Second Sunday of Easter

CALL TO WORSHIP

Come. You will find no locked doors here. So, come enter. Let us fling wide the doors of our hearts, sing praises and worship the Lord, our God.

HYMN

This is our God

GATHERING PRAYER

Here we stand at the door and knock: open our hearts to your love. Here we hesitate and doubt: open our minds to your truth. Here we hide in fear and pain: open our spirit to your peace. Here we gather in doubt and joy: open our lives to welcome all. Amen.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION

Lord God, you call us to be witnesses for you but very often fear holds us back – fear of speaking out and being made to look a fool, or, even worse, imprisoned, as many are in other countries. Lord God, we’re sorry when we allow our fears to dominate. Sometimes, like Thomas, we need to see evidence of your promises before our fears subside. Lord God, locked doors mean nothing to you but we often hang on to the key, not wanting to face what lurks on the other side of the door; sometimes unable to forgive ourselves for past actions. Lord God, unlock any areas of our lives that we may not have dealt with. We’re sorry, Lord. Fling wide the doors. Breathe on us afresh with your peace, we pray. Amen.

Our Saviour hung on a tree, shed his blood and freed us from our sins. Repentance and forgiveness are ours through his life blood poured out for us. Receive what he died to give us. Thank you, Saviour God. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name,

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done.

On earth as it is in heaven,

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those that trespass against us,

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,

Forever and ever Amen.

HYMN

Kids Choice

READING 1

Bible Passage: John 20:19–31

HYMN

How great thou Art

SERMON

Doubts and Faith: Encountering the Risen Christ

Bible Passage: John 20:19–31

1. Peace in Locked Rooms

John 20:19-23

2. Presence in Absence

John 20:24-25

3. Proclamation through Encounter

John 20:26-29

4. Purpose in Belief

John 20:30-31

The Gospel accounts of Jesus breaking through locked doors prompts us to ask what holds us back and what doors do we need to open? The disciples are witnesses commissioned to bring God’s forgiveness; can we help to unlock doors for others?

1. Peace in Locked Rooms

John 20:19-23

Our reading opens with the disciples hiding in fear. And it’s no wonder, I mean how would you feel? all thoughts of the things Jesus had said would happen had gone into hiding with them. Fear from persecution, fear from the loss of their leader, it was a lot to take in. All plans are off the table.

Mary told them Jesus has risen but how can they trust and believe this after all they had seen Christ’s bruised and beaten body, dead and carried away.

But then there he is right in front of their eyes, at first, they don’t believe it then Jesus says, “Peace be with you” Peace be with you” those few words changed the whole atmosphere. It’s really him.

You see Jesus meets us in our fears and doubts with his peace, he gives reassurance of his power in each of our lives.

When Jesus breaths on his disciples, The image and wording of breathing on them recalls God’s creative work in making Adam. Now this post-Resurrection “breathing” was a new kind of creative work the disciples would soon become new creations and fear would be gone. This breath Jesus gave was in anticipation of the day of Pentecost. This breath in a sense was a renewing of the call of the disciples and in 50 days Pentecost bring the full power of the Holy Spirit who is with us today.

We too can be encouraged to trust the peace and presence of Christ amid the uncertainty of our live.

2. Presence in Absence

John 20:24-25

Then we are introduced to Thomas I think he gets bad press people are called “doubting Thomas’s”. His refusal to believe without seeing tells of the universal struggle we all face with doubt and the need for evidence.

We need to understand that doubting isn't a sign of failure, but it is a step in seeking truth. It invites people to honestly express their doubts as a part of their relationship with Jesus.

Let’s be honest we can be in a room filled with people who are so filled with God’s spirit we can feel like a fraud, or we don’t belong, let me tell you this Jesus says you do belong; you are in the exactly right place and exactly the right time.

I remember many years ago I went a concert by Dave Bilborough, I hadn’t been a Christian to long and part way through people started singing tongues, and I confess I felt really out of place.

But sometime later I was leading a small singing group one night we were practising for a service and part way through the Holy Spirit came on us and we spent maybe one hour singing in tongues AMAZING! is the only words I had or have for that event it only ever happened once. But I still remember it.

3. Proclamation through Encounter

John 20:26-29

Thomas's encounter with the risen Christ and his declaration "My Lord and my God!" after seeing Jesus. He is the first person to call Christ God, We can also take from that Jesus wants us to have a personal relationship with him not hearsay from others in Matthew 16 he actually asks the disciples who they say he is, he asks us the same question.

This moment in Thomas’s life shows the shift from doubt to faith through personal experience with Jesus. It shows that Jesus doesn't rebuke his doubts, and he doesn’t rebuke our doubts but invites us closer to examine them in light of his presence, brings us to a deeper faith. This is an invitation to trust in the reality of Christ's resurrection as the foundation of our faith.

4. Purpose in Belief

John 20:30-31

As we come to the end of the 20th chapter of John’s gospel, he states his purpose for writing it. It’s that we can believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing, have life in his name.

This emphasises our call to live as witnesses of the risen Christ, empowered by faith. It's a reminder that our faith journey isn't just about resolving doubts but about continually meeting Jesus, who assures us of eternal life and purpose through his resurrection.

The Gospel accounts of Jesus breaking through locked doors prompts us to ask what holds us back and what doors do we need to open? The disciples are witnesses commissioned to bring God’s forgiveness; can we help to unlock doors for others?

HYMN

Holy Spirit Living Breath of God

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

Risen Lord, we give thanks and praise for our many blessings. You know our point of need and you meet it. Because of you we have reason to rejoice. You opened our hearts and blessed us with your peace. Thank you, risen Lord. Because of you we live and grow in, witness to your love. We praise your Holy Name. Amen.

Lord Jesus, we thank you that you are alive! We praise you for the glory of your resurrection which means that we will never be separated from you. We pause for a moment to remember times when we have known your presence in our lives this week.

Help us to look for signs of you in everything we do, wherever we go and whoever we meet this week. Keep us focused on you, our risen triumphant Lord. Help us to kneel with Thomas and say, ‘My Lord and my God’.

Lord Jesus, even when we don’t have your physical presence with us: help us to know what’s real.

Lord Jesus, Thomas needed to see the wounds in your hands and side to know that you really had risen. We thank you that those scars demonstrate to us that you are a wounded God who therefore understands all our sorrows and suffering. We know that you have gone before us into the darkest places. We lift to you now all the places in our world that are suffering right now. We pray for Ukraine, still in the grip of war; we pray for Afghanistan and Yemen whose conflict and pain has gone from our news screens; we remember the victims of flooding in South Africa. In the silence we bring to you any other places of pain in our world.

Lord Jesus, your wounds remind us that you are there and that you care: help us to care for them too.

Lord, we know that when you stretched your arms out on the cross it was to show love for the whole world. Everyone matters to you. Everyone is within the realm of your love. Everyone is loved equally by you. We particularly pray for refugees and all those fleeing persecution. We ask that our government will show compassion to all those who are seeking safety and stability in our country. We pray for people that the world seems to have forgotten: the lost and alone; the housebound; those in hospital for many weeks. We pray for children living on the streets; those in the care system; those who feel unloved.

Lord Jesus, your outstretched arms tell us that you love the whole world: help us to love everyone too.

Lord, you came into that upper room, into a place full of fearful people and brought the beauty of your peace. We pray for all those we know who need your peace at the moment: those who are sick; those who are anxious and troubled; those who are sad or grieving; those who are dying; those who are facing exams soon; those who are afraid.

Lord Jesus, breathe your peace deep into their hearts: and fill them with the knowledge of your presence.

Lord, you didn’t want your disciples to keep the good news of your rising to themselves. You said to them: ‘As the Father sent me, so I am sending you.’ Help us not to be afraid to tell our family and friends about you. Show us who to talk to and how to show your love to those around us: at work, at school, in our streets and in our homes. We pray for all those we know who are struggling to believe that you are real and that you really rose again from the dead. Help us to share with them what we know about you and help us to show them your reality by living and loving like you did.

Lord Jesus, you give us your peace and love: send us out to take your love and peace to others around us.

Lord Jesus, as we start a new week, take us out of our upper rooms and into the world to live and breathe your presence. Go before us into every situation we face and help us to know that you are really there.

Thank you, Lord, for rising again for us: and filling our hearts with joy. Amen.

HYMN

Be, Thou my vision

BLESSING

Let us go out with laughter to spread God’s joy. Let us go out with passion to spread God’s truth. Let us go out with compassion to spread God’s healing. Let us go out with love to spread God’s peace. Amen.