Abram addresses God as “Lord GOD” (Adonai Yahweh). What does his question reveal about his current struggle and his posture toward God?
How did ancient Jewish reverence for God’s name lead to substituting “Adonai” for “Yahweh” when reading Scripture? [51:44]
What contrast is drawn between Abraham’s surrender in Genesis 15 and the rich young ruler’s response in Mark 10:17-22?
According to Romans 8:15, what replaces fear when we understand our identity as God’s children?

Interpretation questions

Why might the tension between “Adonai” (sovereign Lord) and “Abba” (intimate Father) be essential for a healthy relationship with God? How does neglecting one distort the other?
The rich young ruler wanted eternal life but resisted surrendering control to Jesus. What does this reveal about the connection between obedience and receiving God’s blessings?
In Romans 8:15, adoption is contrasted with slavery. How does viewing God as “Abba” dismantle fear and shame in practical terms?
John Newton’s story shows a shift from seeing God as distant to embracing Him as “Abba.” What barriers might prevent someone from trusting God’s nearness in their struggles?

Application questions

What area of your life feels “locked” from surrendering to God’s authority as Adonai? What would it look like to hand Him the keys this week? [01:21:13]
Fear often thrives in secrecy. How could regularly addressing God as “Abba” in raw, honest prayer (like Jesus in Gethsemane) reframe a current hardship or anxiety? [01:24:31]
The sermon mentions balancing reverence and intimacy: “Abba without Adonai drifts into casualness; Adonai without Abba hardens into distance.” Where do you lean—overemphasizing God’s authority or His closeness? What practical step could help you grow in the neglected area?
Reflect on a time when obedience to God felt like a “hoop to jump through” rather than a “highway to His good.” How might shifting your perspective on His commands change your response today? [01:04:47]
When stress arises from trying to control outcomes, how could speaking “Adonai” aloud (e.g., “You are Lord here, not me”) disrupt the cycle of self-reliance? [01:23:39]
Imagine running to God as “Abba” with a specific worry, unmet need, or failure—no pretense, just honesty. What would you say? Write or pray that conversation now.

Sermon Clips

24s

#SurrenderForFreedom

“Submission to him brings true freedom. Guys, that doesn't make sense in our culture today. We don't understand that. We think submission is a terrible, terrible thing. We is is is tends to be the perspective that humanity has today. But guys, submission to him is what brings true freedom in our lives. We stop trying to be in control and we surrender to Adonai.”

29s

#LetGoOfYourPlans

“How many of you ever been a slave to your own plans? You were so stuck in it. You weren't open to god coming along trying to fulfill. He's trying to make something happen in your life differently than you had ever thought of, but you're so stuck in your own plans that you're missing it. Guys, when we acknowledge Adonai as lord, we are released from the exhausting cycle of self reliance and striving. You don't have to keep trying so hard and stressing yourself out.”

28s

#AdoptedChildOfGod

“When you know god is Abba, fear begins to lose its grip. You realize you are deeply loved, that you are fully accepted, and that you are never rejected. Thirdly, we are adopted as sons and daughters. Guys, you are not some distant servant. You are not a hired hand. You are beloved child of god with the full rights, privileges, and inheritance of being his son, of being his daughter. You belong.”

38s

#CallGodAbba

“And so even in Jesus' greatest moment moment of suffering, he runs to the father with this intimate word, the word Abba. The apostle Paul tells us that because of what Jesus did on the cross, we have exactly the same privilege that Jesus does does. We can call god Abba just as Jesus did and we and and and we're no longer slaves living in fear. We've been adopted into god's family and the holy spirit inside us cries out with the same intimate word that Jesus used.”

27s

#RunToYourFather

“You ever longed for safe, a safe, intimate relationship? We are promised that with god but it's it's something deeper than we've really talked about up to this point. Have you ever wanted to be able to run to god like a child runs to his father without fear, without pretending, just complete and honest love? This is what we're talking about in the name Abba.”

36s

#AdonaiOurLord

“And so in that moment in in a moment of honesty and and vulnerability, Abram cries out to god using a new name that we haven't seen, we didn't see before this point in scripture. He says, Adonai. That is when he says, lord god, he's speaking to him as Adonai here. He's saying, you're not just some distant deity, some god out there. You are my lord. You are my master. You are my the owner and ruler of my life.”

27s

#DontLoveWealthMore

“Right? Sell everything that you have and follow me and and we know that that it says that he he turned around and he walked away. Why? Because he he he was sad because he had great wealth. And so he wanted Jesus as savior, but he was unwilling to make him Adonai. He was unwilling to make him lord. He was unwilling to make him master overall. That's the name Adonai.”

26s

#YahwehAdonaiBeauty

“No. You're like, good job. You did so good. And I just picture God in heaven like that. People who get so worried about saying the name of God wrong, imagine God going, I love you. You did good. And really, I look at it as beautiful. Jehovah is the name Yahweh and it is the description of lord and master. I think it's a beautiful combination.”

27s

#ReverentSilence

“over time, the Jewish people became so reverent toward god that they stopped saying Yahweh out loud altogether. It would they got to where they never said it anymore. Why did they do that? Well, because they took the command seriously in in the third command of the of the 10 commandments. Exodus chapter 20 verse seven, you shall not take the name of the lord your god in vain. So what did they do? They stopped saying Yahweh.”

33s

#OralTraditionHebrew

“So ancient here's the deal. Listen. You got to follow me. Ancient Hebrew had no written vowels. Can you imagine a language with no vowels? No a, e, I, or u sounds. Not sounds, but written letters. K? Obviously, they pronounce the sounds, but there were no letters for it. So how in the world did they pronounce words? Well, they didn't from writing. They they didn't have phonetics like we do. They couldn't sound out a word the way we're taught to do it like in elementary school. They actually learned to pronounce words through oral tradition.”

34s

#SovereignYetPersonal

“today, we're gonna finish this series with two more names, powerful names, and really these names speak to the heart of our relationship with the Lord. And it it they describe him as the sovereign master of the universe master of the universe who wants to be close and have a personal relationship with you. How have you recognize when you stop and think about that, the sovereign god of the universe who holds it all together in his hands, he wants to have a personal relationship with you and me. How incredible is that?”

25s

#RawPrayerInGethsemane

“And the bible tells us that in the garden, the weight of this became so heavy that he began to sweat like great drops of blood, and then he the bible talks about him being in the deepest of agony. And in that moment, how many of you know Jesus could have prayed an elegant prayer if he wanted to, but this is one of the least elegant prayers. I mean, this is like, this is raw honesty that we see Jesus praying to the father.”

30s

#FaithInGodsPromise

“And that promise that seemed so certain in the beginning is now beginning to feel impossible. Any of y'all ever been there before? One night, we know that god takes Abraham outside and takes him up and tells him to look up at the stars and he says, so shall your descendants be. Abraham, the Bible says that Abraham believed and it was counted to him on as righteousness, his belief.”

33s

#FollowGodsCall

“guys, Abraham had been walking with god for many years, and we know that god had called him out of Er and promised to make him into a great nation with descendants as numerous as the stars. Right? he had left everything familiar behind him, and he was completely trusting in the word of God, in the promise that God had given him. And so years start passing, ten years, twenty years, the all this time starts passing, and there's still no heir.”

22s

#FaithInTheWaiting

“But in the moments that followed, it seems that maybe some doubt crept in and I mean, look, Abraham's getting older. Right? And his and his wife's beyond childbearing years, and and he's but he's got this promise of God. And and sometimes, how do you know the weight of waiting in our own impatience many times can be crushing?”

28s

#MakeGodLord

“The Hebrew name, again, it means lord, it means master, it means owner, and it emphasizes god's sovereign authority our willing submission. How do you know? He can be lord, but is he really lord of your life? If you don't give him obedient, willing submission? What does Adam nine mean for your life right now? I'm gonna give you four things like I normally do.”

30s

#LearnFromJesus

“And that this is obviously the last name that I'm giving you in this series, and the last example I wanna give you is Jesus himself. How many of you know? Jesus is the son of god. And how many you know as followers of Jesus, we are the sons and daughters of god as well. Amen? So let's learn from our big brother. Let's learn from Jesus about Abba Father. So when we go to the Garden Of Gethsemane on the night that Jesus was betrayed, I have you know that he knew what was coming.”

29s

#MessyHonestPrayer

“Guys, you don't have to approach god with formality. You don't have to have the perfect words. You don't have to put on a religious performance like so many people try to do today. You can run to him like a little child that runs to their father. Like I said, messy, honest, fully known. Perfect love casts out fear. That's second thing. Perfect love casts out fear. When you know god is Abba, fear begins to let go.”

21s

#GodLovesOurAttempts

“But guys, I don't I don't believe at all that that's that's the heart of god. I I told I I told Sean, I said, I I had a picture when I was reading this, when I was thinking about this, writing this down. I had a picture of when when your little kid who's two or three years old and really starting to talk and they come to you and they go, daddy, what is your real name? And you say it to them and they try to say it and they get it wrong. Do you go, wrong.”

37s

#HonorAndIntimacy

“And I I think I mentioned this a while, a year or two ago. I I I I say it regularly. I can't remember where I say it and where I don't, but but sometimes, I think especially with the maybe the non denominational spirit filled church, I think sometimes we get a little too comfortable with god, and we lose the honor and respect of Adonai, lord, master, sovereign ruler of the universe, where we only want to embrace Abba, and we wanna we we we the picture I've had in my mind is we we many times love to come running into the throne room of god, you know, in our, you know, in our our crocs and our sweats and our torn up t shirt and we're like, hey, lord. Hey. You know, and it's like, yes.”

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Sunday Morning 1st Service | I AM #6 | Pastor Rob Thomas

Devotional

Day 1: The Weight of Sandals on Holy Ground

Day 2: When “Lord” Becomes a Lifeline

Day 3: From Yahweh to Daddy

Day 4: Crocs in the Throne Room

Day 5: Sweat Like Blood, Cry Like a Child

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Sunday Morning 1st Service | I AM #6 | Pastor Rob Thomas

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