<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOioCr6oRyAwrG85rMq-8KawWuEN5d5FcE026c7OZ2W8TuGXFAHOTi1Ghsyts99igpnU_7eRMqdW1_NT00Q0KKZHwNoTnLllBf3SzXXMWwKUgI9tmJ4ZBQPxPup4o83_d5jLgh51Lgj1EF3idGov5S3IpyO56ZYHWVaRqRiuMys5B5ibU1v1rpf4zsGiE/s2200/ghosting-2208059508__largepreview__.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1238" data-original-width="2200" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOioCr6oRyAwrG85rMq-8KawWuEN5d5FcE026c7OZ2W8TuGXFAHOTi1Ghsyts99igpnU_7eRMqdW1_NT00Q0KKZHwNoTnLllBf3SzXXMWwKUgI9tmJ4ZBQPxPup4o83_d5jLgh51Lgj1EF3idGov5S3IpyO56ZYHWVaRqRiuMys5B5ibU1v1rpf4zsGiE/s320/ghosting-2208059508__largepreview__.webp" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span face="Raleway, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">We live in a throwaway culture, in which things are discarded, ideas canceled, and people ghosted.&nbsp;</span></p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span face="Raleway, sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>The story of Jesus returning from the grave to meet the fearful disciples and then again to meet Thomas (John 20:19-31) shows that God is interested neither in ghosting us, nor canceling us nor discarding us.&nbsp; God doesn't ghost.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />The forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the body proclaimed in this story beautifully show how God will never let us go, even in the darkest of times.</p><p style="background-color: white; border: 0px solid rgb(229, 231, 235); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Raleway, sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />Note:&nbsp; There is a bit of a coda at the end of the sermon, which includes some words I said to the congregation at the end of the sermon about a pastoral care visit I would make that afternoon.</p>