April 12th, Sermon & Ministry Resources
"Behind Locked Doors" (John 20:19-31)
Lectionary Readings — Second Sunday of Easter — April 12, 2026
Acts 2:14a, 22-32; Psalm 16; 1 Peter 1:3-9; John 20:19-31
Call to Worship (based on John 20:19-31)
Leader: On the evening of that first day, when the doors were locked for fear, Jesus came and stood among His disciples and said, “Peace be with you.”
People: Even behind our locked doors — our doubts, our fears, our failures — Jesus comes to us and speaks His peace.
Leader: He showed them His hands and His side, and the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
People: Show us Your wounds, O Christ, that we might know the depth of Your love for us.
Leader: Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
People: Send us, Lord! Breathe Your Spirit upon us and empower us for Your work.
Leader: Thomas said, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”
People: Lord, we confess that we, too, have doubted. We have demanded proof when You have asked for faith.
Leader: Jesus came again and said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.”
People: Meet us in our doubt, O Lord. Touch us in our unbelief.
Leader: Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God!”
People: My Lord and my God! We declare it with Thomas — You are our Lord, and You are our God!
Leader: Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”
People: We have not seen, yet we believe! We place our faith in the Risen Christ!
All: Come, let us worship the Risen Lord — who meets us in our fear, answers us in our doubt, and gives us peace that the world cannot offer. Amen.
Opening Prayer (based on Acts 2:14a, 22-32)
Let us pray:
Almighty God, Creator and Sustainer of all life, we gather in Your presence this day with hearts full of wonder and gratitude. Like those who stood in the streets of Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, we have come to hear a word from You — a word of power, a word of truth, a word that changes everything.
We thank You, Father, for Jesus of Nazareth — a man attested to us by mighty works, wonders, and signs that You performed through Him. We confess that these were no accident of history, but the unfolding of Your definite plan and foreknowledge. You have always been at work, even when the world could not see it. Help us to trust that You are still at work today — in our lives, in our church, and in this broken world.
We stand in awe before the mystery of the cross — that the very hands of lawless men became instruments of Your sovereign purpose. What seemed like the darkest defeat was, in truth, Your greatest victory. Teach us, Lord, to see Your hand even in the places where hope seems lost.
And now, O God, our hearts rise with the great proclamation of the apostle Peter: You raised Jesus up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for Him to be held by it. Death could not contain Him! The grave could not hold Him! We worship a risen Savior, and because He lives, we too shall live.
Like David, who spoke in faith of what was to come, we set the Lord always before us. With Him at our right hand, we shall not be shaken. Fill our hearts today with the gladness and joy that come from knowing that You have made known to us the paths of life.
Open our ears to hear Your Word. Open our eyes to behold Your glory. Open our hearts to receive Your grace. And may everything spoken and sung in this place today bring honor to the name of Jesus Christ — whom You raised from the dead and exalted as both Lord and Messiah.
In the strong and matchless name of our risen Lord we pray. Amen.
[NOTE to Paid subscribers — scroll down for the full manuscript sermon]
Sermon Outline: "BEHIND LOCKED DOORS"
Based on John 20:19-31
I. The Peace That Penetrated Their Fear (vv. 19-20)
II. The Purpose That Propelled Their Mission (vv. 21-23)
III. The Protest That Paralyzed Thomas (vv. 24-25)
IV. The Proof That Produced His Faith (vv. 26-31)
Full Manuscript Sermon Below for Paid Subscribers
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