Welcome & Announcements

 

Call to Worship We will glorify

Prayer of Approach & Confession & The Lord’s Prayer (NBoP 831; BoP 605)

Opening Praise: NBoP 814 Morning has broken

BoP 550

Responsive Reading  – Psalm 16 [BoP 621]

¹ Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust.

² O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;

³ But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight.

⁴ Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.

⁵ The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.

⁶ The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage.

⁷ I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.

⁸ I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

¹⁰ For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

¹¹ Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

KJV

Children’s story –

Children’s Hymn: NBoP 452 Jesus, stand among us

BoP 323

Scripture Readings:

NT – Acts 2:22-32

²²Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: ²³Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: ²⁴Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. ²⁵For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: ²⁶Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: ²⁷Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. ²⁸Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. ²⁹Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. ³⁰Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; ³¹He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. ³²This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. KJV

²²“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. ²³This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,^£ put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ²⁴But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. ²⁵David said about him:

“‘I saw the Lord always before me.

Because he is at my right hand,

I will not be shaken.

²⁶ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will live in hope,

²⁷ because you will not abandon me to the grave,

nor will you let your Holy One see decay.

²⁸ You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

²⁹“Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. ³⁰But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. ³²God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.

NIV

Epistle – 1 Peter 1:3-9

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

⁶Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: ⁷That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: ⁸Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: ⁹Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

KJV

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, ⁵who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

NIV

Hymn of Illumination: NBoP 497 Word of God across the ages

BoP 291

Scripture Readings:

Gospel – John 20:19-31

¹⁹Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. ²⁰And when he had so said, he showed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. ²¹Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. ²²And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: ²³Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. ²⁴But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

²⁶And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. ²⁷Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. ²⁸And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. ²⁹Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. ³⁰And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: ³¹But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

KJV

¹⁹On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

²¹Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²²And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

²⁴Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it.”

²⁶A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

³⁰Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

NIV

Sermon: The joy of not seeing

Here is the dilemma; if I explain the meaning and purpose about a certain passage of scripture, then the emphasis and understanding that you would have gained by working things out on your own is lost. And if I impose a certain interpretation upon the events that took place, you have little choice but to be influenced in your faith by my belief.

It is the same way when a painter, or photographer, views a landscape that few people have scene before, and then captures and presents that scene through their art. What we see, and how we view that scene if we ever see it for ourselves, is always going to be effected by someone else’s experience. So, as one of the key principles of our faith , we struggle to agree with the views of events as scripture presents them. And in the midst of that we can even argue about the authenticity and accuracy of what is written about it our bibles; whether we are talking about the transcription and transmission of God’s word down through the ages, the translations of God’s word into a language we can read and understand, and the interpretations that have been read into the text for the centuries of it’s existence.

But what if you just had to take MY word for it?

I think most of us would agree there is a certain level of difficulty in believing the word of God, and the stories and laws found in scripture. I believe we would be a great deal more uncertain about our beliefs if we did not have a bible, and I was standing up here Sunday by Sunday and saying, “Hey, just take my word for it!”

You do not have to just take my word for it. You can read it for yourselves. In fact you have in your bibles a few witness accounts to the events that took place; in other words, you have corroborating testimonial evidence to the event of the resurrection taking place. You do not even have to hear or even read my interpretation alone. There are many commentaries on the bible, thousands upon thousands of ministers of the Word, and you have more access to this testimony than any other generation that has ever existed in the history of the earth.

But what if you just had to take MY word for it?

Thomas was out away from the other disciples when Jesus came to the place where the other disciples were gathered. There are any number of reason why Thomas would not have been with the others; he could have been working [we tend to forget that these biblical people lived in a world that was driven by labour and commerce at least as much as ours is], he could have been at a family event [perhaps his mother’s birthday], the picture that is being painted by the text is simply that Thomas was out at the time that Jesus arrived to be with the other disciples.

It seems though that Thomas had issues about trusting, even in the case of the other disciples. He had been told of at least two moments when the risen Christ had appeared to his friends, and yet Thomas doubted. It begs the question, how many times should people encounter the witness to the truth of the resurrection before they will respond by faith in believing? Because most people struggle with the good news in Jesus Christ the first time they hear it.

Thomas was being told not simply by one friend, but the passage from John tells us that he was confronted by the whole group. But Thomas’ faith was blocked by doubt, and that doubt was empowered by the fear that scripture tells us was very present with the group, or perhaps was compounded by the flooding sadness of Christ’s death.

Thomas had many hurdles to overcome in order to have the joy of true faith.

For all those who struggle with their faith, this is an important recognition. Even Thomas, who lived and walked with Jesus was challenged to believe that Christ had risen from the dead. Even Thomas who had witnessed all of Christ Jesus’ miracles found the news of the resurrection more than he could bear. It was not that the other disciples were better than Thomas, they had all seen Jesus, they did not need much faith to believe in what they had seen and, to whom the had spoken.

Thomas was given the opportunity for something far richer and more strengthening. We make a mistake when we envy the disciples first had experience of the resurrection. Yes it would have been amazing to walk with Jesus, through the days of his life, and yes certainly experiencing Christ’s teaching first had would have been truly amazing, but the power that comes in believing cannot be matched by having witnessed it just for ourselves.

A deep personal belief in Christ, and in Christ’s resurrection, is a powerful joy. When you read in the bible about the power of God’s love over flowing the cup of our hearts we are encountering the joy of really believing. Some day we will know, but the real joy of that day will be not that we know at last, but that we have lived in faith until Christ has revealed himself in the fullness of time.

When at last Thomas is offered the proof of Christ Jesus resurrection by Christ himself he is not filled with joy in that moment. Instead he is overwhelmed into his confession. There is shame in that moment that would not have been present if Thomas could have just believed.

And in the fullness of your time you will know the full truth of Christ and you will see Christ revealed in your life, but before you know, believe. Believe and know the joy of your salvation, believe and know Christ first in faith.

We have a testimony, a testimony that covers centuries of the witness of God’s love and power. We have the testimony of the witnesses in God’s word, and the testimony of our fellowship here – as those who have experienced and shared in the truth of Christ’s resurrection.

Rejoice, for our salvation is found in the faith we are called together here to share. And in our faith we discover the grace and strength to share this good news in the whole world.

May God be praised. Amen

Prayer of Thanksgiving and Intercession

God’s Tithes and our gifts

Doxology (NBoP 830; BoP 603)

Offertory Prayer

 

Commissioning Hymn: songs 77 Who is on the Lord’s side?

 

Benediction

 

Dismissal: Alleluia, Alleluia (see opposite page)

 

Chorus: Alleluia, Alleluia
Give thanks to the risen Lord
Alleluia, alleluia, give praise to His name

Spread the good news o’er all the earth
Jesus has died and has risen

Come let us praise the living God
Joyfully sing to our Saviour