The Daily Guide grow. pray. study. The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection of Leawood, Kansas, United States - Saturday, 02 April 2016 - “So that you will believe… and have life”
Daily Scripture: John 20:29 Yeshua said to him, “Have you trusted because you have seen me? How blessed are those who do not see, but trust anyway!”
30 In the presence of the talmidim Yeshua performed many other miracles which have not been recorded in this book. 31 But these which have been recorded are here so that you may trust that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by this trust you may have life because of who he is.
Reflection Questions:John wrote this gospel as the generation of the apostles was dying, so Thomas’ experience had special significance. If people weren’t willing to trust the testimony of those who’d seen Jesus, the faith would soon die out. Jesus said, “Happy are those who don’t see and yet believe.” We don’t see Jesus as the apostles did. But an eyewitness wrote this gospel so that we may believe as they did, and have eternal life.
- This was almost certainly the fourth gospel’s original ending. (We’ll see next week that chapter 21 reads like a sequel, added for a special purpose.) John’s gospel was not an exhaustive biography, written for abstract, academic purposes. No—“these things are written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Christ, God’s Son, and that believing, you will have life in his name.” Scholar William Barclay wrote, “We must read [the gospels], not primarily as historians seeking information, but as men and women seeking God.”1 In what ways have you come to know God better as you’ve read the gospel of John? How can you more fully share the bread of life, the living water because of this journey with Jesus?
Dear God, I thank you that John used his consummate writing artistry to bear witness to Jesus, the Messiah. Guide me as I use whatever gifts I have to bear witness to my Savior. Amen.
Family Activity:
Jesus is risen and lives forever as the Light of the World! To celebrate Easter, share one or both of these activities. First, bake or buy cupcakes. On top of each one, place and light a trick candle. Encourage each person to blow out his or her candles. When people see that the light keeps appearing and it is impossible to extinguish, read John 1:5 and John 20:1-20. Remind everyone that Jesus is the Light of the World and that death or darkness cannot ever overcome Him! Later that night, take a family walk. Try to walk only in the darkness, then turn on a flashlight. Discuss which is best and why. Give thanks and praise to God that Jesus is the light and will always show us the way. Happy Easter!
1 William Barclay, Daily Study Bible Series: The Gospel of John—Volume 2. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, revised edition 1976, p. 280.)Insights from Jason Gant
Jason Gant is the Campus Pastor at Resurrection West.
What I love about Thomas is he is a skeptic. I’m a skeptic. I appreciate logic, common sense, and order in my life. The Holy Spirit of God often seems to wreck my sense of logic, common sense, and order–and I am grateful He does! This moment in John’s Gospel is right after Jesus meets Thomas in his skepticism. He could have accepted his doubts, reminded Thomas that he had the gift of free-will and moved on, but this isn’t what Jesus does. He defies logic, sense, and order and meets Thomas right where he is (as he does with all of us)–in his doubts, his skepticism, his want for proof. Then he proves to him that HE IS ALIVE!
John goes on to share Jesus’ words of blessing to those who believe by faith and not by sight. This Sunday I’ll be preaching live at RezWest to conclude the John series. In researching and writing this Sunday’s sermon, I came upon a developmental stage we all encounter in our lives called Object Permanence. Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be observed (seen, heard, touched, smelled or sensed in any way). We see this exhibited most clearly in the game of peekaboo with children from 8-9 months of age and older. What we believe is a simple and joyous game is actually a revelation that the face they know and love returns time and time again, when they might otherwise believe it is gone. This is reassuring and moves us toward cognitive development in object permanence.
Could this have been what Jesus meant when he asked us to have faith like children? Do you, like me, suffer sometimes from lack of faith in the object permanence of God? Have you opened your eyes this week to see the face of God in the laugh of a child, the budding of a flower, the soaring flight of a bird? May we all open our eyes to the permanence of our God, trusting and believing and (as Pastor Adam reminds us) counting on the reality that He is always near, even when we have our eyes closed by doubt, skepticism, and reason that reasons away the power of the living Lord. May we be Easter people who have faith and life in the one who is ALIVE and PERMANENT!
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
What I love about Thomas is he is a skeptic. I’m a skeptic. I appreciate logic, common sense, and order in my life. The Holy Spirit of God often seems to wreck my sense of logic, common sense, and order–and I am grateful He does! This moment in John’s Gospel is right after Jesus meets Thomas in his skepticism. He could have accepted his doubts, reminded Thomas that he had the gift of free-will and moved on, but this isn’t what Jesus does. He defies logic, sense, and order and meets Thomas right where he is (as he does with all of us)–in his doubts, his skepticism, his want for proof. Then he proves to him that HE IS ALIVE!
John goes on to share Jesus’ words of blessing to those who believe by faith and not by sight. This Sunday I’ll be preaching live at RezWest to conclude the John series. In researching and writing this Sunday’s sermon, I came upon a developmental stage we all encounter in our lives called Object Permanence. Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be observed (seen, heard, touched, smelled or sensed in any way). We see this exhibited most clearly in the game of peekaboo with children from 8-9 months of age and older. What we believe is a simple and joyous game is actually a revelation that the face they know and love returns time and time again, when they might otherwise believe it is gone. This is reassuring and moves us toward cognitive development in object permanence.
Could this have been what Jesus meant when he asked us to have faith like children? Do you, like me, suffer sometimes from lack of faith in the object permanence of God? Have you opened your eyes this week to see the face of God in the laugh of a child, the budding of a flower, the soaring flight of a bird? May we all open our eyes to the permanence of our God, trusting and believing and (as Pastor Adam reminds us) counting on the reality that He is always near, even when we have our eyes closed by doubt, skepticism, and reason that reasons away the power of the living Lord. May we be Easter people who have faith and life in the one who is ALIVE and PERMANENT!
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
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