19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,1 Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Jesus and Thomas
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,2 was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Footnotes
[1]20:19Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [2]20:24Greek Didymus
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,1 Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Jesus and Thomas
24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,2 was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”
26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.”28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Footnotes
[1]20:19Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [2]20:24Greek Didymus
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Jeffrey Heine:
We're gonna be in John 20 this evening. John 20, continuing our study of John's gospel. We have been in this study for about a year and a half. And for those of you who have not been around for it, we've been making our way through kind of paragraph by paragraph. We find ourselves now after the resurrection.
Jeffrey Heine:
It's actually still resurrection Sunday, in the in the text. And so we find ourselves in John chapter 20. We're gonna be starting off with verse 19. John chapter 20, beginning in verse 19. And let us listen carefully for this is God's word.
Jeffrey Heine:
On the evening of that day, the 1st day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, peace be with you. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, peace be with you. As the father has sent me, even so I am sending you.
Jeffrey Heine:
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, receive the holy spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld. Now Thomas, 1 of the 12 called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, we have seen the Lord.
Jeffrey Heine:
But he said to them, unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails and place my hand into his side, I will never believe. 8 days later, his disciples were inside again and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and see my hands, And put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. Thomas answered him, my Lord and my God.
Jeffrey Heine:
Jesus said to him, have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. The word of the Lord. Let's pray. God, we thank you for this time together.
Jeffrey Heine:
We can open up your word, where we can sing songs of praise and adoration to you, or we can come to you in prayer to seek you in spirit and in truth. So we ask that in this time, you would lead us, that you would lead us by your spirit, that you would confront us and comfort us and transform us by your spirit. Lord, no one here needs to hear from me. I know that. But each and every one of us desperately needs to hear from you.
Jeffrey Heine:
So speak, Lord. Your servants are listening. In the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit. Amen. If you read any news about religion, there are likely 2 topics that have come up, recently in your news feed.
Jeffrey Heine:
Number 1, the evangelical vote. Now I'm not going to get political, tonight. I think we we might have all had enough. I'm sure that most of us are gonna be quite glad when Tuesday is over. We might not be glad that it's Wednesday, but we will be glad that it's over.
Jeffrey Heine:
The second thing. So the first one, the kind of evangelical vote. The second thing would be this in the news. And perhaps it's the most written about thing over the last handful of years. And it's the growing percentage of adults in America who do not identify with any faith tradition.
Jeffrey Heine:
It feels like just every couple of weeks or couple of months, a new study, some more research comes out, another article about people leaving the church in droves. One denomination recently announced that that they had lost over 100,000 members in the last decade. A recent Pew Research study said that this growing population of people who claim no faith tradition at all has grown over the last 7 years by 10%. And researchers have started calling these individuals that claim no faith tradition, nones, not like Sister Act nones, but nones, n o n e s. Thank you for laughing at my sister act joke.
Jeffrey Heine:
That was no one in the first service today got it. And then I realized that came out in, like, 1994, so apologies. But with that, the percentage of the millennial generation who claim no faith is about 35%. It's the largest generation. It's 35% with millennials.
Jeffrey Heine:
Boomers at 17%, gen x at 23. But these nones who these people that claim no no faith tradition whatsoever. One last stat. Of these nones, now you're just thinking about sister act, aren't you? Of these nuns, 80% of them were raised in a faith tradition, but left.
Jeffrey Heine:
One of the most common reasons given as to why they left is this, quote, at some point, I just realized that I didn't believe, end quote. I hope as we have spent this last year and a half in John's gospel together, I hope that you've seen week after week what John the evangelist is trying to accomplish in his gospel. He has a central objective from the very first verse until the very end, and it's that you would believe. He doesn't care if you're inspired, emotionally moved, intellectually challenged, spiritually stirred. He wants you to believe.
Jeffrey Heine:
He's called John the evangelist for a reason. And just like Matthew, Mark and Luke, John was on a mission, a mission to tell the reality of Jesus, who He is, what He has done, and how we are to respond. And that was his mission, to evangelize, to tell the truth about Jesus. He isn't John the converter or John the successful. He's an evangelist, and in short, that means he's a truth teller.
Jeffrey Heine:
We can't read John's gospel without asking ourselves what we believe. You and I, we, we have to ask ourselves, what do we believe? It's intrinsic to every verse throughout this gospel. And here we find ourselves in chapter 20, face to face with a question of belief or unbelief, of acceptance or rejection. And this evening, I'd like for us to enter into this scene, this closing resurrection day scene before John moves to start finishing up his gospel.
Jeffrey Heine:
I want us to enter into the scene and to move into the tension, the tension between belief and unbelief that John records for us. And here's why, because I think that if we enter into this tension, you will recognize it. Perhaps this is attention that you've experienced with family members, parents, children, siblings, friends, neighbors, coworkers, roommates. You've experienced this tension of belief and unbelief in conversation and sharing your faith with someone else. Perhaps you felt this tension of belief and unbelief in your own heart, maybe even today and tonight.
Jeffrey Heine:
And I think that if we honestly lean into this tension found in this upper room. Meaning that we permit ourselves to think honestly about what's going on here in John 20 and in our own lives and our own hearts, that we will find better clarity about the calling that has come to us to believe. The calling that has come to us to tell the truth about Jesus with those around us, and to better rely on the gift of the Holy Spirit, not only in evangelism, but in every moment of our lives. So here we are, John 20. The disciples are hiding.
Jeffrey Heine:
It was Sunday evening. This is still Easter Sunday. And it's later in the day. Earlier that morning, Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene in the garden. And we read that she went and told the disciples, the disciples, Peter and John run to the tomb.
Jeffrey Heine:
They look in the tomb. John sees the empty tomb and he believes. He believes that Jesus is risen. And then it says that Peter and John go back home after that. And now, still terrified from the events of the last few days of the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus and fear for their own safety, the disciples are hiding behind locked doors.
Jeffrey Heine:
Now, Judas wasn't present because after he had betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, he went and he hung himself. And we don't know why Thomas wasn't present. Nothing is really said as to why, and nothing in the gospels make us think that Thomas was anything but a faithful follower of Jesus. So in the room, 10 disciples gathered. The 10 are there gathered in the upper room likely for conversation to to hear again from one another what what they saw and what was going on and wondering what's going to happen next.
Jeffrey Heine:
They have no idea what's going to happen next. Would they get to see Jesus? Will will he be back back? What's what's going to happen? And then, as they are in this time, you would think that in the confusion and the frustration and the anxiety that they would probably do what Jesus taught them to do when they were anxious and scared and afraid.
Jeffrey Heine:
They'd pray. They would take time to pray together. And John says that in that locked room, Jesus is revealed to them. He stands in the midst of the disciples, and he says, peace be with you. These are the first words of the risen Jesus to his terrified, heartbroken, confused disciples.
Jeffrey Heine:
Peace be with you. Jesus speaks peace, and throughout the New Testament, we read of Jesus speaking peace. He speaks peace to the storm in Mark 4. Peace to a sick young girl in Mark 5. Peace to a woman who washed Jesus's feet with her hair, in Luke 7.
Jeffrey Heine:
The apostle Paul tells us that Jesus himself is our peace, and that he speaks peace to those who were near the Jews and peace to those who were far off the Gentiles. Jesus speaking peace to his disciples, and this is a fulfillment of a promise that he made to them. A promise that he made in John 14 before he was arrested and the crucifixion happened, he said this to them, peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.
Jeffrey Heine:
Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. He speaks peace, this promised peace to his fearful and confused disciples. And then Jesus shows them his wounds, the wounds that bought their healing. He shows them the nail pierced hands. He shows them his pierced side.
Jeffrey Heine:
And John says that when they saw it, when they saw that it was really him, when they saw that he was really alive, they rejoiced. He said that the the disciples were filled with rejoicing. And again, Jesus promised this. Before his arrest, Jesus told the disciples, John 16, So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you. This is the joy that Jesus was talking about.
Jeffrey Heine:
Not a mere emotion, not mere happiness, not a feeling that can change when circumstances change. No. This is the state of joy. This is the condition of joy. This deep joy is directly linked to the reality of the risen Jesus.
Jeffrey Heine:
That joy was promised by Jesus, and it's found in Jesus, and it is secured for you in Jesus. We can have sadness in the midst of this joy. We can have sorrow in the midst of this joy. That's that's how deep and big and capable this joy is, is that in the middle of that joy, we can have sorrow and suffering, and pain. The disciples, the disciples will face terrible trials and suffering.
Jeffrey Heine:
Deep loss and sorrow awaits them, every one of them. But this joy, this deep conditional change of joy is brought about by the resurrected Jesus. And this rejoicing that that begins here in this upper room at the sight of the risen Jesus has transformed them forever. He promised them peace, and he brought it to them. He promised them joy, and he brought it to them.
Jeffrey Heine:
Look at verse 21. Jesus said to them again, peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you. In his high priestly prayer that we looked at in John 17, Jesus promised his disciples that he would send them just as the Father sent him. He prayed these words to the Father, as you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
Jeffrey Heine:
He promised them peace and joy, and he promised to send them. And here he is fulfilling that promise in sending them out. He's sending them into the world to carry out this wild and untamable mission of God, to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to recover the sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, in some, to tell the truth about Jesus. In verse 22, so that they could carry this mission out, he breathes on the disciples and says to them, receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to the disciples.
Jeffrey Heine:
It's referenced in John 7 where John writes, Now this he said about the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive for as yet the spirit had not been given because Jesus was not yet glorified. And here, here Jesus gives them this foretaste of the Holy Spirit that will come in full at Pentecost and acts 2. He breathes on them, this promised Holy Spirit. Jesus breathes on them. And as Joel mentioned last week in referencing this, this part of the passage, we get this image of God, the father, God, the creator, breathing life into Adam in the garden.
Jeffrey Heine:
And here Jesus breathes new life into the disciples as they receive the Holy Spirit. And with the Holy Spirit comes this charge in verse 23, this responsibility. Jesus says, If you forgive the sins of any there, they are forgiven them. If you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld. This can be kind of a confusing turn of a phrase here of of the commentaries that are read on verse 23.
Jeffrey Heine:
One of the most helpful ones described it in this way, that the church has been given a responsibility to preach forgiveness of sins. To preach the forgiveness of sins and to warn those who refuse to repent, and to do this in the power of the Holy Spirit that was breathed on those disciples, that it's tied together, the giving of the Spirit and then this charge to declare the forgiveness of sins and to declare the guilt of the unrepentant. And to do this in the power and comfort of the spirit who emboldens us. Later, John the evangelist is going to write a letter. And in that letter, he he says this in first John chapter 1.
Jeffrey Heine:
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. This is the playing out of that charge, the playing out of that responsibility, that we confess that we have sin. And we know full well that God is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jeffrey Heine:
That's living that responsibility, that charge out. So in that upper room, to summarize, in that upper room, what has happened? They've been given what they were promised by Jesus, Peace, joy, a mission, and the Holy Spirit. These 10 men have seen the risen Jesus with their own eyes. They're totally convinced that he is alive and that all that he has said to them is true.
Jeffrey Heine:
They are commissioned by Jesus himself to declare the good news. They are aided and comforted by the Holy Spirit to carry out this mission. And these 10 men have their very first fish mission field in the person, Thomas. Verse 24. Now Thomas, one of the 12 called the twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
Jeffrey Heine:
So the other disciples told him, we have seen the Lord. These convinced, commissioned, empowered disciples eagerly tell their friend Thomas the news. Jesus is alive. He's fulfilling all of his promises that he has made to us. We thought that wickedness had won, but God has won.
Jeffrey Heine:
That what was meant for wicked and evil has been put to shame, and God has used it for the greatest good. He's alive. And Thomas looks at them and says, Nope. 10 against 1. They have seen the risen Jesus with their own eyes.
Jeffrey Heine:
They have received this mission. They have received the Holy Spirit. Thomas was not a stranger at the mall that they just wanted to ask a couple questions to. No. This was their friend, Thomas.
Jeffrey Heine:
And he looks at them, and he says, I don't believe you. And unless I see him myself, I will never believe. Never. This is the first case study in evangelism. The disciples committed in their belief, sent by Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, 10 of them cannot convince their one friend to believe.
Jeffrey Heine:
And this is a huge lesson for us. Friends, you you are called to evangelism. If you're a follower of Jesus, if if you're a disciple of Jesus, and you follow him, and your faith and trust are in the person Jesus Christ, then you are called to evangelism. You're called to declare the greatness and graciousness of God, the life, death, resurrection, ascension, promised return, the forgiveness of sins, life everlasting. You are called, like John, to tell the truth.
Jeffrey Heine:
You're called to evangelism, but you are not called to conversion. That's God's work. You're called to be obedient in telling the truth of the gospel. You are not called to be successful. We read the prophets.
Jeffrey Heine:
These men who said, send me. And we can make conferences out of it, and we can make resources out of it, and we can make all kinds of tools out of these things, of of being sent and send me. But then sometimes we fail to remember what happened to the prophets once they were sent. In Jeremiah 7, the Lord says, you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you.
Jeffrey Heine:
And you shall say to them, this is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline. Truth has perished. It is cut off from their lips. Obedience and being sent is not success based. It's about being faithful to your call.
Jeffrey Heine:
You are called to tell the truth about Jesus. You are not called to conversion. God changes hearts. The 10 disciples could not convince their friend, but that wasn't their mission. Their mission was to tell the news, and it's easy to forget this.
Jeffrey Heine:
Being liberated from the pressure to make conversion happen, to convince someone or to argue them into belief somehow, being liberated from that does not mean that rejection doesn't hurt. It does hurt. And it doesn't mean that being a disciple and telling the truth isn't costly. It's terribly costly. Many of you have faced those costs yourself.
Jeffrey Heine:
Many of you, perhaps, have felt like the disciples, where they're wondering, Do I not believe enough? Do I not have enough of the spirit? Do I not have the words right? Am I is something wrong here? But Jesus says that we can have peace.
Jeffrey Heine:
Peace that comes from knowing that only Jesus saves. A peace from knowing that only the spirit changes a heart of stone to a heart of flesh, A peace that knows that only the father's kindness can lead someone to repentance. Thomas says he won't believe. In fact, he says, he will never believe. So notice the next three words in verse 26.
Jeffrey Heine:
Verse 26, 8 days later. We just jumped the whole week. Okay? From John 12 until here in John 20, that's been 1 week. I know it was a long time ago when we were in John 12.
Jeffrey Heine:
It's it That's 1 week. The beginning of the Passover celebration, the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. This whole span, that's been 1 week that we've been looking at for 8 chapters. So many conversations and interactions recorded, and we just jumped from Sunday to Sunday. And now the disciples are gathered together, and Thomas is there too.
Jeffrey Heine:
I think that we can infer some things here that can be really helpful in our own understanding of being sent. You know, Judas betrayed Jesus and then hung himself. Peter denied Jesus 3 times. Thomas rejected the news of his friends, his brothers, that Jesus was raised from the dead. The group dynamics of the 12 are are pretty volatile.
Jeffrey Heine:
These men gathered together, the 11 of them, likely doing what they always would do together, to worship God, to eat, to pray, to argue. I mean, if we keep up with the 4 gospels, they do a lot of arguing together. And likely during this time, during these 8 days, they argued, and they ate, and they prayed, and one of them would say, Hey, just back off. Let me just have a little bit of alone time with Thomas. And like, it just, they keep, like, kind of going back and forth and everything.
Jeffrey Heine:
And I'm sure that there was tension. There's definitely tension. There was surely bitterness that Thomas refused to believe his friends. In effect, he was telling them that he thought that they were liars, but they remained together. 1 week later, gathered together in the locked room, There they were together.
Jeffrey Heine:
I think for it's it's it's important for us to notice 2 things about that. Number 1, the disciples welcomed unbelieving Thomas, and Thomas actually felt welcome. I feel like that's an incredible thing for for these men to gather, to to to remain together, even though this one was rejecting them and what they were saying, so boldly rejecting them. The disciples welcomed Thomas there, and Thomas actually felt welcome to be there. And here they are 1 week later.
Jeffrey Heine:
In that locked room, Jesus came and he stood among them again. And he greets them again with the words, Peace be with you. And Jesus turns to Thomas. Take this in. Jesus turns to Thomas, and he says, Put your finger here.
Jeffrey Heine:
See my hands. Put out your hand. Place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. Thomas had heard all the right news about Jesus, And he had heard all this news declared, but God had to call him to believe.
Jeffrey Heine:
Jesus says, do not disbelieve, but believe. And this isn't simply a request. It's a transformative call to faith. And how do we know that? How do we know that this was a transformative call to Thomas?
Jeffrey Heine:
It's because how he responds. He responds and says, My Lord and my God. And so some questions kind of rise up when I read this. The first one is, why did Thomas confess that when he saw Jesus? Because the empirical evidence in front of him, that evidence that he wanted so so badly when he says, I will not believe until I see him myself.
Jeffrey Heine:
That evidence, that would have led him to believe that Jesus was alive. But Thomas confesses that Jesus is his Lord and his God. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. Flesh and blood, even resurrected flesh and blood did not bring Thomas to this confession. It was the work of the Spirit.
Jeffrey Heine:
See, we can like Jesus. We can admire Jesus, but it is the Spirit who brings us to confess that he is our Lord and our God. Another question comes up. Why did this work now and not before? The disciples believed enough.
Jeffrey Heine:
They were empowered by the spirit enough. They were commissioned up enough. They had enough relational capital built up with their friend, but it took the work of God to bring Thomas to belief. Thomas wanted this evidence, but what he needed was a miracle. He needed his dead heart to be transformed.
Jeffrey Heine:
He needed to cross over from death to life. He needed to be transferred from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of light. He needed what you and I need, and that is to be transformed by the Spirit of God. And I wanna make sure that we don't miss, another aspect here, and that is that Jesus knew what Thomas's specific problem was, and he addressed it. He he knew the exact doubt that Thomas had, and he meets him there.
Jeffrey Heine:
Jesus knew the very words of rejection that Jesus that Thomas had spoken to the disciples, and Jesus speaks directly to it. And he even offers Thomas what Thomas thinks he needs most, to see and to touch. And one thing about doubt. We don't need to dismiss our doubts like they don't matter. And we don't need to embrace our doubts like they are all that matter.
Jeffrey Heine:
What we need is for Jesus to confront our doubts. See, Jesus knows your doubts, and he can speak to your doubts. And what you need more than evidence and argument is a miracle. Faith is a gift that we receive, and we receive it in a culture of doubt. Jamie Smith, a very helpful and challenging Christian philosopher, said a few years ago that we're all Thomas now.
Jeffrey Heine:
I like that quote, because sometimes we need permission. We need to know that someone else is like us enough that we can say how we really think and feel And to confess that we are all Thomas now, we we all have doubts because we live in a culture of doubt. The question is no longer for the Christian, do I have doubts? But what do I do with my doubts? And what we see here in John 20 is a start.
Jeffrey Heine:
Thomas stated his problem to himself and to a believing community. And Thomas remained with that believing community, and they remained with him. Sounds like a good start. This believing community filled with the holy spirit gave Thomas a place to be and a place to become. That's a beautiful gift that a believing community can give.
Jeffrey Heine:
If you are having doubts, and I would wager to say, you are. I am. I want to say, stay in the believing community. Stay. Say what your doubts are out loud.
Jeffrey Heine:
And in this place, doubt your doubts with us together. Yep. Our job as a believing community is not to convince, but to love. And true love tells the truth with kindness and with compassion and without reservation. Love tells the whole truth and love remains.
Jeffrey Heine:
The disciples were surely hurt by Thomas's rejection, but their desire for him to believe was greater than their desire to be liked and respected. So they told him the truth, and they made him feel welcome. And that is who we are called to be as a household of faith, as Redeemer Community Church. That's who we are called to be. Jesus offers one last beatitude, kind of in this closing scene with Thomas.
Jeffrey Heine:
And in it, he talks about us, that we are blessed even though we don't see him. We don't get the evidence that Thomas demanded. Jesus says that we are blessed when we believe and don't see. And that doesn't mean that it's easy. Just like Thomas, we are desperate for the work of the Holy Spirit to give us the faith to believe, to help our unbelief.
Jeffrey Heine:
Peter stood in this room with the other disciples and the risen Jesus, and his eyes moved back and forth between the risen Jesus and his unbelieving, now believing friend, Thomas. And he watched all of this play out. We began our service tonight, reading from one of Paul's letters in which the apostle says to men and women who have not seen the risen Jesus with their own eyes, who have not touched Jesus and his nail pierced hands, who did not touch with their hands the, the place where the spear entered his side. He writes to us and he says, though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that's inexpressible, filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Jeffrey Heine:
We are called. We are called out of unbelief to belief. We are called to tell the truth about Jesus with gentleness, compassion, and boldness. And we are called to trust in the work of God to rescue and redeem dead hearts, even our own. Let's pray.
Jeffrey Heine:
Oh, god, thou must save, and thou alone. We sang those words together, And I was reminded, and, Lord, by your scriptures, we have been reminded this morning that you must save. And the faith in us, no matter how weak or small, no matter how tired, Lord, all faith is a gift from you, and we ask that by your Spirit you would increase our belief in this very time together. That we would that we would mature in Jesus and trusting him more and loving him more, obeying him all the more. God, we thank you for a time, and I thank you for all of these men and women and kids that have come to this place to gather, to sing, to pray, to listen, and ask that you would bless this time as we respond to you.