How to Struggle with Doubt Appleton Gospel Church

How to Struggle with Doubt: Have you wondered, does God really exist? Can we really trust what the Bible says? Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Every believer, at certain times in life, will struggle with doubts. But Jesus didn't punish or shame his followers for their questions or doubts. The story of Jesus and Thomas reveals how we might deal with our doubts. Recorded on Apr 7, 2024, on John 20:24-31 by Pastor David Parks.















Finding Life in Jesus’ Name is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt unsatisfied with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the full. Jesus turned John’s life upside down, and John claims this new life — marked by God’s power, presence, and purpose — is available for all who believe.















Sermon Transcript







Since last July, we’ve been working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus’ Name, and after today, we only have two weeks left! As sort of an epilogue to John, we’ll go through the book of Ephesians next because John was all about finding life in Jesus’ name, as we’ll see today. The book of Ephesians is all about what this life in Christ looks like. But today, one week after celebrating the greatest event in human history, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, we’ll consider how to struggle with doubt. When I was growing up in the church, I don’t think anyone taught me this explicitly, but I had the impression that doubts were sort of inappropriate to admit. We walk by faith and not sight, right? So, isn’t doubt the evidence of a lack of faith? But does faith mean we’ll never have any doubts? Have you wondered, does God really exist? Or, can we really trust what the Bible says? Or, what about the miracles; are we really supposed to believe that God parted the Red Sea or that Jesus walked on the water or calmed the storm? Did Jesus really rise from the dead? If you’ve ever had questions like these, you’re in good company. Every believer, at certain times in their life, will struggle to believe. And you might think that seeing a miracle such as Jesus rising from the dead would cast out every question/doubt. But it doesn’t. Even in the face of the overwhelming evidence of who Jesus was, the first followers had questions and doubts; they still struggled to believe at times. But, as we’ll see today, Jesus didn’t punish them for their questions; he didn’t shame them for their doubt. In the story of Jesus and Thomas, we see that Jesus loved and served Thomas, even in his doubts, and it led to a much stronger faith. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 20:24. We’ll read through this and unpack it as we go.







John 20:24–25 (NIV), “24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Ok, let’s pause here. So, last week, we saw that the first witness to the resurrection was Mary Magdalene, who recognized Jesus when he called her by name. “Mary.” Jesus sent Mary to tell his other disciples, including Peter and John and the others. After she told them she had seen the Lord, later that same day, Jesus appeared among them, and they saw for themselves he was alive. We know that Judas wasn’t among them because he had killed himself after betraying Jesus. But from this passage, John tells us that another one of the Twelve w...