April 27th, Sermon & Ministry Resources

"FEAR, FAITH, AND FULFILLMENT" (John 20:19-31)

Lectionary Readings — Second Sunday of Easter — April 27, 2025

Acts 5:27-32; Psalm 150; Revelation 1:4-8; John 20:19-31

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Call to Worship (based on John 20:19-31)

Leader: Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Christ, so Christ sends us.

People: Though we have not seen, yet we believe. Help our unbelief.

Leader: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.

People: We gather to worship the risen Lord, who offers us peace.

Leader: Christ breathed on the disciples and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

People: May that same Spirit fill us today as we worship.

Leader: Thomas said, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, I will not believe."

People: Yet when he saw, he proclaimed, "My Lord and my God!"

Leader: Jesus said, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

People: Though we have not seen with our eyes, we believe with our hearts.

Leader: Our Lord and our God, we come to worship you!

All: These things are written so that we may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing we may have life in his name. Amen.

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Opening Prayer (based on Acts 5:27-32)

Let us pray:

Sovereign Lord,

We come before You today with grateful hearts, remembering the bold witness of the apostles who declared, "We must obey God rather than any human authority." In a world that often demands our allegiance to passing things, give us courage to stand firm in our commitment to You.

Like Peter and the apostles who spoke truth before the Sanhedrin, help us to be witnesses of Christ's resurrection power in our lives. May we testify to Your saving work with both our words and actions.

When we face opposition or pressure to compromise, remind us that You are the one who exalts Jesus as Prince and Savior, offering repentance and forgiveness to all who seek You. Let Your Holy Spirit empower our witness, just as He empowered those early followers.

Guide our worship today. Open our hearts to Your presence and our minds to Your truth. May all we do bring honor to Your name.

In the name of Jesus, the one we serve above all others, Amen.

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Sermon Outline: [NOTE to Paid subscribers — scroll down for the full manuscript sermon].

[Note: All Scripture is taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible.]

Sermon Outline: "FEAR, FAITH, AND FULFILLMENT" (John 20:19-31)

Introduction:

• Context: The disciples hiding behind locked doors after the crucifixion

• Jesus appears despite the locked doors, bringing peace to his fearful followers

• Thomas's absence and subsequent doubt provide a framework for exploring our own journey of faith

I. FEARFUL HEARTS: The Reality of Doubt and Disbelief

• The Disciples' Fear: John 20:19 - "When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.'"

  • Their fear was paralyzing, keeping them hidden away

  • The contrast between their fear and Jesus's greeting of peace

• Thomas's Transparency: John 20:25 - "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."

  • Thomas refuses to accept second-hand faith

  • Thomas was a "straight shooter" who voiced what others might have thought

  • Thomas's doubt wasn't rejection but an honest struggle

II. FAITHFUL PRESENCE: Jesus Meets Us Where We Are

• Peace in Presence: Despite locked doors, Jesus appears with "Peace be with you" (v.19, 21, 26)

  • Jesus penetrates our barriers of fear and doubt

  • The repetition of "peace" emphasizes Jesus's central message

• Physical Proofs: Jesus showed his wounds - "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." (v.27)

  • Jesus meets Thomas's specific demands

  • The wounds of Christ as evidence of both suffering and victory

  • Jesus does not rebuke Thomas but invites him into deeper faith

• Personal Encounter: Jesus provides Thomas with his own personal resurrection experience, just as he had for Mary Magdalene and the other disciples

  • Faith develops through genuine encounter

  • Jesus seeks out the absent and doubtful

III. FORWARD MISSION: From Fear to Faith to Fulfillment

• The Spirit's Power: John 20:22 - "When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'"

  • Jesus equips his followers for mission with the Holy Spirit

  • The Spirit as the means to fulfill the calling

• The Ministry of Forgiveness: John 20:23 - "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

  • Jesus reminds them that "with great power (the Holy Spirit) comes great responsibility (discerning God's confrontation of sin and offer of forgiveness)"

  • The church's mission includes both proclamation and reconciliation

• Future Faithfulness: John 20:29 - "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."

  • Jesus's words point to future generations who would believe without seeing

  • This verse serves as "a beatitude on future generations; faith, not sight, matters"

CONCLUSION:

• John 20:30-31 - "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name."

• In John, belief means more than intellectual assent - it means to "trust," "bond with," and "be loyal to" Jesus

• The miracles and proofs "only make sense if they lead to the real faith which consists in a relationship with God"

• The ultimate purpose: that through believing we may have LIFE in his name

Full Manuscript Sermon Below for Paid Subscribers