Easter Sunday - All Together Service

[0:00] This is a sermon from King's Church West Lothian.! To what's been going on.

[0:31] And that video gave us quite a good idea. But Jesus really was the most amazing man. The miracles that he did. Some of the stuff that he did. Just get your head around this stuff. He walked on water.

[0:43] He fed 5,000 people with just a few fishes and a couple of loaves of bread. He raised the dead. He did all sorts of amazing things.

[0:55] And he had the most wonderful teaching. The Sermon on the Mount is probably the most famous talk of all time. All from Jesus' mouth. He came up with loads of wonderful things that we still say in the English language every day today.

[1:09] But what Jesus would often do that people didn't really like. They loved all that other stuff. He always said this one kind of weird thing that people didn't really like.

[1:20] They tried to sort of forget about it. This is what he said. He kept saying, soon we're going to go to Jerusalem. When we get there, I'm going to be crucified.

[1:32] And after three days, I'm going to come back to life. And the disciples, whether they didn't hear it, whether they didn't understand it, whether they forgot it.

[1:42] For some reason, they just did not get what Jesus was going on about. But sure enough, they did go to Jerusalem. And Jesus was crucified.

[1:55] He died. And he was buried in this kind of cave-like tomb. But the disciples, they still didn't understand.

[2:06] They still seemingly had forgotten what Jesus had said that he would come back to life. So on the third day, as that video shows so well, a lady called Mary of Magdalene, she went to the grave and she found the stone rolled away.

[2:20] And she ran back to the disciples and said, the body is gone. Jesus isn't there. So a couple of other disciples, Peter and John, they went and sure enough, they found that the grave was empty.

[2:34] And they thought maybe, just maybe, what Jesus said was true. And then he appeared to them. He ate with them.

[2:45] He talked with them. He even went fishing with them. And then, the amazing news, that Jesus was alive.

[2:57] But somebody didn't get the memo. Somebody wasn't there when Jesus spoke to his disciples, ate with his disciples.

[3:13] A man was missing. A man called Thomas. Let's have a look at what the Bible says about Thomas. So if you've got that one, John 20, Davey.

[3:26] Now Thomas, also known as Didymus, one of the twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.

[3:39] 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.

[3:57] So where was Thomas? So where was Thomas? Well, who knows? Maybe he was out getting the milk. Maybe he was visiting his mum. Maybe he was getting his donkey MOT'd.

[4:07] Who knows where he was? But where he definitely wasn't, was there. Now, Thomas has a bit of a nickname. Does anybody know the nickname that Thomas goes by?

[4:19] Any hands up? Go on, Maya. What's he called? What's Thomas called? Good guess. It's not Tom.

[4:31] It's not Tommy either. Before we get there. He has a little word that goes before his name. Does anybody know that one? Go on then, Peter. Doubting Thomas. But you know, I think that's a little bit unfair.

[4:43] Because there's no doubt in Thomas' mind. Doubting for me is like, oh, maybe I think this, maybe I think that. I'm not quite sure. Thomas is absolutely sure. I think a better nickname would be, forget it, Thomas.

[4:55] Or beat it, Thomas. Or on your bike, I don't believe a word of what you're saying, Thomas. He's not a doubter. He's absolutely sure of what he believes. And he says that even if he, unless he puts his hands, his finger into the wounds of Jesus, and his hands and his sides, he won't believe it.

[5:17] Now, this week was April Fool's Day. Did anybody do any good April Fool's this week? Daniel got one. I'm not surprised. Caleb, yeah.

[5:27] I can imagine. Oh, not as many as I might have thought. Callum, well done. I did think about doing an April Fool's on Gordon and sending him a message saying that the transfer of this building had fallen through.

[5:39] But I didn't think, I thought I might push Gordon over the edge, so I didn't do it. You did. But I did do an April Fool's joke. Do you want to hear about my April Fool's joke?

[5:49] Yeah. Well, in our house, we're football fans, right? And we are fans of Heart and Midlothian Football Club, okay? Now, it can't have escaped.

[6:03] Even casual observers of Scottish football cannot have failed to observe that this has been the greatest season for Hearts in many a long time.

[6:13] And as it stands, Hearts are still favorites, still. I need to just check the clock. Hearts are still favorites to win the league at this point, which may or may not happen.

[6:24] Because you weren't. There we go. Okay. I'm sort of pleased to hear that, but I'm also a little bit offended, Darren, that you're checking your phone and not listening to my talk. But thanks for the update.

[6:34] Okay. Now, I'm quite a big Hearts one, but my son, Daniel, is the real enthusiast in the house. And Daniel has been looking at all the scores of the season, looking ahead, working out every single possibility, every single technicality that could happen between now and the end of the season.

[6:56] If you want to know the impact that the St. Mirren-Aberdeen game could have on the title race, Daniel's the man to ask, okay? So I thought, along with my daughter Jenny, we're going to get Daniel this week.

[7:10] And we thought we'd play a trick on him and tell him that due to the cost of fuel, they've decided to cancel the end of the season and just award Hearts the league.

[7:21] That was our joke. So we tried to get him with this, but Daniel, to be honest, he was like doubting Thomas. He wasn't having any of it. He didn't believe us for a second. He knew exactly what was going on.

[7:32] I was a bit disappointed with that because I did think we maybe stood a chance of getting him because actually something like this has happened before. A few years ago, they did end the season early, around about that time, 2020.

[7:44] Any guesses why that happened? Of course, it was because of COVID, wasn't it? Now, that did have an impact for Hearts. We actually got relegated that season instead of winning the league. But that's another story. But I thought my joke might work.

[7:57] I thought my April Fool's joke might work because there was a little bit of precedent. But Thomas, I think the reason why he didn't believe it was because there was no precedent for this.

[8:11] Dead people just do not come back to life. And that, frankly, is all there is to it. So unless, says Thomas, unless I can put my hand in his side, unless I can touch the wounds on his hands with my fingers, I will not believe.

[8:33] Let's go on to the next verse, David, if you will. A week later. A week later.

[8:43] Can you imagine being amongst the disciples for a week and then telling him that he was alive and refusing to believe it? A week later, his disciples 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.

[9:01] 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.

[9:16] Thomas said to him, My Lord and my God. Then Jesus told him, Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

[9:35] Maybe today you are a little bit like Thomas. Maybe you spend a lot of time with disciples of Jesus.

[9:47] Maybe you even quite like the whole Christian message, brotherly love and all that sort of stuff. It's fine for others. But, just a bit like Thomas, you cannot believe that Jesus really did rise again.

[10:07] You need to put your hands in his sides, your hand in the nail marks in his hands to believe. Well, Thomas, he did get to feel the wounds of Jesus and you probably won't.

[10:28] But, here's what Jesus said. He said to Thomas, You are blessed. He said to Thomas, You have seen and you have believed. But, blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.

[10:41] If that's you, if you can relate to Thomas and say, How can I believe that somebody rose from the dead and I can't even see him? Well, I invite you today to bring down the blessing of God on yourself.

[10:56] By putting your trust in him. That even if you don't get to see him today, with your physical eyes. You get to believe in him because he really, truly is alive today.

[11:07] Today. Maybe it's time to put aside doubts. Put aside disbelief.

[11:20] And say, Okay Jesus. Today I'm going to put my trust in you. And frankly, I cannot think of a better day to do it on than Easter Sunday, 2026.

[11:32] So, perhaps for a moment we'll all just bow our heads in prayer. And I know many, many here, of course, have made this step of faith. And they've decided to follow Jesus.

[11:42] Have said, Yes, Jesus, I do believe. But I also, I'm sure that there's some who haven't. So, I would invite you. If that's you. If you know that you haven't truly made that step of faith in your heart. I would ask you that if you're ready.

[11:55] If you're willing. Just to pray this prayer along with me. And put your trust in him. Lord Jesus. I believe that you are alive today.

[12:10] Forgive me for being a bit like Thomas. And not believing in you. But today I call on your blessing to me. Even though I don't see, I believe.

[12:23] Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you died and rose again for my sins. And I want to live my life for you.

[12:34] I recognize that today everything changes. Because of your death and resurrection. I love you. I follow you with all my strength and with all my heart. Hallelujah.

[12:45] Amen. Amen. Amen.