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Today's Music

In Christ Alone - Ri-Ann, Sebastian Corn

Rock Of Ages - Ascend The Hill

I Have To Believe - Rita Springer

Stand And Proclaim - Benita Jones

More Than Able - Elevation Worship

Today's Liturgy

Call to Worship

Each week we practice a liturgy that centers us on Christ and reminds us of the gospel, and we also begin to interact with themes we will be seeing in the preached word.
Today we are going to be reflecting on faith and doubt and how the Lord meets us in both.

So as we begin on this journey, let’s read this call to worship - join us in the underlined portions:

Come and worship, all you sojourners and strangers,
you who are walking the road of faith.
You who believe with confidence, and you who wrestle with doubt.
You who feel steady in the light, and you who are weary in the dark.

We come as we are, imperfect, but still beloved.
Called by love. Held by grace.
Anchored in hope. Growing in faith.

We lift our hearts to the One who welcomes us:
Jesus alone, the founder and perfecter of our faith.
Amen!

Assurance

Lord, you are our rock and our salvation.
As we sang, it's not by the labors or our hands, nor by our understanding and wisdom, but by the cross we are saved. It’s our abiding in you that gives us life and being found in you grants us salvation.

And Jesus we thank you for how your salvation pursues us and receives us exactly as we are. With all our flaws, struggles, worries and doubts we carry, you welcome us and offer us redemption and restoration. You encourage our honest conversations with you. You already know what bothers us, where our faith is fickle, and where our hearts need reassurance.
Thank you for being steady enough to hold us through every season…

Jesus, help us to root ourselves in you this morning.

We dare to believe in what we cannot see:

In your grace that surrounds us and your love that holds us.

In the promise of everlasting life.

We dare to believe that another world is possible:

That all suffering will cease,

and we have a part to play in the coming of your kingdom.

We dare to believe in heaven breaking into earth,

In light shining through the dark,

In justice restored,

In mercy that overcomes.

SILENT PRAYER

Offer Jesus your praise and thanksgiving for all that you are assured of, even in the mystery, and for the places where you are learning to trust Him more.

Can I Be A Christian and Struggle with Doubts?

Jamaal Williams

19 When it was evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” 22 After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
24 But Thomas (called “Twin”), one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples were telling him, “We’ve seen the Lord!”
But he said to them, “If I don’t see the mark of the nails in his hands, put my finger into the mark of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were indoors again, and Thomas was with them. Even 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 and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be faithless, but believe.”
28 Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”

–John 20:19–29

Take your doubts to Jesus, who meets you with gospel invitation—not disqualification.

1. The Anatomy of Doubt: How Disappointment and Isolation Create Space for Doubt

Doubt often grows in the soil of disappointment and it’s watered by isolation.
“Let’s go too, so that we may die with Him." –Thomas, John 11:16
Doubt often grows in the soil of disappointment, and it’s watered by isolation.
My feet almost slipped… I envied the arrogant… I saw the prosperity of the wicked. (Psalm 73:2–3)
…Until I entered the sanctuary of God. (Psalm 73:17)
Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. (Proverbs 18:1)
Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

2. The Posture of Jesus Toward Doubt: How He Meets Us with Patience and Peace

Unbelief: a willful, hard-hearted refusal to trust God
Doubt: when disappointment, fear, or confusion cloud our ability to see clearly, but deep down, we still want to believe
"Jesus does not wait for our theologies to be tidy before he comes near. He enters our stories… and redefines them from the inside." –Esau McCaulley

3. The Surprise of Doubt: How Honest Doubt Can Lead to Deeper Faith