April 27, 2025 • 21 mins
In this message by Pastor Lonnie, we celebrate the core truth of our faith: Christ is risen! We explore how the resurrection isn’t just a historical event but a life-changing reality for our modern, often skeptical lives. Through the story of Thomas — famously known as “Doubting Thomas” — we see that doubt isn’t the enemy of faith but can be a doorway to more profound belief. Jesus doesn’t shame our questions; instead, He meets us gracefully, just as He met Thomas with precisely what he needed to believe. Doubt, when brought honestly to Jesus, can lead to powerful transformation, bold faith, and unstoppable witness. We are reminded today that our doubts don’t disqualify us — they can draw us closer to knowing the truth that truly sets us free.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Well, last Sunday, churches everywhere celebrated with that familiar declaration
Christ has risen, and churches enthusiastically replied, Christ has risen. Indeed,
(00:24):
I think of it. It's kind of like the ultimate
spiritual high five. Christ has Risen. But the catchy phrase
is more than just a tradition.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
It is the core truth of our faith, the core truth.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Those three words in English, they're captured by one powerful
Greek word that's used in the text Igario, which means
wake up, wake up. Imagine the angels on that first
(01:15):
Easter morning, essentially shouting wake up, wake up, Jesus is alive.
I think that's the most incredible wake up call you
could ever get in the morning, wake up, Jesus is alive.
(01:44):
I want to do a little backstory information first though,
before we move on a little bit about where we
got to where we are at this point of the text,
about those disciples. Two thousand years ago, God did something radical.
(02:09):
God stepped into our messy, complicated world through Jesus, who
is fully human, fully divine, and willingly took our failures
(02:31):
upon himself and died a brutal death on the cross.
But thank goodness, the story. It doesn't end there before
we know that three days later Jesus walked out of
the grave. But seriously, what does an event from to
(03:00):
millennia have to do with our Netflix binging, tick talk scrolling,
uber eating lives today? Why you want us to explore that?
But think of Thomas here. Thomas, you could call him
(03:24):
the poster child for doubt. He's famously labeled doubting Thomas.
People say, well, we have a doubting Thomas here, and
his story, though, is really much more than doubting. It
is actually a source of encouragement for anyone who's ever
(03:49):
questioned or doubted their faith. Now think of this now,
in Jesus's day, rabbi, they were only selected the students
that were the most promising students, and being chosen by
(04:11):
a rabbi meant like you were in an ivy league
school with a full ride. What is really interesting the
rabbidical row of Jesus and those who he called were
not necessarily those who were at the top of the
honor roll, but instead Jesus tended to pick regular, everyday
(04:38):
people like Thomas, who was just a fisherman. He had
a zero spiritual resume and imagine Thomas's reaction on that
day when Jesus called him and said, come and join
(04:58):
me and joined the these fissures of men. And he responded.
But then disaster struck. Jesus was arrested, he was crucified,
and in that Thomas's dreams they were shattered. Thomas was devastated.
(05:27):
Think of this, losing your dream job, losing your life savings,
losing your best friend in one weekend. That's what happened
to him, and he spiraled. He spiraled into doubt and isolation,
(05:57):
which sounds like what many of us do when there's
a major disappointment, doubt and isolation. We withdraw. We may
binge on ice cream and watch too much TV. But
(06:21):
here's the thing about doubt. It's not always a dead end.
It's not doubt can actually propel us towards genuine faith.
I mean, you look at Thomas's honesty. When the other
(06:45):
disciples shouted we saw Jesus alive, and Thomas, you know,
the ever skeptic, replied, well, okay, but unless I can
touch the nail holes in his hands, I'm not going
to buy it. Basically, Thomas was the original. I have
(07:05):
to see it to believe it God. Now maybe you've
wrestled with similar doubts, questions like do I only believe
because my parents taught me to believe? Is this faith
(07:26):
thing that I'm engaged in? Is that really a crutch?
Why should I believe at all? Will relax? God isn't
afraid of your questions. Think of this. Even when Jesus
(07:51):
was hanging on the cross, he had a serious question,
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? So
you're in good company, Okay. Authentic faith, it welcomes doubt,
(08:14):
and it welcomes questions. For doubt is not the same
as unbelief. Doubt is really it's uncertainty. It's the jury's
not out yet. It's that murky area between belief and
(08:39):
unbelief where nothing is yet decided and nothing is committed to.
So what follows honest doubt? And it's the great word
I use called.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Discovery, to discover, to explore, to discover when you genuinely.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Search for truth. God has a funny way of showing up. Now,
Thomas missed Jesus's first post resurrection appearance, but the Bible
(09:30):
tells us that a week later, Jesus appeared again. And
I think it's noteworthy that instead of scolding Thomas, instead
of scolding him, Jesus kind of invited him. Here, touch it, guy,
(09:51):
take a look. You didn't scold him. It was an
opportunity of discovery. And what happened Jesus provided exactly what
Thomas needed to believe. And I love Thomas's response. He said,
(10:17):
my Lord and my God, My Lord and my God,
it is you. It's you. So from his honest doubt,
Thomas embarked on a powerful, transformative faith of faith without limits,
(10:42):
of faith without conditions. Thomas's life, as we know, was
radically changed from hiding in fear to stepping out boldly,
from saul to overflowing joy, from doubt to belief. Amazing.
(11:12):
The entire group in that room was transformed by the
risen Jesus. They became bold, they became unstoppable witnesses of
(11:32):
His resurreence resurre And when we track before, they all went,
but especially Thomas here. Thomas, after saying my Lord and
my God, his life would take him to India, where
(11:57):
he planted churches and where he was passionately serving Christ.
And it is tradition that says it's tradition that he
boldly preached Christ until he was eventually martyred. He went
from prove it to I'll die for it. Prove it,
(12:26):
I'll die for it. You talk about a turnaround. Okay,
So here's our takeaway this morning, Okay, as we live
the story. First of all, Jesus intentionally hung out with
(12:49):
doubters and skeptics. He didn't choose to hang around those
who believed all the time they were stouters and skeptics.
They were order people just like us. That's what we
chose to hang out to. And he doesn't demand underscore this.
(13:12):
He doesn't demand blind acceptance. He invites authentic seekers, and
Jesus clearly teaches that following him it does mean you'll
(13:35):
get that point of surrendering. I could be in control
of my life, and in surrendering that to trusting him
fully for your life. To trust him and if the
resurrection is true, I believe it is. It deserves our
(13:58):
whole heart and it deserves our whole life. Well, if
you have doubts today, it's perfectly fine. It's perfectly fine.
That's precisely fine. Face them, head on, investigate, ask some
(14:28):
hard questions, get into discovery, and Jesus made a promise
when we do that. It's found elsewhere in God's Gospel
where Jesus said, you will know the truth, and what
will set you free, not some ambiguity or some fluff,
(14:53):
but the truth will set you free. So if you're
doubting or struggling, are unsure today, welcome. You are in
great company here on our website. One of the lines
(15:15):
that we had from the very beginning that this is
a safe place to explore the claims of the Christian faith,
a church we can be who you are, where you are,
to explore the claims of the Christian Faith as we
uplift the gospel. It's not totally buy in and then
(15:37):
you're in. It'sy all, come now, because that's the kind
of people Jesus tended to hang out with and the
kind of people he transformed and called into mission in ministry.
So let doubts drive you a little deeper into a meaningful,
(16:01):
life changing relationship with Jesus. Now, here's some very practical
ways to deal with doubt and to help gain a
truthful understanding. Okay, first one, bring your doubts to Jesus. Okay,
(16:22):
bring them to Jesus. Don't let your doubts become an
echo chamber of uncertainty. Be honest with God like Thomas was.
God can handle it, okay, he welcomes it. So bring
(16:46):
it to Christ and then don't miss the room where
it happens. And that's why the local church is critical.
It's God's idea. I don't what persons. Jesus promised us
the kingdom but gave us the church. Don't miss the
(17:08):
room wor it happened. Thomas wasn't with the others when
Jesus first showed up. Don't underestimate the power of simply
showing up in community, in church, in your faith walk. Now,
(17:34):
can you be a Christian and not go to church?
Of course, there's probably more Christians that aren't in churches
than there are today statistically, But the church is the
best place there is to come to know the Christ,
to ask questions in a caring community that's supportive that
God may shape us. We don't manipulate others. God shapes
(17:58):
us by his spirit. And then when Jesus shows up,
he meets you where you are. Jesus, he didn't shame Thomas,
he gave him exactly what he needed, and Jesus is
(18:25):
personal like that. He is a personal Lord and Savior
has a way of connecting to each of each of
us uniquely, in a way where we say, yeah, I'm connected.
I'm connected. So you ask boldly, but seek deeply. Ask boldly,
(18:51):
seek deeply, and trust that Jesus knows how to show
up for you. Trust that Jesus es how to do
that in a way that you need most. And then finally,
(19:17):
your doubt, your doubt might be a catalyst for a
deeper faith. You know, Thomas went from I believe it
when I see it to my Lord and my God.
And I think that's the dividing line the Lord wants
(19:39):
to do in each of our lives. Where are you, Lord? Oh?
There you are, my Lord and my God. And doubt
was the path, it wasn't the obstacle. So don't bury
(19:59):
your questions, dig into them, and you might just discover
a stronger, more genuine faith. Let us pray, our Father,
(20:22):
We thank you for being patient with our doubts and
tender with our questions. Thank you for meeting us right
where we are, just like you met Thomas. Help us
to bring our honest hearts before you knowing you are
(20:46):
not threatened by our struggles, but instead you invite us
into a deeper faith, a deeper life, and honest life.
Wake us up to the truth of your resurrection and
the hope you offer, strengthen our trust, transform our doubt
(21:11):
into declaration, and send us out with courage to live
as witnesses of your life and love. In your mighty
and risen name, we pray Amen.
Well, last Sunday, churches everywhere celebrated with that familiar declaration
Christ has risen, and churches enthusiastically replied, Christ has risen. Indeed,
(00:24):
I think of it. It's kind of like the ultimate
spiritual high five. Christ has Risen. But the catchy phrase
is more than just a tradition.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
It is the core truth of our faith, the core truth.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Those three words in English, they're captured by one powerful
Greek word that's used in the text Igario, which means
wake up, wake up. Imagine the angels on that first
(01:15):
Easter morning, essentially shouting wake up, wake up, Jesus is alive.
I think that's the most incredible wake up call you
could ever get in the morning, wake up, Jesus is alive.
(01:44):
I want to do a little backstory information first though,
before we move on a little bit about where we
got to where we are at this point of the text,
about those disciples. Two thousand years ago, God did something radical.
(02:09):
God stepped into our messy, complicated world through Jesus, who
is fully human, fully divine, and willingly took our failures
(02:31):
upon himself and died a brutal death on the cross.
But thank goodness, the story. It doesn't end there before
we know that three days later Jesus walked out of
the grave. But seriously, what does an event from to
(03:00):
millennia have to do with our Netflix binging, tick talk scrolling,
uber eating lives today? Why you want us to explore that?
But think of Thomas here. Thomas, you could call him
(03:24):
the poster child for doubt. He's famously labeled doubting Thomas.
People say, well, we have a doubting Thomas here, and
his story, though, is really much more than doubting. It
is actually a source of encouragement for anyone who's ever
(03:49):
questioned or doubted their faith. Now think of this now,
in Jesus's day, rabbi, they were only selected the students
that were the most promising students, and being chosen by
(04:11):
a rabbi meant like you were in an ivy league
school with a full ride. What is really interesting the
rabbidical row of Jesus and those who he called were
not necessarily those who were at the top of the
honor roll, but instead Jesus tended to pick regular, everyday
(04:38):
people like Thomas, who was just a fisherman. He had
a zero spiritual resume and imagine Thomas's reaction on that
day when Jesus called him and said, come and join
(04:58):
me and joined the these fissures of men. And he responded.
But then disaster struck. Jesus was arrested, he was crucified,
and in that Thomas's dreams they were shattered. Thomas was devastated.
(05:27):
Think of this, losing your dream job, losing your life savings,
losing your best friend in one weekend. That's what happened
to him, and he spiraled. He spiraled into doubt and isolation,
(05:57):
which sounds like what many of us do when there's
a major disappointment, doubt and isolation. We withdraw. We may
binge on ice cream and watch too much TV. But
(06:21):
here's the thing about doubt. It's not always a dead end.
It's not doubt can actually propel us towards genuine faith.
I mean, you look at Thomas's honesty. When the other
(06:45):
disciples shouted we saw Jesus alive, and Thomas, you know,
the ever skeptic, replied, well, okay, but unless I can
touch the nail holes in his hands, I'm not going
to buy it. Basically, Thomas was the original. I have
(07:05):
to see it to believe it God. Now maybe you've
wrestled with similar doubts, questions like do I only believe
because my parents taught me to believe? Is this faith
(07:26):
thing that I'm engaged in? Is that really a crutch?
Why should I believe at all? Will relax? God isn't
afraid of your questions. Think of this. Even when Jesus
(07:51):
was hanging on the cross, he had a serious question,
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? So
you're in good company, Okay. Authentic faith, it welcomes doubt,
(08:14):
and it welcomes questions. For doubt is not the same
as unbelief. Doubt is really it's uncertainty. It's the jury's
not out yet. It's that murky area between belief and
(08:39):
unbelief where nothing is yet decided and nothing is committed to.
So what follows honest doubt? And it's the great word
I use called.
Speaker 3 (08:57):
Discovery, to discover, to explore, to discover when you genuinely.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Search for truth. God has a funny way of showing up. Now,
Thomas missed Jesus's first post resurrection appearance, but the Bible
(09:30):
tells us that a week later, Jesus appeared again. And
I think it's noteworthy that instead of scolding Thomas, instead
of scolding him, Jesus kind of invited him. Here, touch it, guy,
(09:51):
take a look. You didn't scold him. It was an
opportunity of discovery. And what happened Jesus provided exactly what
Thomas needed to believe. And I love Thomas's response. He said,
(10:17):
my Lord and my God, My Lord and my God,
it is you. It's you. So from his honest doubt,
Thomas embarked on a powerful, transformative faith of faith without limits,
(10:42):
of faith without conditions. Thomas's life, as we know, was
radically changed from hiding in fear to stepping out boldly,
from saul to overflowing joy, from doubt to belief. Amazing.
(11:12):
The entire group in that room was transformed by the
risen Jesus. They became bold, they became unstoppable witnesses of
(11:32):
His resurreence resurre And when we track before, they all went,
but especially Thomas here. Thomas, after saying my Lord and
my God, his life would take him to India, where
(11:57):
he planted churches and where he was passionately serving Christ.
And it is tradition that says it's tradition that he
boldly preached Christ until he was eventually martyred. He went
from prove it to I'll die for it. Prove it,
(12:26):
I'll die for it. You talk about a turnaround. Okay,
So here's our takeaway this morning, Okay, as we live
the story. First of all, Jesus intentionally hung out with
(12:49):
doubters and skeptics. He didn't choose to hang around those
who believed all the time they were stouters and skeptics.
They were order people just like us. That's what we
chose to hang out to. And he doesn't demand underscore this.
(13:12):
He doesn't demand blind acceptance. He invites authentic seekers, and
Jesus clearly teaches that following him it does mean you'll
(13:35):
get that point of surrendering. I could be in control
of my life, and in surrendering that to trusting him
fully for your life. To trust him and if the
resurrection is true, I believe it is. It deserves our
(13:58):
whole heart and it deserves our whole life. Well, if
you have doubts today, it's perfectly fine. It's perfectly fine.
That's precisely fine. Face them, head on, investigate, ask some
(14:28):
hard questions, get into discovery, and Jesus made a promise
when we do that. It's found elsewhere in God's Gospel
where Jesus said, you will know the truth, and what
will set you free, not some ambiguity or some fluff,
(14:53):
but the truth will set you free. So if you're
doubting or struggling, are unsure today, welcome. You are in
great company here on our website. One of the lines
(15:15):
that we had from the very beginning that this is
a safe place to explore the claims of the Christian faith,
a church we can be who you are, where you are,
to explore the claims of the Christian Faith as we
uplift the gospel. It's not totally buy in and then
(15:37):
you're in. It'sy all, come now, because that's the kind
of people Jesus tended to hang out with and the
kind of people he transformed and called into mission in ministry.
So let doubts drive you a little deeper into a meaningful,
(16:01):
life changing relationship with Jesus. Now, here's some very practical
ways to deal with doubt and to help gain a
truthful understanding. Okay, first one, bring your doubts to Jesus. Okay,
(16:22):
bring them to Jesus. Don't let your doubts become an
echo chamber of uncertainty. Be honest with God like Thomas was.
God can handle it, okay, he welcomes it. So bring
(16:46):
it to Christ and then don't miss the room where
it happens. And that's why the local church is critical.
It's God's idea. I don't what persons. Jesus promised us
the kingdom but gave us the church. Don't miss the
(17:08):
room wor it happened. Thomas wasn't with the others when
Jesus first showed up. Don't underestimate the power of simply
showing up in community, in church, in your faith walk. Now,
(17:34):
can you be a Christian and not go to church?
Of course, there's probably more Christians that aren't in churches
than there are today statistically, But the church is the
best place there is to come to know the Christ,
to ask questions in a caring community that's supportive that
God may shape us. We don't manipulate others. God shapes
(17:58):
us by his spirit. And then when Jesus shows up,
he meets you where you are. Jesus, he didn't shame Thomas,
he gave him exactly what he needed, and Jesus is
(18:25):
personal like that. He is a personal Lord and Savior
has a way of connecting to each of each of
us uniquely, in a way where we say, yeah, I'm connected.
I'm connected. So you ask boldly, but seek deeply. Ask boldly,
(18:51):
seek deeply, and trust that Jesus knows how to show
up for you. Trust that Jesus es how to do
that in a way that you need most. And then finally,
(19:17):
your doubt, your doubt might be a catalyst for a
deeper faith. You know, Thomas went from I believe it
when I see it to my Lord and my God.
And I think that's the dividing line the Lord wants
(19:39):
to do in each of our lives. Where are you, Lord? Oh?
There you are, my Lord and my God. And doubt
was the path, it wasn't the obstacle. So don't bury
(19:59):
your questions, dig into them, and you might just discover
a stronger, more genuine faith. Let us pray, our Father,
(20:22):
We thank you for being patient with our doubts and
tender with our questions. Thank you for meeting us right
where we are, just like you met Thomas. Help us
to bring our honest hearts before you knowing you are
(20:46):
not threatened by our struggles, but instead you invite us
into a deeper faith, a deeper life, and honest life.
Wake us up to the truth of your resurrection and
the hope you offer, strengthen our trust, transform our doubt
(21:11):
into declaration, and send us out with courage to live
as witnesses of your life and love. In your mighty
and risen name, we pray Amen.
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