by Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: John 20:19-29<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. We aren’t told why, but when the disciples gathered after Jesus’ death, Thomas wasn’t\nthere at a very notable time.\n
A. What was it that Thomas missed by not being there?<\/p>\n
II. What did Thomas miss?<\/p>\n
A. He missed the joy of seeing the Lord – John 20:20<\/p>\n 1. Jesus knew that his death would be a trial for his followers. He tried to\nprepare them – John 16:20-22\n
a. He warned them about the sorrow<\/p>\n
b. But he hinted that it would be followed by joy<\/p>\n
2. Such came when they witnessed his resurrection – Matthew 28:5-10<\/p>\n 3. But Thomas, initially wasn’t there. He missed out on the initial happy\ndiscovery.\n
B. He missed the comfort of being with people who had similar experiences<\/p>\n 1. The disciples had spent about three years together following Jesus and\nlearning at his feet.\n 2. Even after his death, they had many things to discuss because of that close\nfellowship – Luke 24:13-14\n 3. Knowledge of the need for Christ’s death could bring comfort – I\nThessalonians 5:9-11\n
4. A time to search the Scriptures as Jesus urged – John 5:39<\/p>\n
a. At the time, none of the disciples thought to look there – John 20:9<\/p>\n
b. But they soon learned – Acts 1:16<\/p>\n
c. An in the promises there they found comfort – Romans 15:4<\/p>\n
5. It was an opportunity to pray together – Philippians 4:6-7<\/p>\n
a. And such the disciples did – Acts 1:14<\/p>\n 6. But Thomas wasn’t there. What opportunities were available for comfort\nwasn’t available to him.\n
C. He missed the evidence that would have scattered his doubt<\/p>\n
1. For over a week, Thomas remained uncertain – John 20:26<\/p>\n 2. You see, being with the disciples and sharing experiences with them was an\nopportunity to build faith\n a. Learning and remember the teachings of Jesus can increase faith –\nLuke 17:5\n
b. Because faith comes from hearing God’s word – Romans 10:17<\/p>\n
3. But Thomas wasn’t there to learn; thus his faith remained a bit weaker.<\/p>\n
D. He missed Jesus’ charge to the disciples on this occasion – John 20:22-23<\/p>\n
1. In symbolism of the receiving of the Spirit later, Jesus breathed on them<\/p>\n
2. He granted them authority to give his law<\/p>\n 3. I’m sure Thomas heard about it later, but he didn’t get to experience it. A\nonce in a lifetime experience was missed.\n
E. He gained a reputation<\/p>\n
1. When we talk of Thomas, how is his name often qualified?<\/p>\n
a. Doubting Thomas – quite a legacy<\/p>\n b. Even though the doubt was removed just eight days later, the\nmemory never faded.\n 2. The times of gatherings is also a time of encouragement to keep us out of\nsin \n
a. A time to put down roots – Luke 8:13<\/p>\n
b. A time to watch and pray together – Mark 14:38<\/p>\n
III. The point, though, is that we miss similar things when we don’t attend worship<\/p>\n
A. Worship is time spent with our Lord <\/p>\n
1. Jesus is with us here this day – Matthew 18:20<\/p>\n
2. It is a time of joy – Psalm 122:1<\/p>\n
3. Because in God’s presence is joy – Psalm 16:11<\/p>\n
4. This is what worship is about – Psalm 100:1-5<\/p>\n
B. Our gatherings are also times of comfort<\/p>\n 1. The world is filled with troubles. There are trials on every hand. Crime,\ncursing, hatred, … it can wear a person down.\n
2. But here is a place where the world is left behind for a moment. <\/p>\n
3. Here we find comfort in our common goal – I Thessalonians 4:16-18<\/p>\n
C. It is a time for building faith<\/p>\n
1. We have opportunity to examine evidence – Hebrews 11:1<\/p>\n
2. We read of the evidence given – John 20:30-31<\/p>\n 3. The lessons and the readings we do at each service are opportunities to\nlearn and increase our faith – II Peter 3:18\n
D. We see the charge Jesus gave the disciples being applied<\/p>\n
1. We pray together for each other, as Jesus taught – Matthew 6:9-15<\/p>\n 2. At times we get to see another soul added to the fold. But you have to be\nhere to experience the joy. Hearing about it later is just not the same.\n
E. We gain a reputation for being faithful<\/p>\n 1. People who miss services are not known as faithful Christians. Most likely\nthey aren’t involved in much of the work of service to the Lord.\n
2. That is because we know that we ought to be here – James 4:17<\/p>\n
3. Being here, we can bestow proper honor to each – Romans 12:10<\/p>\n
IV. Brethren, have you thought about what you miss by not being here?<\/p>\n
A. It is so easy to take something that is always there for granted.<\/p>\n
B. It is so easy to find excuses to do other things.<\/p>\n
C. But think about what you are missing.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 20:19-29 I. We aren’t told why, but when the disciples gathered after Jesus’ death, Thomas wasn’t there at a very notable time. A. What was it that Thomas missed by not being there? II. What did Thomas miss? A. He missed the joy of seeing the Lord – John 20:20 1. Jesus knew…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[356,1242,959,1661],"class_list":["post-63715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon","tag-attendance","tag-character","tag-john","tag-thomas"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":55273,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-pattern-of-peace\/","url_meta":{"origin":63715,"position":0},"title":"A Pattern of Peace","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer John 20:18-21 shows an important pattern. Jesus was raised up from the grave and first appeared to Mary Magdalene then to the disciples (sans Thomas). Notice the pattern: Mary to the disciples: \"I have seen the Lord\" (John 20:18). The disciples to Thomas: \"We have seen the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23837,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-christadelphians-christians\/","url_meta":{"origin":63715,"position":1},"title":"Are Christadelphians Christians?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeff, I want to know if Christadelphians can be considered Christians. They preach the gospel and baptize scripturally. Just that some of their unbeliefs are frightening. Are they Christians even if they are compromised on some things? Thanks. Answer: The Christadelphians trace their roots back to a British\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86897,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-show-me-world\/","url_meta":{"origin":63715,"position":2},"title":"A “Show Me” World","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores We live in a \"show me\" world. Most of the time, we demand evidence to verify a claim-most of the time. And the more fantastic the claim, the more we want proof. \"Show me!\" we demand. That's why I think \"doubting\" Thomas gets a bad rap. Yes,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2164,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-were-the-names-of-jesuss-twelve-apostles\/","url_meta":{"origin":63715,"position":3},"title":"What were the names of Jesus’ twelve apostles?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What were the names of Jesus's twelve apostles? Answer: At times, names can be confusing because we use a variety of names for ourselves. There is our birth name, our common name, and our nickname. We find that happening in Scriptures. One of Jesus's apostles was named Simon, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51476,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/which-verse-says-that-judas-the-brother-of-james-is-also-called-lebbaeus\/","url_meta":{"origin":63715,"position":4},"title":"Which verse says that Judas, the brother of James, is also called Lebbaeus?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding one of the names of the twelve disciples of Jesus: Which verse says that Judas the brother of James is called Lebbaeus? Which verse says they are the same person? Answer: Matthew 10:2-4 Mark 3:16-19 Luke 6:14-16 Acts 1:13 Peter, brother of Andrew Simon, nicknamed Peter Simon, nicknamed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9398,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-wont-god-heal-amputees\/","url_meta":{"origin":63715,"position":5},"title":"Why won’t God heal amputees?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 12, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why won't God heal amputees? After all, Jesus said, \"If you ask anything in my name, I will do it\" (John 14:14). Why doesn't Jesus appear to us? Answer: The questions remind me of an event in the Gospels that we just studied last night. \"Then the Pharisees and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63715\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}