Thrive.Church Weekly Message

[2 Corinthians 7:10] For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.

UNEXPECTED JESUS: Follow Me...Again

(5/3/2026)

[John 21:3] Simon Peter said, "I'm going fishing." "We'll come, too," they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.

When we lose sight of Jesus we tend to ______________ to our old ______________.

[Matthew 26:31-35] On the way, Jesus told them, "Tonight all of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, 'God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' [32] But after I have been raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there." [33] Peter declared, "Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never desert you." [34] Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, Peter--this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me." [35] "No!" Peter insisted. "Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you!" And all the other disciples vowed the same. 

Our ______________ often ______________ how we see ourselves.

[John 21:4-6] At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn't see who he was. [5] He called out, "Fellows, have you caught any fish?" "No," they replied. [6] Then he said, "Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get some!" So they did, and they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it.

Many people stop ______________ _________ after failure, but God calls you to __________ __________ again.

[John 21:9] When they got there, they found breakfast waiting for them--fish cooking over a charcoal fire, and some bread.

Jesus doesn’t ______________ your worst memory, He ______________ it.

[John 21:15] After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," Peter replied, "you know I love you." "Then feed my lambs," Jesus told him.

Our ______________ comes before our Assignment.

[John 21:19b] Then Jesus told him, "Follow me."

Your worst ______________ does not cancel your ______________.

[John 21:22] Jesus replied, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? As for you, follow me."

[Galatians 5:13-14] For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. [14] For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

[John 20:19] That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! "Peace be with you," he said.

Fear locks _______________, but it doesn't lock out _______________.

[John 20:24] One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came.

Doubt often grows in ___________________.

[John 20:25] They told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he replied, "I won't believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side."

Thomas didn’t want a _______________, he wanted a ____________________.

[Hebrews 10:25] And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Doubt grows _____________ when you’re _____________.

[John 20:26] Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. "Peace be with you," he said.

Closed _______________ don’t keep Jesus out.

[John 20:27] Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe!"

The questions you whisper in _______________ are still _______________ by God.

[John 20:28-29] "My Lord and my God!" Thomas exclaimed. [29] Then Jesus told him, "You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me."

Your life doesn't need to be _______________ by doubt.

[1 Corinthians 15:6] After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.

You can’t do community _______________.

A lot of __________ compete for your attention, but only God calls you by name and sends you on ___________. 

[Isaiah 43:1] Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.

[John 20:11-14] Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. [12] She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. [13] “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” [14] She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him.

The loudest voice isn’t the ________ voice, ______ voice is. 

[Luke 8:1-2] [1] Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, [2] along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons;”

[John 20:15-16] [15] Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought He was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”……..[16] Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

When His _______ gets clear, your ______________ gets clearer. 

[2 Corinthians 5:17] This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

The enemy knows your name, but calls by you _______ Jesus knows your sin, but calls you by your _________. 

[Romans 8:1] So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.

[John 10:14] “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,”

[James 4:8] Draw near to God, He will draw near to you.

God speaks through His ____, by His ________, and He gets clearer with _____________. 

[John 10:10 NASB] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.

[John 20:17-18] “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them His message.

When the resurrection is __________ on your heart, boldness becomes ____________. 

God's transformation work begins with _________________.

[Luke 24:13-16] That same day two of Jesus' followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. [14] As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. [15] As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. [16] But God kept them from recognizing him.

Jesus is _______________ even if you don't _______________ Him.

[Luke 24:17] He asked them, "What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?" They stopped short, sadness written across their faces.

Jesus is not intimidated by your _______________.

[Matthew 28:20b] And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

God is with us even when we are _______________.

[Luke 24:21] We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago.

When you’re focused on your ____________________ you’ll struggle to see God _______________.

[Luke 24:25-27] Then Jesus said to them, "You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. [26] Wasn't it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?" [27] Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

What God is building in you is _______________ than what you’re asking for.

[Luke 24:30-32] As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. [31] Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! [32] They said to each other, "Didn't our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?"

Your _______________ can sense what your _______________ can't see.

Courage is not the opposite of fear, it is acting _____ ______________ ______ our fears.

[Luke 24:1-7] But very early on Sunday morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. [2] They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. [3] So they went in, but they didn't find the body of the Lord Jesus. [4] As they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. [5] The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, "Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? [6] He isn't here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, [7] that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day."

If God had done things our way we might have been ______________________, but we wouldn’t have been ________________.

[1 Corinthians 1:18] The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 

Only God can build a ________________ plan around ________________.

[Matthew 27:42] "He saved others," they scoffed, "but he can't save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him!

The cross wasn’t a ________________, it was the ________________.

[Colossians 2:13-15] You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. [14] He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. [15] In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

Jesus didn’t come to fix your ____________________, He came to fix your ____________________.

[Luke 24:21a] We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel.

The resurrection begins where people ____________________ the story is ____________________.

[1 Corinthians 15:54-57] Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: "Death is swallowed up in victory. [55] O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" [56] For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. [57] But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

What looked like ____________________ was actually ____________________ in disguise.