People have been skipping church for a long time. People have been not going to church for a long time. It almost seems like a fact of life, doesn’t it? You have all skipped church at one time or another, haven’t you? So have I. Sometimes our reasons were better than others. Sometimes we had no good reason at all. How often weren’t you just too tired or too lazy?

You and I are not the first. Do you know who was the first "church-skipper"? Here is a hint: it was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples! That’s right, it was Thomas. This was the first Sunday after Jesus was crucified, and the disciples were gathering together, as Jesus told them to do. Now, I don’t know what kind of "church service" they were having, because they had the doors locked. Their faith was weak. They were scared. But they were gathering together, as they would do not only on this Sunday, but on every Sunday that has followed ever since. And on this "Grand Opening" first-ever service, they didn’t even begin with a perfect attendance. One of eleven was missing. We don’t know why Thomas wasn’t there, or what his excuse was, but we do know what Thomas missed by not being in that room with the others! He missed a lot! And that is what we are going to look at closely today: What happens when you skip church?

On that first Sunday service, which Thomas didn’t quite make it to, he missed seeing Jesus appear in that locked room in the flesh and reveal Himself visibly to all of the disciples! He let them see the wound in his side and the marks where those nails went through his hands! And Thomas missed all of that! He missed Jesus greeting them with the common Hebrew greeting, "Peace be with you." He missed out on the comfort that gave the disciples, knowing they could be at peace now, knowing they did not have to be afraid anymore. He missed out on the joy the disciples experienced being able to see their best friend and master alive again! He missed seeing and hearing the proof that Jesus was alive and that death was defeated. He missed that all-important event that would have convinced him and strengthened his faith. Thomas missed out on that chance for his faith in God to be made sure and firm and strong! And of course, he missed the chance to worship his Lord and God.

What happens when you skip church? Let’s broaden that a bit. What happens when we miss any chance to study God’s Word, to worship Him, or to daily walk with Jesus in our personal and family devotions? Same thing that happened with Thomas! When we skip church, we miss the chance to see and touch and hear Jesus when He comes to us there in Word and Sacrament. We miss the chance to glorify and worship Him with our fellow believers. When we miss opportunities to study and have personal and family devotions, we miss the comfort that Word gives us! We miss hearing why we don’t have to worry about guilt and tragedy. We miss the chance to have our faith strengthened. Just like Thomas, we miss a lot!

Now Thomas only skipped once! How often have we skipped? How many days have gone by in which we have not cracked a Bible, said a prayer, or even had a thought about God? How many opportunities have we missed to have our faith strengthened through God’s Word and Sacraments? More than one, two, or three!

What is the result of such a pattern of life? The more we neglect God’s Word, the more we miss out on how much joy Jesus’ resurrection has brought us! The more we neglect church and Bible study, the less chance our faith has to grow by the Holy Spirit who works through the Word and sacraments. The less we concentrate on God’s love for us, and what Jesus really did for you and me by dying and rising again, the more we start thinking about ourselves. The less we thank God for all of his wonderful blessings, the more our life looms large in front of us. Little problems seem big! Big problems seem huge! Huge problems seem insurmountable. And we only begin focusing on those. And the more we have to focus on those, the less time we have for God. And then the cycle starts all over again. It is a vicious cycle. A downward spiral. Fear leads to doubt. Doubt leads to frustration and sadness. Sadness ends in a loss of hope. And when things have gone this far in your life, now someone tells you that you have comfort in Jesus, you would respond, "I’ll believe that when I see it."

That would be the final outcome. Without feeding our faith, we would lose it. Thomas was weak. But he wasn’t the only one. Let’s not jump on his case. The rest of the disciples had locked themselves in the room because they were afraid. We need to reminded that believing in God, believing in his Son Jesus, and believing in Jesus’ resurrection is impossible on our own! That faith can only be given us through the Holy Spirit working in the Word. So, instead of getting on Thomas’ case, let’s be thankful that he wanted proof. Thomas’ insistence on seeing proof gave you and me one more instance of proof that Jesus did rise bodily from the dead!

You and I never got to see Jesus visibly like Thomas and the disciples did. But we are given the same proof they were given through God’s Word. Our sermon text is summed up with the last verse: "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." And right after Jesus gave Thomas a short rebuke for requiring to see physical proof, He looked up and spoke to each one of you, "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed."

You are blessed because you believe! You are convinced that Jesus rose from the dead, and that now you also will rise from the dead. And because you believe that, that blessing is yours! You believe that Jesus’ death has changed everything for you, and taken all your guilt away! And because you believe in Jesus as your Savior, that blessing is yours! Because Jesus did this for you, you have a sure hope! You have comfort! All of your problems seem much smaller. You have something more important that you are living for. You have forgiveness. Peace with God. Eternal life. You are even forgiven for your times of weakness and doubt. Jesus comes and says to you, "Peace be with you." He means that! You have peace in your life because God is satisfied with Jesus’ payment for your sins. He has forgotten about them.

So what happens when you skip church? You miss out on an opportunity to be filled with this joy again. You miss opportunities for your faith to be strengthened. You miss an opportunity to "see" Jesus in Word and Sacrament. What happens when you go to church, when you read the Bible daily, and when you study His Word together with other Christians? You are filled with the same joy that Thomas was when he got to press his fingers into Jesus’ hands and know that Jesus was alive! You receive the same comfort the disciples did when Jesus walked in and said "Peace be with you." You are reminded that you are a weak, but forgiven and loved sinner. You are reminded that you will be with Jesus in heaven someday. And like Thomas, you will be moved to exclaim, "My Lord and my God!" Amen.