[0:00] Well, if we could, this evening, with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling, if we could turn to the Gospel of Luke, Luke chapter 6, Luke chapter 6, page 1039 in the Pew Bible, Luke chapter 6, and we're going to read at verse 13.
[0:26] We see there our list of learners, our disciples. Luke chapter 6, Luke chapter 6, verse 13. And this evening, we're focusing on Thomas.
[1:15] As you know, we're continuing our study of the disciples of Jesus. And as we've discovered, the disciples, they were just 12 ordinary men. There were 12 ordinary men who had been called, commissioned, and commanded to serve their extraordinary God.
[1:33] They weren't rich or religious men. They weren't the best or the brightest. They weren't the smartest or the sharpest. They weren't the clearest or the cleverest. They were just 12 ordinary men with many faults and many failings and many flaws and many foibles.
[1:49] And among them, as we see even in this list, among them, there were deniers, there were deserters, there were doubters, and there was a defector. But that's what makes them worth studying.
[2:02] Because as disciples of Jesus in the 21st century, we are just ordinary men and women. And we all have many faults and flaws and failings and foibles, which is why it's good for us to learn from their example and their experience.
[2:18] And so this evening, we're looking and learning from the experience and the example of the eighth disciple in this list of learners. We're looking at Thomas this evening.
[2:30] We're looking at Thomas. But as you know, Thomas has often been given that unfortunate and probably unappealing nickname of Doubting Thomas.
[2:41] Doubting Thomas. But I have to say there's a lot more to Thomas than just his doubting. There's a lot more to Thomas than his doubting. Because we see three headings this evening.
[2:52] We see Thomas Didymus, Thomas directed, and also Thomas Doubting. Thomas Didymus, Thomas directed, and Thomas Doubting.
[3:05] So first of all, Thomas Didymus. Thomas Didymus. Do you know, everyone loves Disney films. Because Disney, as you know, it's been around for generations.
[3:18] I'm sure the boys and girls here, they love Disney films. And I'm sure we're all familiar with many of the family favorites. We're familiar with Mickey Mouse, and Pinocchio, and Dumbo, and Robin Hood, and Peter Pan, and Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White, and Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King, and Bambi, and Aladdin, and Frozen, just to name some of the family favorites.
[3:40] But one Disney film that was first produced in 1961, and then reproduced in 1998, is the family film The Parent Trap.
[3:51] The Parent Trap. I'm sure you've heard of it. Maybe you've watched it. Maybe you watched the 1960s version, and then you also watched the 1990s version. The Parent Trap is about two identical twins who are separated after their parents' divorce.
[4:06] And it's only years later that these identical twins, they discover one another at a summer camp, and they decide to switch places in order to reunite their parents.
[4:17] And it's a brilliant film if you've ever watched The Parent Trap. And you know, the thing about identical twins is, I'm sure you know someone who is, or who has an identical twin.
[4:29] We have some in our congregation, or someone in our congregation who's an identical twin. We have some in our community. We also, the boys and girls, will know some people in their school who are identical twins.
[4:42] And of course, the thing about identical twins is that it's difficult to tell them apart. Because more often than not, they not only look alike, they also sound alike, and they speak alike.
[4:55] In fact, there's a set of twins in our community who shall remain nameless. But whenever I meet one of them, I always ask them, first question I ask, which one are you?
[5:08] Which one are you? And usually, they tell me the opposite name, just to confuse me even more. Now, I mention all this about The Parent Trap and twins and identical twins, because Thomas was a twin.
[5:23] Thomas was a twin, and not only a twin, an identical twin. Of course, Thomas isn't the first twin mentioned in the Bible, because the first set of twins recorded in the Bible was Esau and Jacob.
[5:39] Esau and Jacob, they weren't identical twins, because we're told that Esau, he had red hair, and Jacob, he seemed to have fair hair. What's more is that some claim that throughout her lifetime, Eve, who was the mother of all living, some claim that Eve had 20 sets of twins in her lifetime, which is certainly possible the amount of years that she lived, but there's no mention of it in the Bible.
[6:03] But who is mentioned in the Bible is Thomas. And we're repeatedly told in the Bible that Thomas was a twin. In fact, John is the only gospel writer who highlights for us that Thomas was a twin, because in almost every time where Thomas is mentioned in John's gospel, John refers to Thomas as Thomas the twin, or Thomas called Didymus.
[6:31] He was Thomas the twin, or Thomas called Didymus. And boys and girls, Didymus means twin, or literally it means double.
[6:43] Didymus means twin, or double. What's really interesting is that so does the name Thomas. Thomas also means twin, because Thomas was the Hebrew word for twin, and Didymus was the Greek word for twin.
[7:04] So Thomas Didymus was the twin double. Thomas Didymus meant the twin double, which highlights to us that Thomas was not only a twin, he was an identical twin, which means that Thomas obviously had a brother.
[7:21] He had a brother that looked like him. He had a brother that was his double, his twin double. And because Thomas had this identical twin, the disciples gave him a nickname.
[7:32] They called him Didymus. You're Thomas. You're a twin. You're Didymus, the twin double. And you know, when you think of it, most of the disciples actually had nicknames.
[7:43] You go through this list of learners here, and you see that most of these disciples had nicknames for one another. And the fact that they had nicknames, it displays and it demonstrates to us this close bond that they had together, that they gave one another nicknames.
[7:59] They had this close bond together as disciples, as friends, as work colleagues. But also the fact that they gave one another nicknames because many of them were Galileans.
[8:10] They were all from the same community. They were all part of this close community, living with one another, just like it is in our island community. You think of your island community.
[8:21] You think of the area that you live in this evening. And you can go through the houses, and you think that person's got a nickname. This person has a nickname. And for most people, they don't actually refer to these people by their first name.
[8:35] They always refer to them by their nickname. For example, if I say the name Korax, you know exactly who I'm talking about. Or Ba, or Bucky, or Buddy, or Burns, or Beans, or Noddy, or Toshi, or Gunji, or Taudy, or Sammy, or Schnell.
[8:54] You know all these nicknames. They're all people in our community. They're people in our congregation that we all know by their nickname. And I believe that was the same with Thomas.
[9:05] He was called Didymus. Everybody called him Didymus. He was Thomas Didymus, the twin double. And as you know, many of the disciples, they had nicknames for one another. You remember that Simon, he was nicknamed by Jesus.
[9:19] He was called Peter. Andrew, probably shortened to Andy. James and John, they were nicknamed Boanerges, the sons of Thunder. Philip was probably shortened to Phil, like everybody else who's called Philip.
[9:33] Bartholomew, that was his surname. He was nicknamed using his surname. His first name was Nathaniel. But he was called Bartholomew by everybody else.
[9:45] Last week, we saw that Matthew was nicknamed Levi because he was a Levite. He was a son of the manse. And the other Simon, as we see him later on in this list, he was called the Zealot.
[9:58] They called the other Simon the Zealot. And you see, many of the disciples, they all had nicknames for one another. They all called each other by their nickname because it displays and demonstrates this close bond that they had, this friendship that they had, this fellowship that they had with one another.
[10:17] And for Thomas, they all called him Didymus. He was the twin double. He was Thomas Didymus, the twin double. But as the twin double, Thomas had an identical twin.
[10:33] Thomas had a double. He had a brother that looked identical to him. And maybe not even just only looked like him. He also probably, his brother probably spoke like him.
[10:44] His brother probably sounded like him. He was Thomas Didymus, the twin double. In fact, this is what I find sometimes confusing.
[10:55] But the apocryphal book, which is a book that's uninspired, it's unauthoritative. The apocryphal book called the Gospel of Thomas. Through that book, some have falsely and foolishly claimed throughout church history that Jesus was Thomas' twin brother.
[11:14] Don't ever believe that. It's a bogus claim. In fact, it's a blasphemous claim. But the truth about Thomas Didymus was that even though Thomas had an identical twin brother, his twin brother is not listed in this list of learners.
[11:34] Thomas' twin brother may have looked like him, may have spoke like him, may have sounded like him. More than that, Thomas' twin brother would have been born the same day as Thomas, brought up in the same home as Thomas, had the same parents as Thomas.
[11:53] And yet when it came to Thomas' twin brother, he wasn't called, he wasn't commissioned, and he wasn't commanded to follow Jesus.
[12:04] And you know, this goes back to what we were saying before with the other disciples. We were talking about effectual calling. Effectual calling, which is a work of God's Spirit, whereby he convinces us of our sin and misery.
[12:19] He enlightens our mind in the knowledge of Christ. He renews our will. He persuades and enables us to embrace Jesus as he's freely offered to us in the gospel. It goes back to effectual calling.
[12:30] And the fact that you can be brought up in the same family. You can read the same Bible. You can go to the same Sunday school. You can attend the same church.
[12:41] You can hear the same sermons. You can even be born on the same day. You can even look the same. And speak the same. And sound the same. But unless Jesus calls you specifically and specially.
[12:54] Unless Jesus calls you personally and powerfully in the gospel. Unless Jesus calls you effectively and effectually. You cannot be one of his disciples.
[13:09] Effectual calling is a work of God's Spirit. The question we all have to ask ourselves this evening. Is the Lord calling me?
[13:21] Am I hearing the voice of Jesus say, Come unto me and rest? Have I heard the voice of Jesus?
[13:32] And so we see Thomas Didymus. Thomas Didymus, the twin double. Then secondly, Thomas Directed. Thomas Directed. You know, like every disciple, when they're called and chosen and commissioned to be a follower of Jesus.
[13:48] Every disciple needs to be discipled. They need to be taught. They need to be trained. They need to learn. Because as we said throughout our study, every disciple of Jesus is a learner.
[14:02] That's what the word disciple means. It means learner. We all have our L plates on. Because we're all learning. I'm a learner. You're a learner. We're all learning together.
[14:14] And we're learning together. And we'll keep on learning together until our graduation in glory. And in our study, we're seeking to learn from the experience and the example of this.
[14:25] These men in this list of learners. These 12 ordinary men. And it's important for us to learn from them. And to learn something about them.
[14:36] And what we learn about them. is that, you know, the Great Commission which Jesus gave to his church, it wasn't go and make converts of all nations.
[14:50] But go and make disciples. You go to the end of Matthew's Gospel. The Great Commission. Jesus says, go and make disciples of all nations.
[15:00] Go and make learners of all nations. And the thing is, Jesus didn't give the Great Commission without direction. Because when Jesus issued and insisted on the Great Commission of the church, he said, go and make disciples of all nations.
[15:17] How? By baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
[15:27] Therefore, the Great Commission to the church is to make disciples by baptizing and by teaching them. The Great Commission is to make disciples by baptizing and teaching.
[15:42] We're to make disciples by baptizing them because baptism is a sign and symbol of commitment to Christ. But on top of that, we're to make disciples by teaching them.
[15:53] Teaching them all that Jesus has commanded in his word. And you know, when you actually stop and think about the Great Commission, the Great Commission shows us that the role and responsibility of the church is huge.
[16:11] It's massive. Because we're chosen, we're called, we're commissioned to make disciples of Jesus by baptizing and by teaching them. And you know, this is why discipleship is so important.
[16:24] This is why discipling one another is so important. It's so important and so integral to our growth in grace. That's why Peter said in the New Testament, he said to these young Christians who needed to be discipled, he was reminding them about the importance of discipleship, and he exhorted them and he encouraged the early church, saying to them that you need to grow in grace.
[16:48] And in knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But of course, the only way to grow in grace is to use the means of grace.
[17:02] The only way to grow in grace is to use the means of grace. And the means of grace, that's what we call them, the ordinary means of grace, whereby God conveys grace to our heart and soul.
[17:16] The means of grace are very simply reading our Bible, praying to our Father in heaven, gathering for public worship on the Lord's Day and midweek, partaking of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper, and enjoying the Sabbath.
[17:36] They are the means of grace. They are the means of grace. They are the means by which we grow in grace, and we grow in knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
[17:48] But as you know, the thing about discipleship and learning as a Christian is that it's a two-way relationship that requires commitment to Christ and commitment to His church.
[17:58] So it's two-way. It's not just one way. It's not just from the church to the people. It's two-way. It's a two-way relationship that requires commitment to Christ and His church, because we need to be committed to reading our Bible, committed to praying to our Heavenly Father, committed to attending the fellowship of the church, committed to partaking of the sacraments, and committed to enjoying the Sabbath the way it was meant to be enjoyed.
[18:26] It's a two-way relationship that requires commitment to Christ and commitment to His church. But if we live individualistic and isolated lives, if we don't belong to the body of believers, if we're not gathering as God's worshiping people, if we're not in attendance, if we're absent because of our apathy, then we're not going to grow in grace and in our knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.
[18:56] Christ. My friend, the church of Jesus Christ has a role and responsibility for baptizing and teaching. We're to make disciples through the means of grace which are there for our benefit and our blessing.
[19:11] But if we don't use the means of grace, we won't grow in grace. If we don't use the means of grace, we won't grow in grace.
[19:24] Now, what does all that have to do with Thomas? Well, Thomas was someone who was chosen, called, and commissioned to be a disciple of Jesus.
[19:35] He was committed, a committed disciple of Jesus. He was committed, committed to the church. We saw that in John 11. Jesus emphasized and explained to the disciples that Lazarus had died.
[19:50] Many of the disciples, they didn't want to go back to Bethany because the Jews were seeking to stone Jesus. But Thomas, he knew the risk. He knew the role of the church. He knew the responsibility of the church and for following Jesus, which is why he stood up and he said, let us also go with him, that we may die with him.
[20:09] There was commitment on Thomas' part. Thomas was a committed disciple. But Thomas needed his commitment to be channeled.
[20:22] Thomas needed guidance in his growth in grace. Thomas needed direction in his discipleship. It was good to be a committed disciple, but he needed that commitment to be channeled.
[20:37] He needed his growth to be guided. He needed his direction in discipleship to be pointed. And Jesus gave Thomas that direction. A few chapters later, as we read in John 14.
[20:51] There in John 14, we read that Jesus was in the upper room with his disciples. He had instituted the Lord's Supper. He told them that he's leaving all of them.
[21:01] He's going back to his father. And Jesus declared, you'll remember, that among the disciples there is a denier. Among them is a defector. And you are all going to desert me, says Jesus.
[21:16] But what's amazing is that didn't deter Thomas. Thomas is committed. And he's not afraid to ask a question. The other disciples are totally confused.
[21:27] But Thomas is there. He wants to ask a question. And Thomas says to Jesus, Lord, Lord, we do not know where you are going. He needs more teaching.
[21:38] He needs to be a disciple. Lord, we don't know where you are going. How can we know the way? He needs more direction. He needs more guidance. He needs more teaching. Lord, we do not know where you are going.
[21:50] How can we know the way? And, you know, I love that Thomas was someone who was not afraid to ask questions. You know, never be afraid to ask a question. Never be afraid to ask a question.
[22:03] It's good to ask questions. It's good to ask for direction. You know, we shouldn't be afraid to ask questions because that's part of our discipleship. It's part of our growth in grace.
[22:15] It's discussion is so good because discussion helps with direction. And that's why I love Bible studies. You know, I strongly believe that Bible studies are important.
[22:26] They're integral to our growth in grace. Because, you know, it's in that informal setting of a Bible study. I miss, we were talking about this recently, our Zoom Bible studies. Where we would just ask questions.
[22:40] And we shouldn't be afraid to ask questions. Where we can listen to one another. And learn from one another. And discuss with one another. And disciple one another. And Thomas here is someone who was committed.
[22:52] But he needed guidance in order to grow. He needed direction in his discipleship. He needed his commitment to be channeled. And when Thomas asked the question, Lord, we do not know where you are going.
[23:05] How can we know the way? Jesus took the time to disciple him. To direct him. And he directed him and discipled him, not with a map.
[23:18] But to a man. He directed him and discipled him, not to a place, but to a person. He directed him and discipled him, not to a road, but to a relationship. Jesus said to Thomas, Thomas, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
[23:36] No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, Thomas, you do know him.
[23:46] And you have seen him. He discipled Thomas. He gave guidance to him that he might grow. He discipled him to give him direction.
[23:59] He channeled his commitment. Lord, we do not know where you're going. How can we know the way? Thomas, I am the way, the truth, and the life. But the thing about Thomas was that seeing was believing.
[24:18] Seeing was believing. That's why doubts crept in. That's why we find Thomas doubting in chapter 20. We find Thomas doubting in chapter 20.
[24:31] And that's what I want us to consider lastly. Thomas doubting. We have Thomas Didymus. He was the twin double. Thomas directed and discipled by Jesus. But then Thomas doubting.
[24:43] Thomas doubting. You know, human nature being what it is, when we remember someone, we often remember the wrongs they did rather than the rights they achieved.
[24:55] We often remember what tainted and tarnished their reputation. We remember their sins. We remember their shortcomings rather than remembering the impact and the influence that they had upon others.
[25:09] That was certainly true of these 12 ordinary men. when it came to Peter. Well, when it comes to Peter, we always remember his denial of Jesus rather than his declaration of Jesus.
[25:22] The same is true with Thomas. We remember Thomas' doubts about Jesus rather than the direction he received from Jesus. You know, if it wasn't for Thomas seeking direction and searching for direction, if it wasn't for Thomas wanting guidance in order to grow and direction in order to be discipled, you know, we wouldn't have those precious words from Jesus in John 14 where Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
[25:55] No one comes to the Father except through me. But human nature being what it is, we remember the faults. We remember the flaws. We remember the failings. We remember the foibles of all these fragile people.
[26:08] And sadly, Thomas has been remembered and renamed throughout church history as Doubting Thomas. He's doubting Thomas. But of course, he's doubting Thomas for a good reason.
[26:22] Because as we read in John chapter 20, when all the disciples, when they were all gathered together for evening worship on the Lord's day, there was no sign of Thomas.
[26:35] Thomas had gone AWOL. He was absent without leave. Thomas was absent from the attendance. Thomas was away from all the people of God.
[26:45] And Jesus appears. Jesus appears during evening worship on the Lord's day. And needless to say, when Thomas wasn't there, he missed out on the blessing and the benefit of evening worship on the Lord's day.
[26:59] And he missed out. Thomas missed out because, well, Jesus appeared. Jesus was present amongst his people. And Jesus, as we read, he revealed himself as the suffering Savior.
[27:11] He showed them his nail-pierced hands. He showed them his spear-pierced side. But Jesus not only revealed himself to the disciples, he also told the disciples, receive the Holy Spirit.
[27:27] And all the disciples, all the other 11, or the other 10 as it was then, the other 10, they experienced and enjoyed the blessing and the benefit of evening worship on the Lord's day without Thomas.
[27:42] Thomas wasn't there. Now, I'm sure that Thomas was probably there for morning worship. But he wasn't there for evening worship.
[27:56] Thomas was there at some point during the day. Thomas was what you would call, or somebody said to me before, it's what you'd call a half-day hearer. A half-day hearer.
[28:09] You know there are many half-day hearers in Barvis. Where like Thomas, they only come for one service in the day. And I know there are reasons why people can't come.
[28:21] I'm fully aware of them. There are other reasons, though too, where two services are too much. They're half-day hearers.
[28:33] But you know, my friend, Thomas' decision to absent himself, Thomas' decision to avoid evening worship, that's what brought doubt. That's what brought doubt.
[28:46] His decision to absent himself and to avoid evening worship, that's what brought doubt. Because when all the disciples declared to Thomas, when they met Thomas after the evening service, they all told Thomas what a blessing it was, what a benefit it was to have met with Jesus at evening worship tonight.
[29:04] They all said, we have seen the Lord. You weren't there, Thomas, but we saw the Lord tonight at evening worship. And Thomas knew immediately that his decision to stay at home, that brought doubt.
[29:21] That brought doubt. Thomas said to them then, well, unless I see, unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails and place my hands into his side, I'll never believe.
[29:35] I'll never believe it. You know, my friend, Thomas was doubting Thomas because he made the decision to stay away. He made the decision to stay at home.
[29:46] He made the decision to avoid gathering together with God's people. He made the decision to absent himself from the attendance of God's people.
[29:59] And you know, so many people in our congregation and in our community, they're like doubting Thomas. They have so many doubts. So many doubts about Christ.
[30:12] So many doubts about Christianity. So many doubts about being a Christian. They have so many questions about being good enough and worthy enough and knowing enough. But you know, my friend, their lack of assurance is all because they stay away.
[30:31] They absent themselves. They avoid gathering together in the fellowship of God's people. They have doubts because they're half-day hearers.
[30:42] They have doubts because they don't make the effort to meet midweek. Do you know, the Bible says so clearly, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
[30:55] Do you know, if you doubt, if you have doubts, my friend, gather with God's people. If you question something, gather with God's people. If you're worried about something, gather with God's people.
[31:10] Don't disconnect yourself. Don't detach yourself. Don't distance yourself from the other disciples. Gather with God's people. Because when you start doubting, you start asking for signs.
[31:24] You start asking for symbols. You start asking for different things, but it's all there in God's Word. Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
[31:35] But, you know, when we start becoming disconnected and detached and distant from God's people, it only shows us our need for the means of grace.
[31:48] That's what we were saying earlier, about the means of grace. The means of grace. Reading the Bible. Praying. Gathering with God's people. Remembering the sacraments. Remembering the Sabbath.
[31:59] The means of grace are all there for our blessing. It's all there for our benefit. It's all there for our growth in grace. It's all there so that we're directed as disciples.
[32:11] But if we don't use the means of grace, we won't grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If we don't use the means of grace, we won't grow in grace.
[32:26] And as Peter said, you need to grow in grace and in knowledge of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But that's not how we left Thomas, was it?
[32:36] We didn't leave him as doubting Thomas. Eight days later, Thomas was using the means of grace. Eight days later. He was attending Monday night Bible study.
[32:48] And it was while Thomas was in attendance at the Bible study, Jesus appears. And he appears to dispel all of Thomas' doubts. Jesus appears to give to Thomas and to grant to Thomas that full assurance of salvation.
[33:02] And Jesus, he stands among them and he says, peace be with you. And he tells Thomas, boys and girls, he tells Thomas, put your finger here. See my hands.
[33:14] And put your hand here into my side. Then he says to Thomas, literally what he says is, do not doubt. Just believe.
[33:25] What a teacher. He discipled the disciple. Do not doubt. Just believe.
[33:37] And what does Thomas say? Because he's in the means of grace. What does Thomas say? My Lord and my God. He comes to confess assurance in Jesus Christ because he's in the means.
[33:53] He's among God's people. He is seeing Jesus in the glory of the gospel. But then Jesus said to Thomas, Thomas, you have believed because you have seen me.
[34:09] But blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed. Blessed are those, you. Blessed are you who have not seen and yet believed.
[34:27] And with that, John concluded chapter 20 of his gospel. He concludes his description of Thomas. Thomas Didymus. Thomas directed. Thomas doubting. He concludes his description of Thomas by saying, now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in this book.
[34:44] But these are written so that you may believe like Thomas. That you may believe like Thomas that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that by believing you may have life in his name.
[35:04] What a disciple. I want to be like Thomas. Thomas who was discipled by Jesus. Friends, let's be disciples together.
[35:16] And learn more and more about our Saviour. That we might grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. May the Lord bless these thoughts to us.
[35:29] Let us pray. O Lord, our gracious God, we give thanks to Thee for Thy Word and for these examples before us on the pages of Scripture that even we find doubters, people who doubt Thy truth.
[35:46] But yet, Lord, help us to see the importance of the means of grace that we might grow in grace and in the knowledge of this wonderful Saviour, Jesus Christ, that we would have full assurance of faith, trusting in Him, even in the darkness as well as in the light.
[36:04] Lord, encourage us, we pray. Bless us in the week that lies ahead that, Lord, we do not know what a day nor an hour will bring in our lives, but, Lord, we commit and we commend ourselves into Thy care and keeping.
[36:18] Go before us, for we ask it in Jesus' name and for His sake. Amen. We're going to bring our service to a conclusion this evening by singing in Psalm 126.
[36:33] Psalm 126 in the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 126 page 419 Psalm 126 that we're singing from the beginning.
[36:53] We're singing the whole psalm. Page 419 Psalm 126 Before we sing three questions Question one, what does Didymus mean?
[37:14] Twin? Twin double, yep. Good job. So Thomas Didymus, twin double. So he had a twin. So you can tell your friends in school tomorrow. You can call him Didymus.
[37:26] They're a twin. Well, only the ones who are twins. Question two, what did Thomas want to see before he would believe? He wanted to see yeah, the mark of the nails in the hands and also where the spear went into his and to his side.
[37:43] Well done. But Jesus also said blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. So he's talking about you. What are tonight's headings?
[37:56] Thomas Didymus? Thomas? Thomas directed and Thomas? Well done. Thomas doubting. Good job. So you get an extra biscuit for that tonight.
[38:09] Good job. Okay, Psalm 126. We're singing from the beginning. When Zion's bondage God turned back as men that dreamed were we then filled with laughter was our mouth our tongue with melody.
[38:23] And we're singing down to the end of the psalm where it says that man who bearing precious seed in going forth doth mourn he doubtless. That's how we're to be. He doubtless bringing back his sheaves rejoicing shall return.
[38:39] The whole psalm to God's praise. When Zion's bondage God turned back as men that lived were we then filled with laughter was our mouth our tongue with melody.
[39:08] the Lord the Lord the Lord said the Lord great things for them hath won the Lord hath done great things for us when's joy to us is is God as streams of water in the south our bondage Lord we call it's so in tears shall weep in time of joy and joy shall weep in time of joy and joy and joy shall return
[40:34] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all, now and forevermore.
[40:45] Amen.