05-01-2022
05-01-2022 Rev. Trevor Johnston, (LOX & Online), Rev. Jose Marrero (WPB), Dr. E. Dale Locke (Lake Worth), Rev. Efrain Silva (COH Español)
Sermon Series: Asking For A Friend
Week 2: What Do I Do With My Doubt?
English PDF file for printing.
Para imprimir el archivo PDF en Español
1. Read the theme verse for this series – Matthew 22:37 - Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Asking faith questions is good! The question we explored last week was “How can I know God’s plan for me?” Share one thing that was helpful from last week’s sermon and how it helped you.
2. Read John 20:19-29 – On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So 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.”
26 A 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!” 27 Then 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.”
28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
From this passage and other accounts of Jesus’ life, how does Jesus deal with people who doubt?
3. Ellsworth Kalas said of the 12 disciples: “If there has ever been a small group of people who have left an indelible impact on the world, it is this group. When Jesus left the planet, he left his mission and his message in the care of these persons…and today, their spiritual descendants constitute the largest single religious body in the entire world…”
How was it possible for these 12 men to impact the world in such a big way even up to today, despite the fact that they had some doubts and confusion about Jesus during the time He was on earth?
Today, Thomas is known as “the doubter.” But we notice three admirable qualities about Thomas:
Story 1 – Thomas the Authentic from John 11.
Lazarus, one of Jesus’ closest friends had just died, and Jesus told his disciples he wanted to travel to Lazarus’s home to raise him from the dead. This was near Jerusalem, where it was known that the religious leaders were looking for an opportunity to kill Jesus, so in John 11:16, Thomas said (probably a bit sarcastically), “Let us also go that we may die with him”. Thomas was willing to be honest and authentic about his feelings.
4. What might be some reasons why some Christians don’t feel comfortable being authentic and honest about their doubts and struggles with faith?
5. What are some benefits of being honest with others about doubts and struggles you have with faith?
Story 2 – Thomas the Inquisitive from John 14.
6. Read John 14:1-5 where Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
Here we see Thomas was willing to ask questions when he was confused. Share about a time when you were confused about something in the Bible, and you asked a question, and it helped you grow in your understanding.
7. Children ask an average of 125 questions a day, but by the time we become adults, we generally ask only about 6 questions a day. Why do you think adults ask so many fewer questions than children do?
8. Trevor said that any time you don’t understand something, you have two choices: judgement or curiosity. Why do people often pass negative judgement on things they don’t understand?
9. What are the benefits of being curious and asking questions about things you don’t understand?
Story 3 – Thomas the Willing from John 20
10. In John 20:19-23, Thomas had missed out on Jesus’s resurrection appearance to the disciples, possibly because he was off grieving alone. Again we see Thomas’s honesty about his struggle to believe, because of course it’s challenging to believe someone who was dead came back to life. But after Thomas got additional evidence, he was willing to change his mind and acknowledge Jesus as God.
If you’ve ever known someone who wasn’t willing to change their mind about Jesus, regardless of information or evidence, share about that with your group. What do you think were their reasons for not believing?
11. Thomas went on to be a missionary in India, taking the gospel message further than any of the other disciples. He lived a life of faithfulness to Jesus, even being willing to die for his faith. But this solid faith started with Thomas being authentic, inquisitive, and willing to change his mind and submit to Jesus as Lord.
Which of these three aspects are the most challenging for you personally?
12. What was the most helpful thing for you personally in this sermon?
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