/
RSS Feed
Bill Teubl examines John 20, focusing on the nature of genuine faith and how it is developed. He contrasts mere intellectual acknowledgment of truth with a faith that provides assurance and substance to unseen, eternal realities, and that results in a changed life. The sermon explores the personal journeys of Mary, Peter, and John toward faith after the resurrection, highlighting Jesus’s patient and tender approach to each individual.
[00:00:00]The speaker introduces John 20 as the passage for the communion message, noting it was not planned but should be taken as from the Lord.[00:01:03]Encourages approaching scripture with personal questions, asking the Lord what you need to learn, especially from life’s pressure points and difficulties.[00:02:14]States his question for the passage is about faith: what did it take for the people in John 20 to come to faith, starting from a place of unbelief?[00:03:15]Defines faith using Hebrews 11:1, describing it as the “assurance of things hoped for” and the “substance of things not seen.”[00:03:53]Assurance relates to our God-given expectations (e.g., the Second Coming), giving conviction rather than just hope.[00:04:54]Substance relates to handling unseen, eternal truths (like God and love) in our hearts and minds, which are manifested through our actions in the natural world.
[00:08:28]Illustrates that faith gives substance to unseen things like love, which is worked out and deepened through real relationships, creating acts with eternal significance.[00:12:08]Contrasts acknowledging the resurrection as a historical fact with a faith that understands its moral requirements and changes your life, noting that “faith without works is dead.”[00:13:23]The first step for Mary and the disciples was encountering the empty tomb, a historical fact with strong evidence.[00:16:53]Observes that despite three years with Jesus and an empty tomb, the disciples were not immediately ready with full, active faith, showing that deep faith requires more than recognizing truth.[00:21:20]Highlights Jesus’s remarkable tenderness and patience with people at various stages of belief, like Mary, Peter, John, and Thomas.[00:22:19]Notes that Mary processed her experience by talking with others (Peter and John), encouraging believers to use words to process and nurture faith.[00:24:54]Mary, though seeing the empty tomb, was weeping because she thought Jesus’s body was gone, showing she believed some truth but needed it expanded for full faith.[00:25:40]Points out that we also process faith by accepting and examining our feelings, as Mary did with her grief, asking what they lead us to learn.[00:27:42]Even when looking directly at Jesus, Mary did not recognize him, indicating that clear manifestations of truth alone are not always enough to bring us to faith.[00:28:58]The pivotal moment for Mary was when Jesus called her by name; a crucial step in forming faith is hearing God call you personally.[00:32:53]Upon hearing her name, Mary recognized Jesus as “Teacher,” though she still had more to learn about who he fully was.[00:34:09]Mary’s testimony changed from “the tomb is empty” to “I have seen the Lord,” demonstrating her progressed faith.[00:34:44]For Peter, the barrier to faith was his betrayal and denial of Jesus; a step toward faith is recognizing our failures, grieving them, and seeking restoration.[00:37:41]Emphasizes Jesus’s tenderness in restoring Peter, showing God can redeem and heal the memories of our failures.[00:38:39]For John (and us), watching others experience God’s blessing requires guarding against spiritual jealousy, which inhibits faith.[00:39:54]Assures that God’s blessings are infinite; he withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly, and we should seek what he has specifically for us.
Scripture References
- John 20
- Hebrews 11:1
- John 21
- Psalm 86
Generated by AI model deepseek-chat