If You're Real Show Me | God, If You're Real | Menlo Church Live Stream

Apr 12, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Doubt is a natural part of the human experience.

Doubt creeps into our minds during times of crisis, loss, and uncertainty. It surfaces when our hard-earned plans fail or even when they succeed but leave us feeling empty. These questions are not a sign of failure but a reflection of our deep longing for something more. Everyone wonders and questions; it is an inescapable part of being human. God understands this part of our journey and meets us within it. [23:43]

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29 ESV)

Reflection: What specific situation or question in your life right now is causing you to wonder, "God, if you're real, help me with this"?

Day 2: Jesus meets us in our locked rooms of fear and doubt.

The disciples were gathered behind locked doors, gripped by fear and uncertainty about the future. In the same way, we often find ourselves in emotional or spiritual rooms where we feel stuck, afraid, and alone. It is into these exact places that Jesus comes, appearing not with condemnation but with a greeting of peace. His presence is the first and most important answer to our doubt. [32:14]

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” (John 20:19 ESV)

Reflection: Where in your life are you currently hiding behind a "locked door," and what would it look like to invite Jesus' presence into that specific place of fear or isolation?

Day 3: God invites us to bring our honest doubts to Him.

We often believe we must either bury our doubts or let them define us, but God offers a third way. He invites us to voice our questions and struggles openly to Him, just as Thomas did. Jesus was not offended by Thomas's specific, tangible demands for proof. Instead, He addressed them directly and compassionately, showing that He can handle our honest inquiries. [33:17]

So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25 ESV)

Reflection: What is one doubt you have been hesitant to voice, even to God? How might you courageously and honestly articulate that doubt to Him in prayer today?

Day 4: Our deepest need is often God's presence, not an explanation.

In the midst of doubt and pain, we can become fixated on finding a detailed, logical explanation for our circumstances. Yet, when Jesus appeared to Thomas, He offered His presence first. He knew that what Thomas needed most was not a theological dissertation on the resurrection but a real encounter with the risen Lord. Our faith is ultimately rooted in a relationship with a person, not just a set of answers. [41:16]

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (John 20:27 ESV)

Reflection: In your current season of questioning, are you seeking primarily an explanation from God, or are you seeking His comforting presence? How can you posture your heart to receive His nearness today?

Day 5: Doubt can be a doorway to a deeper, more personal faith.

A genuine struggle with doubt does not have to be the end of faith. When we bring our doubts to Jesus, they can become the very thing that leads us to a more mature and authentic trust in Him. This process moves us from a superficial belief to a profound, personal confession, just as Thomas moved from doubt to declaring, "My Lord and my God." [44:13]

Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28 ESV)

Reflection: Looking back, how has a past season of doubt or questioning actually deepened your understanding of who God is and your reliance on Him?

Sermon Summary

Doubt surfaces as a common human response to loss, success, uncertainty, and unanswered longings. The series title frames that question—God, if you are real—and treats doubt not as a failure but as an opening. Thomas becomes the focal example: a committed disciple who faces grief and shock after the crucifixion and refuses secondhand reports of resurrection without direct encounter. His insistence on tangible proof grows from real investment and pain, not mere cynicism.

Jesus responds by entering the locked room, offering peace, and inviting Thomas to touch his wounds. The encounter does not solve every theological puzzle or provide an exhaustive explanation of resurrection mechanics; instead, presence takes priority over argument. That physical, relational meeting moves Thomas from stubborn refusal to the confession “My Lord and my God,” showing how encounter with the risen Christ transforms doubt into declaration.

Doubt functions as a spiritual crucible that sharpens curiosity, prevents complacency, and drives deeper questioning. When placed honestly in front of Christ, doubt can refine belief rather than extinguish it. The call is neither to bury questions nor to be captive to them; it is to bring them into the room where Jesus is present. Community plays a practical role: honest conversations, shared questions, and mentors can help reframe doubts into better questions and point toward the next step of trust.

The narrative culminates in an invitation to communion as a tangible sign of Christ’s presence in the midst of uncertainty. Communion reenacts the same dynamic: people gather not because every doubt is resolved but because Christ invites them into relationship. The resurrection remains a historical claim that reshapes fear into boldness and sorrow into hope for those who encounter it. The central claim invites people to advance faith by bringing doubt into the open, allowing presence, not proof alone, to transform hearts.

Key Takeaways

1. Doubt can lead to deeper faith Doubt often roots in real loss, investment, or unmet expectations and therefore presses for honesty rather than quick answers. When doubts are brought before the risen Christ, they can catalyze a more grounded, scrutinized trust that resists easy platitudes. This process requires wrestling, patience, and courage to trade certainty for sincere searching that deepens conviction. [26:29]
2. Jesus meets with presence, not proof Jesus enters the locked room and speaks peace before issuing a theological syllabus or forensic proof. Presence heals the fractures that intellectual arguments alone cannot mend, because relational knowing often precedes doctrinal assent. The priority of encounter over explanation invites trust that persists amid mystery. [38:05]
3. Offer doubts honestly to God Inviting God into the room with honest questions reframes doubt as a request for relationship rather than rebellion. Honest prayer—“God, if you are real”—becomes the posture that allows transformation to begin, acknowledging limited understanding while seeking proximity to the one who meets doubters. This posture keeps the door open for growth instead of closing faith off. [51:28]
4. Don’t wrestle with doubts alone Rarely does a solitary mind produce the best questions or the most helpful answers; community refines inquiry and provides encouragement. Shared wrestling with faithful others prevents isolation, supplies perspective, and supplies clues that point toward next steps in faith. Practical groups and conversations help translate raw questions into pathways toward fuller trust. [54:11]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[22:49] - Series Launch: "God If You Are Real"
[23:43] - Why Doubt Appears
[30:37] - Thomas: A Disciple in Doubt
[38:05] - Jesus Appears to Thomas
[41:16] - Presence Before Explanation
[42:37] - Invitation to Trust with Questions
[54:38] - Community, Clues, and Next Steps
[60:47] - Communion Invitation and Closing

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
John 20:24-29 (ESV)
Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it into my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Observation questions

What specific condition did Thomas set for believing the other disciples' report about seeing Jesus?
What was the first thing Jesus said when he appeared to the disciples, including Thomas, in the locked room?
What was Thomas's final declaration to Jesus after their encounter?
What did Jesus say about those who believe without having seen him?

Interpretation questions

Why might Thomas's refusal to believe the other disciples' testimony be seen as more than just simple cynicism? [34:23]
What does Jesus's immediate offer of "peace" upon entering the room suggest about his posture toward people who are afraid or doubting?
Jesus did not give Thomas a detailed explanation of the resurrection but offered his presence and his wounds. What does this tell us about what is often most needed in a moment of doubt? [41:16]
How does the promise "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" directly apply to our own faith journey today?

Application questions

What is one specific, honest doubt or question you currently have that you feel you need to bring into the open? [51:28]
When have you found that you needed someone's presence more than their explanations during a difficult or uncertain time? [36:50]
The prayer "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!" [39:01] is an honest admission of faith mixed with doubt. What would it look like for you to pray this prayer specifically this week?
Who is one person in your life you could be more honest with about your spiritual questions, and how might you start that conversation? [54:11]
In what practical way can you create space this week to be still and invite Jesus into your "locked room" of doubt or fear? [42:37]
How can you shift from seeing your doubt as a failure of faith to seeing it as an opportunity to seek a deeper, more grounded trust in God? [26:29]

Sermon Clips

46s

#BringYourDoubts

“When we have doubts, when we start asking hard questions, when we hear something that that challenges our our belief system, do we just believe our doubts and assume that they they must be true? Or do we bury our doubts and try to pretend that they don't exist because either option gives our doubts a power over us that they were not intended to have? Or is there something else God is inviting us to do with our doubts and questions? What if Jesus longs for you not to believe your doubts or to bury them, but to bring your doubts to him, honestly?”

40s

#HelpMyUnbelief

“As Thomas sat in his doubt and questions and pain, peace be with you because Jesus is big enough, he's strong enough, he can handle our fear and our wounds and our doubts. One of my my favorite prayers in the bible is the man who prayed, Lord, I believe, Help my unbelief. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Because doubt can be a doorway to deeper trust when we place it in Jesus' hands. It makes us curious. It makes us settle not for a superficial faith or an overly simplistic faith.”

43s

#DoubtBuildsFaith

“It makes us a little uncomfortable, which forces us to wrestle more, to dig more deeply. It paradoxically can make our faith stronger as we get closer to the truth and to Jesus who is the way and the truth and the life if we trust him with our doubt, if we're honest about it. Because Jesus won't reject you when you have honest doubts. Even Thomas' infamous doubt, it didn't keep Jesus away. Jesus showed up specifically for Thomas because of his doubt. He singled Thomas out to transform it and lead him to a deeper faith.”

45s

#ResurrectionChangesEverything

“And much later, a man named Saul, who was a ruthless enemy of the Christian church and the Christian movement would be transformed into Paul, perhaps the greatest proponent of the Christian faith of all time. Every single time, the witnesses who recorded this tell us that the one experience they had in common was that they encountered the risen Christ. Jesus risen from the dead standing among them. And our doubt might say that is impossible. But as the great missionary Hudson Taylor once said, there are commonly three stages in work for God. There's impossible, there's difficult, and there's done.”

35s

#FromDoubtToDeclaration

“Now coming back to Thomas in this story, again, we don't know exactly what he did. We do know how he ultimately responded and what was changed. Thomas, the doubter looked back at Jesus, and he declared my Lord and my God. He moved from doubt to determination. He makes this confession that is it's the pinnacle of him realizing who Jesus really was. He still didn't know everything about what Jesus came and all of the theological depth that came much later, but he knew enough.”

59s

#ResurrectionTransformsLives

“This is an amazing turning point not just for Thomas, but for everything because this this is what the resurrection does. This is what happens when the resurrected Jesus shows up because something happened that Thomas went into that room troubled by doubt, but he came out strengthened in faith. Just as Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early that Easter morning with tears of anguish, and she returned with tears of joy. Something happened that the other disciples went into that upper room in fear, but they came out with boldness. Something happened that they went into that room with a sorrow beyond words, but they came out with a peace that passes all understanding. Something made that kind of change, that kind of transformational, hope giving, life giving change possible for the disciples and for those around them.”

43s

#WoundedDoubter

“He saw Jesus die on the cross. He was there when they laid him in the tomb. Thomas wasn't just a skeptic. He was grieving. He had skin in the game. His world, his whole world had been shaken. He picked up everything. He risked everything. He left everything to follow this Jesus. So for Thomas Dow, it it wasn't just a a choice. It was a defensive mechanism against getting hurt, against getting burned again. And I think we've all been there in some way where it's like, I I don't wanna trust again.”

45s

#TrustInGodsFaithfulness

“But I can look back and I can see that God has been faithful time and time and time again. He's been patient with my doubts. He's gracious in my shortcomings. He's forgiving with my failures. He's been present in my trials. He remains steadfast even in my skepticism. That doesn't mean I get all the answers, not this side of eternity, but I know that God is good. I know that he's faithful. And I've slowly, slowly, slowly come to admit that maybe his understanding is greater than mine, and I can actually trust him.”

38s

#PresenceOverAnswers

“And sometimes you're the one waiting. You're waiting for a test result or a a response from a job application. Your mind goes through all the what if scenarios and you question and you start to doubt. And in those moments, we really don't need answers so much. We just need presence. We just want someone to come and be with us in those times. And the risen Jesus wants to come into that room with you, with your doubt, with your questions, with your pain. He comes to meet us there, to be with us there, but he doesn't want to leave us there.”

36s

#DoubtIsDoorway

“And sometimes we're just afraid to acknowledge, so we just build a little room from which we hope our doubts can't escape. But doubt is not the enemy of faith. Doubt isn't the enemy of faith. It can be a doorway to greater faith. It's the waiting room of faith. It's sometimes where we have to wait for answers that we have not received yet. And some of you, like, you're in a lit you've been in a literal waiting room. You're sitting in a room waiting for the the outcome of of a procedure or a surgery or something about a loved one, and you don't have all the answers.”

48s

#WrestleTogether

“I mean, you could go to an escape room by yourself, but it wouldn't be much fun because a lot of fun is you're with other people and you get to lean on their wisdom and their insight along the way and also is a lot better when you're not in it alone because you're never really alone in your doubt. I guarantee any question or doubt that you have, there are people who have wrestled with the same thing over the centuries and in this room, and they may not be able to give you the exact answer that satisfies every single lingering question you have, but they can help you to ask better questions, to dig deeper, to seek the honest answers that will satisfy you and lead you to the next room and the next step. And most importantly, together, they can help you experience God's presence even in the questions.”

53s

#AskHonestQuestions

“So when you feel stuck and your doubt, don't do it alone. Invite Jesus into the room, ask questions together, talk with other believers, talk to one of our church staff. We may not have all the answers either, but, again, we can help point you in the right direction. And we have a six week group coming up later this month. It's gonna be meeting at the Devil's Canyon Brewery in San Carlos. It's called Alpha, and it's all about asking honest questions about faith, where all those questions are okay to bring to the table. So when you're wrestling with doubt, don't do it alone. Don't let your doubts define you or dominate you. Don't bury them either. Give them to Jesus. Let him into that room with you. Trust that even your doubts could be a doorway to a deeper faith than you ever thought possible.”

58s

#DoubtSparksCommunity

“And a good AI engine will lead you to define your questions more clearly, and our doubts prompt us to ask better questions. For example, our doubts could prompt us to ask how this ragtag band of disheartened, disillusioned, fearful, doubting disciples crouching behind locked doors became the great apostles who preached and witnessed and suffered and died for their faith. Or our doubts could drive us to ask how this community of believers that's described in acts came to be where where new Christians from every social class, every ethnicity, every walk of life, every nationality came together and shared everything in common. And outcasts were welcomed, and people that used to hate each other instead would celebrate together. That seems like an impossibility in today's world. But it happened because resurrection happened.”

35s

#DoubtsDrawYouCloser

“What if your doubts can be a doorway to a greater faith? In fact, your doubts might be exactly what God is using right now to pull you to himself to draw you closer to who he really is. Maybe not your preconception of what he is, but who he really, really, really is. So as we go ahead, with our our message today, that's the question we're gonna wrestle with and we're gonna meet one of the most famous doubters of all time.”

37s

#EvenPastorsDoubt

“Now you might think, Mark, you know, you're a pastor. You've studied all these things for many years and these theological issues and have lots of books. You remember books and this paper things. You don't have any doubts. But here's a secret. Don't tell anybody, especially if we're online and YouTube and everything. This is really secret. I'm a natural skeptic. My brain will find a counterpoint to any point, and sometimes my mouth will blurt it out. I will find ways to question just about anything. It's a blessing and it's a curse. You can ask my family that.”

40s

#FaithIsAnEscapeRoom

“We're panicking. We're talking over each other. We're like scrambling for ideas, like looking at different objects and poking things and pressing the wall and looking for secret panels, anything at all, and then something doesn't work. And we're like, no. And finally, after ten or fifteen minutes of of kinda chaos, we figure out how to get the door open. We're thinking we've crushed it. It's only fifteen minutes in. We got the door open, and we walked through, and we're in a locked corridor with three more locked doors. It just led to more locked rooms, and we had to start all over again because in an escape room, you think that solving one puzzle gets you out.”

31s

#OneDoorOpensAnother

“But usually, it just leads to a new room with new questions, new puzzles to solve, more locks, and faith in our faith journey can sometimes feel like that. You solve one doubt. You wrestle with one set of questions and you think, I've got it. And then you find yourself suddenly you're in a different room and different life circumstances. A different crisis comes up, and you're standing with a different set of questions and doubts that you're having to wrestle with and saying, how do I get out of this room?”

34s

#HardQuestionsMatter

“Could God really forgive me knowing everything about me and everything I've thought and done? Could there be more to life than just what I'm seeing around me or what I'm reading in the news? Is there a greater purpose? Is there a bigger hope for the world? God, if you are real, show me. But sometimes we're afraid to face those doubts. Even if we've been in church a long time, we're just taught like, oh, we just have to check our doubts at the door. But guess what? Those questions still will come up.”

46s

#HitTheClueButton

“Now everybody swears when they go into an escape room, we will not press the help button. We're not gonna do it. You do a blood oath with each other. You're like, no matter what happens, how desperate we are, that's we're not gonna hit that clue button. Okay? We can figure it out. And guess what? Maybe ten minutes, maybe fifteen minutes, maybe it's forty five minutes and you're really panicking. Somebody's like, we gotta hit the clue button. And there's a little screen up at the top of of each room near the ceiling, and it'll give you a hint. It doesn't give you the whole answer. It doesn't say here's the easy steps to unlock all the doors. It just gives you a hint. It just points you in the next direction because you're not really alone in that escape room. There's somebody there. You can say, I need a little bit of help.”

61s

#MysteryOfResurrection

“Now we're talking about an event that's so incredible that the gospel writers themselves, the people that were there struggled to put it into words to describe how this risen Christ could eat and breathe and speak. It also show up out of nowhere and walk through closed doors and do things that we cannot. They struggled to explain it all. And in the end, they all agreed that the only way to explain it is that this Jesus is who he said he was. Because Easter happened. Resurrection happened. Now today, we don't have the benefit of the risen Jesus suddenly walking through this wall and saying, touch my hands, feel my side, don't doubt. I mean, we wish we wish we wish we could do that. But honestly, even if it happened, we would probably still find a reason to be skeptical and to doubt it somehow.”

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