Calvary Baptist Church

Sunday's study will concentrate on the disciple Thomas and his journey from doubt to confession.  I find it very interesting that neither the disciples nor the Lord rebuked Thomas for his questions.  Could it be that this was because Thomas was looking for a reason to believe and not for a reason to doubt?  There is a difference of attitude among skeptics, cynics, doubters and seekers.  Some are asking questions because they really want to know.  Some are asking questions and expressing doubts because they think it makes them appear intellectual or "on the edge."  Some are expressing doubts because they want others to join their misery.  Only the Lord knows the heart.  Jesus Christ knew the heart of Thomas and Thomas wanted to believe.  I think it is such a beautiful scene when Thomas declares, "My Lord and my God."  I don't know if anyone has ever painted this scene, I wish I could paint, this would be a moment to capture with canvass and oil.  We all believe in something.  Those beliefs form values and values force decisions and decisions determine destinations.  Where will you be based on what you believe?  "Stop doubting and believe".   

This Sunday is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.  Since 1973 54,559,615 people have been killed in name of "choice."  That is greater than the 2010 population of Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Vermont, Massachusetts, West Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, Mississippi, Montana, Arizona, Oregon and Alaska.  And people in this country wonder why we have too many houses on the market and why Social Security income is not keeping up with payouts.  It is no mystery but we don't like to look in dark places for things we can make up other answers for.  How do we respond to this culture of death and deceit?  We are people of the resurrection.  We are called to overcome evil with good.  We are not to use the weapons of the flesh but to break down strongholds with prayer and the truth of God's Word.  Doing this will not be flashy and it usually doesn't grab the headlines but the "gracious disturbance" of a life giving life will be a catalyst to this endeavor.  Pastor and author Michael Horton coined that phrase "gracious disturbance" in writing about the resurrection.  The resurrection started something.  The age to come quietly slipped into the age that is and believers are now a part of this conspiracy of goodness and righteousness in the fight for life.  Join the disturbance.

I'm sure I have said to a group of students at some point, "There are no stupid questions."  But truthfully, we've probably all heard some that were pretty close!  One thing we can be sure of, Jesus didn't ask dumb, stupid or bad questions.  His questions were not because He didn't know the answer but because He wanted someone to think.  His questions forced introspection.  Sometimes parents ask these types of questions, "Why did you do that?"  The kids may know or perhaps they were just...being kids.  Kids don't always think before they act, often they act first and think about it later...some kids never get over that  .  The questions of Jesus always get to the core of who we are.  That is the case with our text this week.  Mary Magdalene is driven back to the tomb by strong love for Jesus.  She thinks He has passed away, never to be seen until the final resurrection.  She, like the other disciples missed what Jesus had been saying all along.  They also missed the theme of the Scriptures.  They missed His deity.  In the Garden Tomb Mary meets the Lord and He asks her two qusetions we should often ask ourselves..."Why are you weeping?  and Whom are you seeking?"  These questions help us think about our emotions and our pursuits.  The truth is, sometimes we can get in a "tizzy" over things that really don't matter.  Sometimes we are very disappointed in other people because we expect from them what only God can deliver.  The questions of Jesus force us to the core of our expectations...that is worth thinking about.

After a six week break we'll be back in our study of the Gospel according to John on Sunday, January 8.  We stopped at the end of chapter 19 studying the burial of Jesus by Joseph and Nicodemas.  This week we begin a study of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead but that was a "revivification." A what?  Lazarus was raised from the dead but he died again, he had only been revived from the dead.  Resurrection means a continuing life in a body that does not perish.  Jesus was not simply revived in the same body; resurrection meant a new kind of body!  "Sown in weakness, raised in power; sown mortal, raised immortal" (see 1 Corinthians 15:35ff)  Jesus had a body that could eat, be seen, be touched etc but one that rose through grave clothes and could pass through walls.  This was the kind of body we were meant to have in the beginning...not bound by the rest of creation and subject to it but glorious.  Jesus is the first fruits or the proto-type of the resurrection body.  We don't want to be simply revivified, we want resurrection and because He's alive, we too shall live.  Are you ready for the resurrection?