WEBVTT 00:00:01.080 --> 00:00:03.399 Hello, you're listening to Second City Sermons, 00:00:03.560 --> 00:00:06.540 a ministry of Second City Church in Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:07.019 --> 00:00:09.460 This epiphany in Lent, we're back in the Gospels, 00:00:09.699 --> 00:00:12.619 specifically the Gospel of Mark. We are seeing 00:00:12.619 --> 00:00:15.820 the revelation of God in Jesus. Mark is showing 00:00:15.820 --> 00:00:19.480 us the true King becomes a servant for us. He 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:22.179 says right at the heart, the Son of Man came 00:00:22.179 --> 00:00:24.920 not to be served, but to serve and to give his 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:28.949 life as a ransom for many. And Mark is nearly 00:00:28.949 --> 00:00:31.969 always asking his audience, what do you make 00:00:31.969 --> 00:00:37.130 of that? So, what do you make of this good news? 00:00:39.390 --> 00:00:41.630 We'd love to meet you and we hope you'll consider 00:00:41.630 --> 00:00:43.729 coming and joining with us each Sunday morning 00:00:43.729 --> 00:00:45.770 at 10 a .m. in the heart of Midtown Harrisburg. 00:00:46.310 --> 00:00:48.530 You can find us online at secondcitychurch .org 00:00:48.530 --> 00:00:51.450 and on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. We hope 00:00:51.450 --> 00:00:56.189 you enjoy this sermon. God bless. Lord, we thank 00:00:56.189 --> 00:00:58.070 you for your word this morning. We thank you 00:00:58.070 --> 00:01:00.149 for this beautiful account of how you met your 00:01:00.149 --> 00:01:05.209 disciples there in that locked up room full of 00:01:05.209 --> 00:01:08.810 fear and and unbelief and I pray that you'd meet 00:01:08.810 --> 00:01:12.090 us in our fear and in our unbelief and draw us 00:01:12.090 --> 00:01:14.870 more and more into the great story of your redemption 00:01:14.870 --> 00:01:18.109 of the world in the death and the resurrection 00:01:18.109 --> 00:01:24.120 of Jesus in whose name we pray. Amen. All right, 00:01:24.120 --> 00:01:27.219 so I'm just going to make this comment that I 00:01:27.219 --> 00:01:28.500 occasionally make at the beginning of sermons, 00:01:28.579 --> 00:01:30.040 and I'm not going to say everything there is 00:01:30.040 --> 00:01:32.659 to say about this passage, okay? There is a lot 00:01:32.659 --> 00:01:34.719 here, and there's a lot of wonderful things that 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:40.299 could be said. You may have heard that religion, 00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:43.260 again, is on the rise. I wonder if you've heard 00:01:43.260 --> 00:01:46.840 this. It's true. There have been a number of 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:50.379 studies, actually a good number of studies and 00:01:50.379 --> 00:01:53.359 fairly rigorous studies that have shown The decline 00:01:53.359 --> 00:01:56.159 of religion has sort of reversed. It's sort of 00:01:56.159 --> 00:01:58.540 over, if you will. For the most part, over the 00:01:58.540 --> 00:02:02.859 last 25, 30 years, year after year, religious 00:02:02.859 --> 00:02:07.719 adherence, faith has been in the decline. In 00:02:07.719 --> 00:02:09.879 fact, probably some of you heard this, but in 00:02:09.879 --> 00:02:14.919 the year 2021, the membership in churches in 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:17.000 the United States for the first time in recorded 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:21.889 history dropped below 50%. Okay, so it had been 00:02:21.889 --> 00:02:25.210 sort of steadily going down, and yet these studies 00:02:25.210 --> 00:02:28.330 have shown that this has changed over these last 00:02:28.330 --> 00:02:31.870 four or five years, and it has not just stayed 00:02:31.870 --> 00:02:34.370 sort of steady, held steady, but has actually 00:02:34.370 --> 00:02:38.409 been on the increase. Two weeks ago, maybe you 00:02:38.409 --> 00:02:40.650 saw this article in The Guardian, that British 00:02:40.650 --> 00:02:45.789 newspaper. It was quoting a British study that 00:02:45.789 --> 00:02:48.090 was just done, and it actually showed us that 00:02:48.090 --> 00:02:52.050 over the past six years, Church attendance in 00:02:52.050 --> 00:02:56.090 England and Wales was up 50%. Guess what the 00:02:56.090 --> 00:02:59.509 age group that made the largest jump? Anybody? 00:03:01.430 --> 00:03:05.129 What was that? College age. 18 to 24 year olds 00:03:05.129 --> 00:03:10.150 made the largest increase in that regular religious 00:03:10.150 --> 00:03:12.530 adherence going to church. And then actually 00:03:12.530 --> 00:03:15.150 it was 65 and up. They made the next jump up. 00:03:15.830 --> 00:03:18.129 But a huge percentage of people that are more 00:03:18.129 --> 00:03:23.050 interested in churches in the UK. It seems as 00:03:23.050 --> 00:03:24.830 though religion and belief seem to be on the 00:03:24.830 --> 00:03:28.889 rise. Now, here's another thing. If you've kind 00:03:28.889 --> 00:03:31.569 of been abreast of these conversations, what 00:03:31.569 --> 00:03:34.490 you probably also heard is in some ways it was 00:03:34.490 --> 00:03:38.729 never entirely in the decline. In fact, what 00:03:38.729 --> 00:03:41.789 we have done is we've sort of moved our beliefs 00:03:41.789 --> 00:03:44.430 and our religious practices and those things 00:03:44.430 --> 00:03:47.310 which we adhere to. So quite a number of people, 00:03:47.389 --> 00:03:50.240 maybe you've read this, have said that what we 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:52.280 have done is instead of getting what we've done 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:55.460 is we've shifted our devotion to God and to religious 00:03:55.460 --> 00:03:59.939 practice and our hope in God to political figures 00:03:59.939 --> 00:04:04.560 political practice the sacrament of vote we wear 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:10.039 our badges proudly don't I vote Pascal famously 00:04:10.039 --> 00:04:13.000 wrote there is a god -shaped vacuum in the heart 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:16.459 of every person Children, that is not referring 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:19.199 to a vacuum that you clean with. It just means 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:25.500 an empty space. There's an empty space that God 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:27.819 alone fills. But the truth is, and this is what's 00:04:27.819 --> 00:04:31.639 being argued, is that we try to fill it with 00:04:31.639 --> 00:04:35.459 all kinds of other things, in all kinds of other 00:04:35.459 --> 00:04:37.939 ways. Maybe you saw this, or maybe you read this 00:04:37.939 --> 00:04:41.480 article by Lauren Jackson. used to be a Mormon 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:43.560 and doesn't adhere to any religious practice 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:46.360 now. She wrote an op -ed piece in New York Times 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:50.399 a couple weeks ago. The title was Americans Haven't 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:54.819 Found a Satisfying Alternative to Religion. That's 00:04:54.819 --> 00:05:00.100 what she wrote. She said that she spent her 20s, 00:05:00.100 --> 00:05:04.160 quote, worshipping at the altar of work. And 00:05:04.160 --> 00:05:07.930 we all know that that's an alternative. to religion, 00:05:08.170 --> 00:05:10.269 place where you find your meaning and your hope. 00:05:11.170 --> 00:05:15.050 Place your dreams there. But she shares with 00:05:15.050 --> 00:05:17.529 us how she gave up her religious ardor and her 00:05:17.529 --> 00:05:22.769 desires over to her workout practices, her practicing 00:05:22.769 --> 00:05:27.050 mindfulness, therapy sessions, saunas, mindfulness 00:05:27.050 --> 00:05:30.269 apps. Here's what she writes specifically. But 00:05:30.269 --> 00:05:33.750 even as people left religion, mysticism persisted. 00:05:33.990 --> 00:05:37.310 More people have begun identifying as spiritual 00:05:37.310 --> 00:05:40.949 but not religious. In 2015, researchers at Harvard 00:05:40.949 --> 00:05:44.029 began studying where those Americans, sorry, 00:05:44.069 --> 00:05:46.129 where these Americans were turning to express 00:05:46.129 --> 00:05:49.889 their spirituality. Reporters did too. The answer 00:05:49.889 --> 00:05:54.230 included yoga crossfit. Now I know we don't have 00:05:54.230 --> 00:05:56.370 a lot of crossfitters here. I'm telling you, 00:05:56.370 --> 00:05:58.069 I have quite a few friends that are crossfit 00:05:58.069 --> 00:06:06.160 people and it fits. Soul cycle. It's a type of, 00:06:06.160 --> 00:06:09.000 you know, cycling. I love the name even, soul 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:12.259 cycling. Supper clubs and meditation. She says, 00:06:12.300 --> 00:06:16.000 Oprah tried sound baths, Gwyneth Paltrow advertised 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:19.079 energy healing. More than a third of American 00:06:19.079 --> 00:06:22.399 women under 30 have downloaded the personal astrology 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:26.579 app, CoStar, according to the company. Now she 00:06:26.579 --> 00:06:30.199 quotes from Ethan Shagan, a historian of religion 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:34.949 at UC Berkeley, secularization in the West was 00:06:34.949 --> 00:06:37.670 not about the segregation of belief from the 00:06:37.670 --> 00:06:42.009 world, but the promiscuous opening of belief 00:06:42.009 --> 00:06:48.250 to the world. We have a God -shaped vacuum. So 00:06:48.250 --> 00:06:50.750 during this Easter season, we're looking at some 00:06:50.750 --> 00:06:53.529 of the accounts of Jesus and his disciples post 00:06:53.529 --> 00:06:57.350 -resurrection. And in these accounts, we're asking, 00:06:57.430 --> 00:06:59.110 what does it mean for us? What kind of people 00:06:59.110 --> 00:07:01.790 are we to be? How does Jesus interact with us 00:07:01.790 --> 00:07:05.980 as a church? Last week, I suggested to you that 00:07:05.980 --> 00:07:08.019 from that story of Jesus and the two disciples 00:07:08.019 --> 00:07:10.399 on the road to Emmaus, we're to be people that 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:12.220 actually receive the questioning word of God, 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:15.459 allow God to ask his questions to us. We're to 00:07:15.459 --> 00:07:18.160 be people that are to receive the given word 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:20.259 of God, the Holy Scriptures, as they've been 00:07:20.259 --> 00:07:23.139 given out, inspired by, breathed out by the Holy 00:07:23.139 --> 00:07:26.040 Spirit. And we're to be those who receive the 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:28.139 suffering word of God, actually Jesus in the 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:30.959 flesh suffering for us, his body broken for us, 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:33.610 and his blood shed for us. But this morning we 00:07:33.610 --> 00:07:38.089 have one of the other great stories of the resurrected 00:07:38.089 --> 00:07:41.490 Christ and his disciples. And this story is often 00:07:41.490 --> 00:07:47.430 referred to by one man's name. Who's that? Thomas 00:07:47.430 --> 00:07:50.470 and his nickname, which we give. Nickname Downing 00:07:50.470 --> 00:07:56.100 Thomas, right. And that's kind of... That's kind 00:07:56.100 --> 00:07:57.839 of interesting and it's a little bit odd because 00:07:57.839 --> 00:08:00.220 what is overwhelmingly true of this story is 00:08:00.220 --> 00:08:02.019 that what Jesus is inviting us into and what 00:08:02.019 --> 00:08:04.920 John desires for us to be is a people of belief. 00:08:04.980 --> 00:08:06.819 He actually says at the end of the story, these 00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:09.160 things are written down so that you may believe. 00:08:10.019 --> 00:08:12.220 And belief actually, this word pisteo, which 00:08:12.220 --> 00:08:14.079 is the same word that we often translate in the 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:16.560 New Testament, faith, that word that was mentioned 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:19.459 three times in the Romans chapter one passage. 00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:25.029 Pisteo here is mentioned some seven times. In 00:08:25.029 --> 00:08:28.089 some ways, the emphasis of this story is the 00:08:28.089 --> 00:08:32.809 idea of belief. So, we're going to look at this 00:08:32.809 --> 00:08:34.230 passage. Again, I said we're not going to look 00:08:34.230 --> 00:08:36.210 at everything that we could in this passage. 00:08:36.750 --> 00:08:38.789 But I want us to look at it through the idea 00:08:38.789 --> 00:08:41.250 of a believing community, okay? A believing community. 00:08:42.009 --> 00:08:43.950 And first, I want you to see where Jesus meets 00:08:43.950 --> 00:08:46.850 his disciples, okay? And the first place that 00:08:46.850 --> 00:08:49.669 Jesus meets his disciples is in a place of fear. 00:08:50.789 --> 00:08:54.129 So, open up your Bibles with me. If you don't 00:08:54.129 --> 00:08:56.149 have one, you can grab that one in front of you 00:08:56.149 --> 00:08:58.889 in the pew. And if you don't have a Bible, please 00:08:58.889 --> 00:09:00.629 take that Bible home. Or if you know somebody 00:09:00.629 --> 00:09:02.590 who's just interested in maybe reading the Bible, 00:09:02.669 --> 00:09:05.009 grab one of those, bring them for them. You can 00:09:05.009 --> 00:09:06.789 take them and have them and give them to your 00:09:06.789 --> 00:09:10.470 friends. Okay. So if you look with me down there, 00:09:10.490 --> 00:09:14.850 verse 19, where our passage began, chapter 20 00:09:14.850 --> 00:09:18.669 of John. On the evening of that day, the first 00:09:18.669 --> 00:09:25.699 day of the week, the doors being locked, Excuse 00:09:25.699 --> 00:09:29.340 me. Where the disciples were, for fear of the 00:09:29.340 --> 00:09:36.179 Jews, Jesus came and stood among them. So the 00:09:36.179 --> 00:09:38.460 first thing we learn about is that Jesus comes 00:09:38.460 --> 00:09:41.500 to these disciples who are so fearful that they've 00:09:41.500 --> 00:09:44.700 locked the door. And I want to suggest to you 00:09:44.700 --> 00:09:46.940 first that this is a very understandable place 00:09:46.940 --> 00:09:50.490 for them. The disciples living in fear, okay? 00:09:51.129 --> 00:09:53.690 There's lots of reasons for fear here. It says 00:09:53.690 --> 00:09:57.830 that they were fearful of the Jews. But that's 00:09:57.830 --> 00:10:00.529 to say that they were fearful of what could possibly 00:10:00.529 --> 00:10:02.909 happen to them, or maybe what could be said of 00:10:02.909 --> 00:10:04.669 them, or how they might get caught, or how they 00:10:04.669 --> 00:10:06.850 might, actually at this point, they haven't seen 00:10:06.850 --> 00:10:10.470 Jesus. Two of them, Peter and John, onto the 00:10:10.470 --> 00:10:12.850 place where his body had been laid, and they 00:10:12.850 --> 00:10:15.269 had been told about him. And they've heard these 00:10:15.269 --> 00:10:16.769 rumors, but maybe they're thinking, you know 00:10:16.769 --> 00:10:21.460 what? What if they think that we took the body? 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:24.580 There's all kinds of legitimate reasons for these 00:10:24.580 --> 00:10:28.279 disciples to be full of fear. They're gathered 00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:31.899 together, they're huddled together. Maybe they're 00:10:31.899 --> 00:10:33.799 talking over the news of what had happened, how 00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:35.759 they'd seen Jesus die, and how they had heard 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:37.860 of this news, but there's no way it could have 00:10:37.860 --> 00:10:40.440 happened. But what could possibly happen to them 00:10:40.440 --> 00:10:45.659 now if they were found out? Maybe they would 00:10:45.659 --> 00:10:49.019 be blamed for taking the missing body. And the 00:10:49.019 --> 00:10:52.820 point is that they are living in fear and in 00:10:52.820 --> 00:10:55.720 a way that their disbelief in what God has done 00:10:55.720 --> 00:11:00.779 and what he said he would do is manifesting itself 00:11:00.779 --> 00:11:04.279 now in fear in them. And let's just admit for 00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:07.519 a moment that this is actually a state that we 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:09.519 often find ourselves in and that we are overcome 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:12.179 by and that we actually want to lock doors to 00:11:12.179 --> 00:11:15.340 protect ourselves, right? Because we often actually 00:11:15.340 --> 00:11:19.820 live in fear. We hear Jesus tell us in Matthew 00:11:19.820 --> 00:11:21.700 chapter 6, right in the middle of the Sermon 00:11:21.700 --> 00:11:24.820 on the Mount, that we're not to worry about tomorrow 00:11:24.820 --> 00:11:27.080 because tomorrow has enough worries of its own. 00:11:27.139 --> 00:11:30.340 And I hear that and I'm like, wait, that's exactly 00:11:30.340 --> 00:11:35.240 why I'm worrying. Because it has enough worries 00:11:35.240 --> 00:11:38.940 of its own. You know, we have all kinds of reasons 00:11:38.940 --> 00:11:42.120 we can think of to simply lock the door and live 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:46.700 in fear. We've heard about the risen Christ. 00:11:47.340 --> 00:11:49.480 but then we've also heard about people being 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:55.240 canceled and smear campaigns and bankruptcy and 00:11:55.240 --> 00:11:58.480 being shunned by one's friends and adult children 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:02.960 not speaking to you anymore and all Innumerable 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:07.600 things that we go that is fear inducing Lock 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:12.220 the door We have friends my friends that have 00:12:12.220 --> 00:12:15.460 lost jobs and taken 18 months to find their next 00:12:15.460 --> 00:12:19.580 job Friends that have lost homes, lost spouses. 00:12:21.399 --> 00:12:25.759 If there's one thing that is sort of understandable 00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:30.000 and that we are unbelievably good at, it is fear. 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:33.379 You all have heard the stats about anxiety, how 00:12:33.379 --> 00:12:37.620 it's unbelievably risen recently, largely with 00:12:37.620 --> 00:12:42.419 the rise of secularism. The anxiety is just blowing 00:12:42.419 --> 00:12:44.940 up all over the place and we know the reasons 00:12:44.940 --> 00:12:48.019 for it. So, my point with you, and for us today, 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:51.299 is that Jesus meets these disciples in this place 00:12:51.299 --> 00:12:54.679 of fear, okay? The second place that he meets 00:12:54.679 --> 00:12:58.240 them is actually in this place of unbelief. Or 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:01.519 at least, he specifically meets one of his disciples. 00:13:04.399 --> 00:13:07.200 Now, we actually, we're told that this is... 00:13:07.240 --> 00:13:09.879 week later it says eight days later most Bible 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:11.500 scholars actually thinks that this is emphasizing 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:13.399 a week later because they were gathering together 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:16.139 and John mentions this actually again later on 00:13:16.139 --> 00:13:18.159 in Revelation he was taken up on the Lord's Day 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:21.379 John has a strong theology of Sunday being the 00:13:21.379 --> 00:13:23.399 day of the resurrection and the people time when 00:13:23.399 --> 00:13:26.879 people gather together, but anyway They gather 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:32.960 together and again We learn that the door was 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:35.080 locked they might be in this it might be in the 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:39.440 same room and And I said, you know, what's Thomas's 00:13:39.440 --> 00:13:41.500 nickname? But it's doubting. But actually, our 00:13:41.500 --> 00:13:43.600 passage tells us that he has another nickname. 00:13:44.340 --> 00:13:49.539 What is that other nickname? Anyone? The twin. 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:54.379 It's a didymus. I mean, John's like, hey, it's 00:13:54.379 --> 00:13:56.580 not that big of a deal. He's just Thomas the 00:13:56.580 --> 00:13:57.879 twin. And we're like, no, we're going to give 00:13:57.879 --> 00:14:03.019 him the doubting name. OK. Anyway. I feel like 00:14:03.019 --> 00:14:06.120 we should reinstill the true nickname of Thomas. 00:14:06.419 --> 00:14:09.500 He's just Didymus, the twin. Sort of mundane, 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:13.620 come on. But rather than doubting Thomas, or 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:15.259 rather than the twin Thomas, at the very least 00:14:15.259 --> 00:14:17.039 what we could say is that he's the unbelieving 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:23.259 Thomas. So Thomas wasn't with the others. When 00:14:23.259 --> 00:14:25.519 Jesus appeared to them in the locked room, they 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:27.820 tell him about it, about seeing the Lord, and 00:14:27.820 --> 00:14:34.700 he says, unless This is verse 25. Unless I see 00:14:34.700 --> 00:14:37.820 in his hands the mark of the nails, and place 00:14:37.820 --> 00:14:40.460 my finger into the mark of the nails, and place 00:14:40.460 --> 00:14:44.600 my hand into his side, I will never believe. 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:46.919 He says, I will never, and actually in the Greek 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:51.299 it's two words, it's ume, which is like not know. 00:14:52.480 --> 00:14:57.139 I'm never gonna believe this. And then when Jesus 00:14:57.139 --> 00:15:00.720 actually, Meets him in verse 27. What does he 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:02.840 what does he say at the end there? But do not 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:05.899 disbelieve which is a piste Oh Just this the 00:15:05.899 --> 00:15:09.779 little prefix for not not believed in not, you 00:15:09.779 --> 00:15:12.700 know, don't be the one who not believes but Pisteo 00:15:12.700 --> 00:15:16.480 believe So what I'm suggesting to you though 00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:19.259 is that Jesus meets these disciples and specifically 00:15:19.259 --> 00:15:22.519 this disciple in his unbelief first their fear 00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:27.100 and second in their unbelief so Part of Lauren 00:15:27.100 --> 00:15:31.120 Jackson's article in the New York Times is about 00:15:31.120 --> 00:15:34.200 her tracing the rise of unbelief. You can think 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:36.659 of the new atheist movement from years back. 00:15:37.539 --> 00:15:39.879 But she says this, she says, American secularization 00:15:39.879 --> 00:15:43.340 was an immense social transformation over this 00:15:43.340 --> 00:15:47.179 rise of secularization. So there's this immense 00:15:47.179 --> 00:15:50.700 transformation. And she goes on to say this, 00:15:51.039 --> 00:15:55.120 has it left us any better off? Are we better 00:15:55.120 --> 00:15:59.179 off for giving up on belief? She says people 00:15:59.179 --> 00:16:03.279 are more unhappy than they've ever been, and 00:16:03.279 --> 00:16:06.139 the country is in an epidemic of loneliness. 00:16:07.519 --> 00:16:09.600 It's not just secularism that's to blame, but 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:11.659 those without religious affiliation in particular 00:16:11.659 --> 00:16:14.879 rank lower on key metrics of wellbeing. I've 00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:16.639 shared some of these things with you in the past. 00:16:16.980 --> 00:16:19.519 They feel less connected to others, less spiritually 00:16:19.519 --> 00:16:23.159 at peace, and they experience less awe and gratitude. 00:16:23.970 --> 00:16:29.909 regularly. We know that there are probably many 00:16:29.909 --> 00:16:33.190 factors that play with the rise of anxiety and 00:16:33.190 --> 00:16:35.330 loneliness and these kinds of things. Okay, there's 00:16:35.330 --> 00:16:37.549 no question about that. But what she's saying 00:16:37.549 --> 00:16:41.570 at the very least is that we see the rise of 00:16:41.570 --> 00:16:44.710 secularization, the rise of giving up on belief 00:16:44.710 --> 00:16:48.129 in God, unbelief, disbelief, and the rise of 00:16:48.129 --> 00:16:50.529 anxiety and loneliness. They seem to have gone 00:16:50.529 --> 00:16:54.419 together on the same trajectory. And what we 00:16:54.419 --> 00:16:57.279 see here is that Jesus is meeting his disciples 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:01.720 in their fear, and he's calling Thomas out from 00:17:01.720 --> 00:17:05.400 his lonely unbelief into the belief of what God 00:17:05.400 --> 00:17:09.940 has done in Christ. Now, this is the end of the 00:17:09.940 --> 00:17:13.920 Gospel of John. The beginning of the Gospel of 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:16.619 John says this, in the beginning was the Word, 00:17:17.220 --> 00:17:21.099 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 00:17:23.639 --> 00:17:26.099 Interestingly, throughout that whole gospel, 00:17:26.299 --> 00:17:30.559 nobody actually says to Jesus, your God. John 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:32.359 tells us that. In fact, John tells us that in 00:17:32.359 --> 00:17:34.480 quite a number of ways. Some of you know that 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:37.980 seven times in the gospel, Jesus says, I am. 00:17:38.180 --> 00:17:40.299 You know, the way, the truth, and the life, the 00:17:40.299 --> 00:17:42.160 good shepherd, and the bread of life, and these 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:45.319 kinds of things. He's claiming the identity of 00:17:45.319 --> 00:17:48.359 the God who saved his people out from Egypt that 00:17:48.359 --> 00:17:51.140 met with Moses there in Exodus 3 and said, I 00:17:51.140 --> 00:17:55.349 am. But when we look at the Old Testament, often 00:17:55.349 --> 00:17:58.789 what we find is people living in these two things, 00:17:58.930 --> 00:18:03.150 fear and unbelief. The idea of scarcity, will 00:18:03.150 --> 00:18:06.170 I have enough? Will the future be okay? And unbelief 00:18:06.170 --> 00:18:08.049 and the idea that God is actually going to care 00:18:08.049 --> 00:18:11.630 for us. I mean, think just at the very beginning, 00:18:11.750 --> 00:18:14.549 the very first sin in some ways were these two 00:18:14.549 --> 00:18:17.859 things. They had all... all the trees and the 00:18:17.859 --> 00:18:20.299 plants to eat, but they saw still scarcity. And 00:18:20.299 --> 00:18:23.140 they said, we need to take it all. Are we going 00:18:23.140 --> 00:18:25.799 to be okay if we don't have it all, right? And 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:28.180 they don't believe the words of God that are 00:18:28.180 --> 00:18:31.119 good for them. Or if we continue on, think of 00:18:31.119 --> 00:18:34.079 the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. God 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:37.720 has just literally saved them out from slavery 00:18:37.720 --> 00:18:40.660 in Egypt. And they've just sung the song of their 00:18:40.660 --> 00:18:42.839 redemption being brought through the Red Sea. 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:48.700 What happens in Exodus chapter 16? We have hamburgers 00:18:48.700 --> 00:18:54.460 back in Egypt. Let's go back. You're like, what? 00:18:54.859 --> 00:18:57.980 Fear and unbelief. Can God actually do what he 00:18:57.980 --> 00:19:00.500 promised to do? Can he bring us through this 00:19:00.500 --> 00:19:02.759 great desert? What happens when they finally 00:19:02.759 --> 00:19:04.079 are brought back, brought through the desert? 00:19:04.180 --> 00:19:06.700 Brought to the promised land and the, you know, 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:09.720 the 12 spies go into the land. 10 of them come 00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:14.589 back and they go, this is too scary. God cannot 00:19:14.589 --> 00:19:20.450 do it. Fear and unbelief. It is the pattern of 00:19:20.450 --> 00:19:24.930 how the story of scripture is told with regards 00:19:24.930 --> 00:19:26.869 to God. We often engage with him in this idea 00:19:26.869 --> 00:19:28.630 of fear and unbelief. Think with me just a few 00:19:28.630 --> 00:19:31.410 weeks ago. We looked in Mark about the story 00:19:31.410 --> 00:19:35.269 of Jesus with his disciples in the boat in the 00:19:35.269 --> 00:19:39.319 storm in the Sea of Galilee. they're all fearful 00:19:39.319 --> 00:19:42.359 they're rousing him from his sleep and what does 00:19:42.359 --> 00:19:45.559 he say you know but you have little faith you 00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:51.900 have little belief this pattern of fear and unbelief 00:19:51.900 --> 00:19:54.799 and we can trace these two traits again and again 00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:58.380 throughout the Bible and among God's people and 00:19:58.380 --> 00:20:01.240 what we see when these two traits are actually 00:20:01.240 --> 00:20:05.019 together is actually an increase in the same 00:20:05.019 --> 00:20:09.640 things that we live in now. Anxiety and things 00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:14.099 going awry and just not going well. Loneliness 00:20:14.099 --> 00:20:19.539 increasing. Anxiety going through the roof. Reaching 00:20:19.539 --> 00:20:25.240 after other gods. Let's make a golden calf to 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:27.539 fill the god -shaped vacuum in their hearts. 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:32.299 And yet, here's part of my point for us this 00:20:32.299 --> 00:20:34.829 morning. This is actually a big point. Jesus 00:20:34.829 --> 00:20:40.670 goes to them in that place. Right? He's not going, 00:20:41.049 --> 00:20:48.470 oh, you full of fear people. Thomas, the unbeliever. 00:20:49.470 --> 00:20:52.650 He doesn't treat them like that. So the two other 00:20:52.650 --> 00:20:54.410 things I want you to see actually is how Jesus 00:20:54.410 --> 00:20:56.930 does treat them. What does he do? Two things 00:20:56.930 --> 00:20:58.890 he does. He does a couple others, but these two 00:20:58.890 --> 00:21:02.720 things I think stand out to us. And the first 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:04.660 thing is something that he says to them. What 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:06.559 does he say? But he says it three times in this 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:13.200 passage, peace be with you. So he comes to us 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:16.880 in our fear and he doesn't just say, you fearful 00:21:16.880 --> 00:21:19.440 people, haven't you read in the Old Testament 00:21:19.440 --> 00:21:21.799 all the times people were fearful and what that 00:21:21.799 --> 00:21:25.480 did for them. He meets them and he extends his 00:21:25.480 --> 00:21:28.240 peace to them. All right, look with me again 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:31.019 down at verse 19. They're huddled up. The doors 00:21:31.019 --> 00:21:36.960 locked. Jesus came and stood among them. By the 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:39.539 way, we don't know how he did that, okay? One 00:21:39.539 --> 00:21:42.079 commentary said, there's way too much ink spilled 00:21:42.079 --> 00:21:46.059 on this. We just don't know, okay? Peace be with 00:21:46.059 --> 00:21:49.599 you. What's the very next thing he says to them? 00:21:49.640 --> 00:21:54.480 Verse 21. Jesus said to them again, peace be 00:21:54.480 --> 00:21:59.269 with you. If you go down to the next section 00:21:59.269 --> 00:22:02.410 right where he is engaging with Thomas I'll start 00:22:02.410 --> 00:22:05.210 at verse 26 eight days later his disciples were 00:22:05.210 --> 00:22:08.089 inside again and Thomas was with them although 00:22:08.089 --> 00:22:12.069 the doors were locked again still living in fear 00:22:12.069 --> 00:22:16.750 Jesus came and stood among them and said peace 00:22:16.750 --> 00:22:22.690 be with you Which is to say that Jesus knew their 00:22:22.690 --> 00:22:27.920 fear he knows your fear He knew their ultimate 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:31.579 fear. He knows your ultimate fear. And he knows 00:22:31.579 --> 00:22:34.119 that it is not going to be addressed by would 00:22:34.119 --> 00:22:39.440 -be gods. These alternative religious practices 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:43.140 that we pursue. Many of them are great. I have 00:22:43.140 --> 00:22:46.539 dear friends that genuinely love CrossFit. And 00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:49.779 it has done a lot of good for them. I still mourn 00:22:49.779 --> 00:22:52.160 Marie not being the cycling instructor at the 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:55.140 Y. I know it's not SoulCycle per se, but it felt 00:22:55.140 --> 00:22:58.690 like it. therapy and saunas and all the rest 00:22:58.690 --> 00:23:02.150 those are good things but he knows where we need 00:23:02.150 --> 00:23:05.869 peace and the only place we find peace is with 00:23:05.869 --> 00:23:10.809 him so to believe to be a believing people is 00:23:10.809 --> 00:23:13.750 to say these other things can be good and our 00:23:13.750 --> 00:23:16.170 hearts are bent towards finding our rest in these 00:23:16.170 --> 00:23:19.390 other things but there is only one being give 00:23:19.390 --> 00:23:24.369 us that is Jesus the risen Christ Faith cannot 00:23:24.369 --> 00:23:27.049 be escaped. Belief cannot be escaped. We all, 00:23:27.410 --> 00:23:30.230 everybody believes. Everybody gives authority 00:23:30.230 --> 00:23:32.049 to something and organizes their life around 00:23:32.049 --> 00:23:36.390 that something. He knows that. The question is 00:23:36.390 --> 00:23:40.750 belief in what? And he knows that belief in him 00:23:40.750 --> 00:23:43.950 is the only place where actual true peace can 00:23:43.950 --> 00:23:48.529 be offered and found. In Christ. So Jesus speaks 00:23:48.529 --> 00:23:51.549 peace and lovingly he says this three times to 00:23:51.549 --> 00:23:54.809 them and he does not do so in shame, you know, 00:23:54.950 --> 00:23:59.289 Jesus is gentle with them. So the second thing 00:23:59.289 --> 00:24:01.910 that I want us to see in this is so he shows 00:24:01.910 --> 00:24:03.950 or he speaks to them three times but he does 00:24:03.950 --> 00:24:06.670 something else that he does twice here and that 00:24:06.670 --> 00:24:10.990 is that he shows them his scars. shows them his 00:24:10.990 --> 00:24:15.309 scars. So verse 19 right after verse 19 he says 00:24:15.309 --> 00:24:17.730 peace be with you and then 20 it says when he 00:24:17.730 --> 00:24:21.109 had said this he showed them his hands and his 00:24:21.109 --> 00:24:24.930 side. He showed them his hands and his side. 00:24:25.009 --> 00:24:29.990 If you go down actually verse 26 says he came 00:24:29.990 --> 00:24:32.630 and stood among them and said peace be with you 00:24:32.630 --> 00:24:36.130 then he said to Thomas put your finger here see 00:24:36.130 --> 00:24:39.609 my hands. put out your hand and place it in my 00:24:39.609 --> 00:24:42.509 side. What he's saying is he's following up the 00:24:42.509 --> 00:24:45.990 idea of peace for them with the reality of his 00:24:45.990 --> 00:24:50.569 suffering for them. So he's addressing, he's 00:24:50.569 --> 00:24:53.869 addressing their fear and their unbelief by his 00:24:53.869 --> 00:24:59.470 peace that comes through his own suffering. Jesus 00:24:59.470 --> 00:25:04.720 wants our belief. Do not disbelieve. But believe 00:25:04.720 --> 00:25:07.380 and John says he's written these things so that 00:25:07.380 --> 00:25:12.519 we may believe But I want you to also see that 00:25:12.519 --> 00:25:16.180 in all this Jesus is very gentle He's inviting 00:25:16.180 --> 00:25:19.500 He offers you peace and he said come and see 00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:22.460 how I've brought it about He's not it's sort 00:25:22.460 --> 00:25:24.119 of where they are. He's not dismissing their 00:25:24.119 --> 00:25:27.519 unbelief or their fear He's not saying doubts 00:25:27.519 --> 00:25:29.359 don't arise. In fact, if you've been a Christian 00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:32.000 for any time at all, you know how often they 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:36.519 do But how gracious is Jesus with his disciples 00:25:36.519 --> 00:25:42.359 here? Pascal, some of you know this, did not 00:25:42.359 --> 00:25:45.920 just say, there is a God -shaped vacuum in the 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:49.559 heart of every person. This is what he says. 00:25:50.819 --> 00:25:54.000 There is a God -shaped vacuum in the heart of 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:58.289 every person. And it can never be filled by any 00:25:58.289 --> 00:26:02.470 created thing. It can only be filled by God made 00:26:02.470 --> 00:26:06.589 known through Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters, 00:26:06.809 --> 00:26:09.829 this is what I long for us. If we're asking of 00:26:09.829 --> 00:26:11.730 these resurrected narratives, what does it mean 00:26:11.730 --> 00:26:15.369 for us as a church? It means for us as a church 00:26:15.369 --> 00:26:18.490 to acknowledge these ideas that our hearts are 00:26:18.490 --> 00:26:20.910 eager to grab on to different things to find 00:26:20.910 --> 00:26:23.700 our meaning in them. That we're often living 00:26:23.700 --> 00:26:25.779 out of fear and anxiety and we're running to 00:26:25.779 --> 00:26:28.299 all different kinds of things for it. We're often 00:26:28.299 --> 00:26:31.880 living in unbelief and yet Jesus is inviting 00:26:31.880 --> 00:26:35.259 us back to him and he is the only place where 00:26:35.259 --> 00:26:39.779 peace will be found. It is only through his suffering 00:26:39.779 --> 00:26:44.339 and his risen body where his scars were still 00:26:44.339 --> 00:26:47.619 present. that our fears and our anxieties and 00:26:47.619 --> 00:26:49.759 our great desires for the world will be found 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:53.039 is only in Him that we have peace. It's only 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:57.079 in Him where we have faith that God has acted, 00:26:57.259 --> 00:27:01.779 that He will act, that He will care for us. What 00:27:01.779 --> 00:27:06.380 the world needs is Jesus and what the world needs 00:27:06.380 --> 00:27:10.039 is a community, communities, churches that truly 00:27:10.039 --> 00:27:15.109 believe that Christ rose from the dead. He really 00:27:15.109 --> 00:27:17.849 did. That we no longer have to be people that 00:27:17.849 --> 00:27:21.109 are full of fear, living in unbelief and doubt, 00:27:21.109 --> 00:27:23.269 but we can actually enter into this great story 00:27:23.269 --> 00:27:26.150 of what God has done in Christ. Many of you probably 00:27:26.150 --> 00:27:28.250 are sick of me quoting Leslie Newbegin, but he 00:27:28.250 --> 00:27:31.789 says this. How is it possible that the gospel 00:27:31.789 --> 00:27:35.990 should be credible? That people should believe 00:27:35.990 --> 00:27:39.130 that the power which has the last word in human 00:27:39.130 --> 00:27:41.710 affairs is represented by a man hanging on a 00:27:41.710 --> 00:27:45.519 cross. That's a great question, right? How in 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:50.240 the world can people believe that? That the answer 00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:52.940 for the world is somebody who suffered on a cross 00:27:52.940 --> 00:27:57.299 long ago. He says the only answer, the only hermeneutic 00:27:57.299 --> 00:27:59.380 of the gospel, hermeneutic meaning the way we 00:27:59.380 --> 00:28:04.240 understand it, is a congregation of men and women 00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:09.440 who believe it and live by it. How is the world 00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:13.089 going to see The hands and the feet of Jesus 00:28:13.089 --> 00:28:16.670 as the hope for their fears, as the answer to 00:28:16.670 --> 00:28:19.269 their unbelief, as actually the thing which they're 00:28:19.269 --> 00:28:20.869 searching for when they're running after all 00:28:20.869 --> 00:28:22.430 these other things. How are they gonna do that? 00:28:24.029 --> 00:28:28.109 By us believing it. By us actually understanding 00:28:28.109 --> 00:28:31.150 the cross and the resurrection for us, that Jesus 00:28:31.150 --> 00:28:33.430 really rose for us, that he comes and he meets 00:28:33.430 --> 00:28:36.309 with us, and he speaks his peace over us, and 00:28:36.309 --> 00:28:40.640 his scars are for us. That is how others will 00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:44.380 know. There's great stories about this, of course, 00:28:45.099 --> 00:28:47.359 through the history of the world, where people 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:49.599 really believed this. And out of that belief 00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:53.019 of those congregations, many people came to faith. 00:28:53.920 --> 00:28:55.779 One of the great stories, I'll end with this, 00:28:56.059 --> 00:28:58.559 is from the town of Le Chambon -sur -Lignon. 00:29:00.420 --> 00:29:04.259 I, some of you know this, I have a hard time 00:29:04.259 --> 00:29:10.069 saying French words. Because I spent three semesters, 00:29:10.069 --> 00:29:12.930 a year and a half, studying in France. And so 00:29:12.930 --> 00:29:15.490 if I say it like I was taught it, some of you 00:29:15.490 --> 00:29:17.250 are going to go like, that sounds so snooty. 00:29:20.210 --> 00:29:24.089 Le Chambon sur Lignon. And if I don't, it just 00:29:24.089 --> 00:29:28.250 sounds weird. Le Chambon sur Lignon. Doesn't 00:29:28.250 --> 00:29:31.210 work. It doesn't work. I don't know what to do 00:29:31.210 --> 00:29:38.109 about it, OK? Gosh. So Bolster -Lignon, that's 00:29:38.109 --> 00:29:42.950 the halfway for me, is this town, this Protestant 00:29:42.950 --> 00:29:45.650 town, this Huguenot town in Loire, in France. 00:29:46.630 --> 00:29:48.230 And maybe some of you noticed this town wasn't 00:29:48.230 --> 00:29:50.730 a very big town, kind of the surrounding area, 00:29:50.990 --> 00:29:54.329 you know, smaller town. And yet it had a huge 00:29:54.329 --> 00:29:57.829 impact during World War II, because this town 00:29:57.829 --> 00:30:00.990 had a deep belief in the reality of what God 00:30:00.990 --> 00:30:03.269 had done in Christ. They actually welcomed in 00:30:03.269 --> 00:30:06.039 all these people. They were being shipped off 00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:09.079 to concentration camps during World War II. And 00:30:09.079 --> 00:30:12.740 it's estimated that there are about 5 ,000 lives 00:30:12.740 --> 00:30:15.640 that were saved because of the faithfulness of 00:30:15.640 --> 00:30:20.220 those people. Pastor André Trocmé of the Reformed 00:30:20.220 --> 00:30:23.480 Church in France, his wife Magda, his assistant 00:30:23.480 --> 00:30:27.119 pastor, Édouard Tays, and the rest of the villagers 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:30.559 just simply believing that God alone was the 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:34.339 answer for their fears. That he alone was the 00:30:34.339 --> 00:30:38.079 true belief that filled the vacuum of their hearts. 00:30:39.039 --> 00:30:41.720 And because of that, they offered shelter in 00:30:41.720 --> 00:30:44.380 their homes and the hotels on farms and schools. 00:30:44.700 --> 00:30:49.900 They forged identification cards for these refugees. 00:30:50.940 --> 00:30:54.319 They guided them across the border into Switzerland. 00:30:56.400 --> 00:31:00.880 They acted in a way that the only reality was 00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:02.680 that Christ rose from the dead and because of 00:31:02.680 --> 00:31:05.700 that they don't have to fear they can enter into 00:31:05.700 --> 00:31:09.000 the story of God they don't have to give over 00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:15.940 to the gods of the day right the power of of 00:31:15.940 --> 00:31:20.940 Adolf Hitler and the Nazi rule or or the cowering 00:31:20.940 --> 00:31:24.259 of the French the French at the time They didn't 00:31:24.259 --> 00:31:25.660 have to give over those things. They said, we 00:31:25.660 --> 00:31:28.599 can follow Jesus despite the fact that so many 00:31:28.599 --> 00:31:30.839 others are running to other places to fill the 00:31:30.839 --> 00:31:38.099 void of God. Now, their story, of course, has 00:31:38.099 --> 00:31:40.660 been told many, many times. But I actually thought 00:31:40.660 --> 00:31:43.980 about this in part because this week I was away 00:31:43.980 --> 00:31:46.220 with my pastor's group. I have a pastor's cohort. 00:31:46.440 --> 00:31:48.720 There are 10 of us. We meet every year on a retreat, 00:31:48.759 --> 00:31:51.299 but then we keep up throughout the year. I can 00:31:51.299 --> 00:31:52.960 tell you more about that. But one of my dear 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:55.019 friends, John Bourgeois, he lives down in Nashville. 00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:57.420 We were meeting in Virginia and he was flying 00:31:57.420 --> 00:31:59.140 home Friday night and he was actually sitting 00:31:59.140 --> 00:32:02.759 next to a woman and he texted some of us and 00:32:02.759 --> 00:32:04.259 we had been talking just a couple of days earlier 00:32:04.259 --> 00:32:06.059 about being attentive to the spirit and he said, 00:32:06.160 --> 00:32:09.579 guys, I was on the flight back to Nashville from 00:32:09.579 --> 00:32:13.119 Richmond and I really just wanted to watch a 00:32:13.119 --> 00:32:15.059 movie. And so I was sort of annoyed this older 00:32:15.059 --> 00:32:16.859 woman was sitting next to me and she wanted to 00:32:16.859 --> 00:32:21.380 talk. and and I ended up sharing the gospel because 00:32:21.380 --> 00:32:23.400 she quickly asked what I do and I'm a pastor 00:32:23.400 --> 00:32:26.400 and sometimes that opens up doors and and she 00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:28.819 asked me why I was a pastor and she he said well, 00:32:28.819 --> 00:32:32.960 I think people need to To see the beauty of a 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:34.640 believing community a community that actually 00:32:34.640 --> 00:32:37.660 believes the gospel and he said and I told her 00:32:37.660 --> 00:32:45.039 about the Shambon and And she said my dad was 00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:49.680 and this woman doesn't believe My dad was there. 00:32:50.339 --> 00:32:54.420 I've heard that story. In fact, this is one thing 00:32:54.420 --> 00:32:57.720 that she told John, my dad was known as the Brad 00:32:57.720 --> 00:32:59.500 Pitt of Le Chambon, which I'm not sure what that 00:32:59.500 --> 00:33:01.180 means other than like really handsome or something 00:33:01.180 --> 00:33:04.440 like that. But here's the really beautiful thing 00:33:04.440 --> 00:33:06.859 is that John, my friend said, you know what, 00:33:06.920 --> 00:33:10.200 I actually invited her to come and tell her dad's 00:33:10.200 --> 00:33:13.539 story to our church. And so she's gonna come 00:33:13.539 --> 00:33:18.039 and she's open to Christianity. even in her old 00:33:18.039 --> 00:33:22.000 age of long rejecting Jesus because of a community 00:33:22.000 --> 00:33:25.000 that believed it long ago and because of my friend 00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:28.119 who believes it now who still believes now that 00:33:28.119 --> 00:33:29.619 even in the fear of maybe somebody going what 00:33:29.619 --> 00:33:35.859 you were a pastor which believe ridicule that 00:33:35.859 --> 00:33:40.299 happens um or just the unbelief that god are 00:33:40.299 --> 00:33:43.490 you actually able to do something That he simply 00:33:43.490 --> 00:33:45.710 showed up and said God has spoken his peace over 00:33:45.710 --> 00:33:49.849 me Jesus scarred hands and scarred feet and scarred 00:33:49.849 --> 00:33:54.869 side were for me And they still transform the 00:33:54.869 --> 00:33:57.309 world Brothers and sisters what I'm telling you 00:33:57.309 --> 00:33:59.269 this morning is that a believing community is 00:33:59.269 --> 00:34:03.190 the way that the gospel goes forward It's interesting 00:34:03.190 --> 00:34:06.349 Jesus says one thing here that is always causing 00:34:06.349 --> 00:34:08.590 me to scratch my head and it probably actually 00:34:08.590 --> 00:34:10.150 Causes you to scratch your head. He says this 00:34:10.150 --> 00:34:13.239 have you believed because you've seen me Blessed 00:34:13.239 --> 00:34:16.519 are those who have not seen and yet believed. 00:34:16.980 --> 00:34:20.559 I would bet every single one of you have thought, 00:34:21.480 --> 00:34:25.679 if only I could see Jesus. If only I'd been there 00:34:25.679 --> 00:34:29.860 when he turned the bread and the fish and fed 00:34:29.860 --> 00:34:34.019 those 5 ,000 men and probably another 5 ,000 00:34:34.019 --> 00:34:37.159 women and children. If only I'd been there when 00:34:37.159 --> 00:34:39.019 he sat with the woman by the will. If only I'd 00:34:39.019 --> 00:34:43.039 been there and seen the empty tomb. He says, 00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:46.760 brothers and sisters, blessed are us. Blessed 00:34:46.760 --> 00:34:54.300 is Second City Church. Blessed are we who haven't 00:34:54.300 --> 00:34:58.699 seen and yet believe. So what do I hope for for 00:34:58.699 --> 00:35:01.699 our church? That we would be a believing community. 00:35:02.699 --> 00:35:05.179 It is in our believing, in our belief, in our 00:35:05.179 --> 00:35:08.139 active faith, despite the fact that we have doubts, 00:35:09.500 --> 00:35:13.219 that God will say, blessed are you. Let's pray. 00:35:13.719 --> 00:35:15.639 Lord God, we thank you for this text. We thank 00:35:15.639 --> 00:35:19.559 you for the gracious gentleness of our Lord here. 00:35:20.059 --> 00:35:22.300 So often we need the same gentleness because 00:35:22.300 --> 00:35:25.280 we often so regularly live in fear and unbelief 00:35:25.280 --> 00:35:28.760 and doubt and yet we see your grace here. And 00:35:28.760 --> 00:35:31.960 we also wonder at the fact that it is Thomas 00:35:31.960 --> 00:35:37.159 who says, my Lord and God, Thomas the first one 00:35:37.159 --> 00:35:39.960 at the end of the gospel that proclaims what 00:35:39.960 --> 00:35:43.199 was said at the beginning. The Word in the beginning 00:35:43.199 --> 00:35:45.599 was the Word and the Word was made flesh. The 00:35:45.599 --> 00:35:51.420 Word was gone. God, I pray that in that journey 00:35:51.420 --> 00:35:56.159 towards belief, we think of Thomas's long faithfulness 00:35:56.159 --> 00:35:58.119 to you after this going and being a missionary 00:35:58.119 --> 00:36:00.840 and giving his life for you. God, I pray that 00:36:00.840 --> 00:36:03.139 we would be those people who are transformed 00:36:03.139 --> 00:36:05.440 and believe in the reality of Christ's suffering 00:36:05.440 --> 00:36:08.679 for us. And then like the disciples long ago, 00:36:08.780 --> 00:36:10.889 would we go out in boldness. to share the good 00:36:10.889 --> 00:36:13.510 news, like the people of Le Chambon during World 00:36:13.510 --> 00:36:15.530 War II, like my dear friend John just the other 00:36:15.530 --> 00:36:19.010 day. God, would we be a people that are sent 00:36:19.010 --> 00:36:22.829 by you, sent out of our fear and our unbelief, 00:36:23.369 --> 00:36:25.849 to invite others to follow the risen Christ in 00:36:25.849 --> 00:36:30.510 whose name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening 00:36:30.510 --> 00:36:33.289 to Second City Sermons podcast. We hope this 00:36:33.289 --> 00:36:35.309 sermon has encouraged you to worship God and 00:36:35.309 --> 00:36:38.329 to celebrate the gospel of Jesus. Please consider 00:36:38.329 --> 00:36:40.909 subscribing to this podcast and joining us in 00:36:40.909 --> 00:36:43.909 person each Sunday at 10 a .m You can find us 00:36:43.909 --> 00:36:46.369 online at secondcitychurch .org and on Instagram 00:36:46.369 --> 00:36:49.389 Facebook and YouTube Thanks again for listening. 00:36:49.829 --> 00:36:50.230 God bless