By 1734, an awakening occurred in Northampton leading to the conversion of nearly half the adult population. The religious conversion was due to the virtual disappearance of illness and the transformation was accompanied by the virtual disappearance of illness and an outpouring of neighborly love (which was unprecedented for the normally contentious townsfolk); Edwards assumed this was evidence of God’s grace. The religious excitement ended in 1735 when Edward’s uncle committed suicide. Edward’s interpreted this as the work of Satan, enraged by the spiritual awakening in the town. 

Edwards preached Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God in Enfield, Connecticut on July 8th, 1741, during a revival tour with several other ministers. Enfields inhabitants had a reputation for being vain and complacent, and the town’s congregation had not been affected by the religious enthusiasm sweeping the region. The audience in Enfield was so moved by the terrifying and graphic imagery conveyed with Edward’s intensity that an outburst of weeping interrupted the sermon. This caused Edwards to stop. After chastising the congregants Edwards descended from the pulpit and talked with the audience, several were converted on the spot. Edwards allegedly never completed the sermon but it was published shortly after. 

Jonathan Edwards' relationship with his own congregation was not doing well. He changed his views on the requirements for admission to the Lord’s Supper. In the Halfway Covenant baptized but unconverted children of believers might have their own children baptized. His grandfather had instituted the practice of admitting to the Euchrist all who were thus “in the covenant,” even if they knew themselves to be unconverted. Edwards came to believe that the profession required for admission to full communion should be understood to imply genuine faith, not merely doctrinal knowledge and good moral behavior. When he announced this in 1749 precipitated a violent controversy that resulted in his dismissal.

Jonathan Edwards owned slaves, but rejected the unsupported claims from scripture rationalizng this. After his dismissal he became a missionary to the indigineous groups in Massachusetts.