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Northside Christian Church
Sermon Study Guide - April 5, 2026
He Calls Your Name
Locations & Times
Northside Christian Church
1300 George Washington Memorial Hwy, Yorktown, VA 23693, USA
Sunday 9:00 AM
Sunday 10:45 AM
He Calls Your Name
1. He calls your name.
2. Faith can begin with confusion.
3. The mission follows the relationship.
Opening Question: Think about someone in your life (a coach, a teacher, a boss, a friend) who really knew you. Not just knew your name, but knew you, what you were carrying, what you needed to hear. What made that experience different from being part of a crowd?
Discussion Questions
We encourage you to use the SOAP Bible study method. SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer, and it offers a simple, intentional way to engage God’s Word together. Use the following guide to help you get started.
We encourage you to use the SOAP Bible study method. SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer, and it offers a simple, intentional way to engage God’s Word together. Use the following guide to help you get started.
Scripture
Read the passage slowly. If possible, read it twice: once silently and once out loud.
Circle any verses that caught your attention, underline repeated words, or note questions in the margin.
Read the passage slowly. If possible, read it twice: once silently and once out loud.
Circle any verses that caught your attention, underline repeated words, or note questions in the margin.
Prompt (do not answer yet):
• Which word, phrase, or image stands out to you on this reading?
• Where does the language surprise or unsettle you?
Circle any verses that caught your attention, underline repeated words, or note questions in the margin.
• Which word, phrase, or image stands out to you on this reading?
• Where does the language surprise or unsettle you?
Circle any verses that caught your attention, underline repeated words, or note questions in the margin.
Observation
This section focuses on what the text says before moving to interpretation or personal meaning.
Use the questions below to guide your observations:
• In verses 1–2 and 11–13, what does Mary assume has happened? What does her response reveal about what she expects?
• In verse 16, what is the turning point for Mary? What changes, and what doesn’t change, in her circumstances at that moment?
• In verses 24–29, what does Jesus offer Thomas? Notice what Jesus does not do (argue, scold, present better evidence). What does He do instead?
• In John 21:15–19, why does the number three matter? What is the relationship between Jesus’ questions and Peter’s past?
• What pattern do you notice in how Jesus engages each person: Mary, Thomas, and Peter? What does He seem to be after?
Resist the urge to jump to application. Stay grounded in what the text is explicitly showing.
This section focuses on what the text says before moving to interpretation or personal meaning.
Use the questions below to guide your observations:
• In verses 1–2 and 11–13, what does Mary assume has happened? What does her response reveal about what she expects?
• In verse 16, what is the turning point for Mary? What changes, and what doesn’t change, in her circumstances at that moment?
• In verses 24–29, what does Jesus offer Thomas? Notice what Jesus does not do (argue, scold, present better evidence). What does He do instead?
• In John 21:15–19, why does the number three matter? What is the relationship between Jesus’ questions and Peter’s past?
• What pattern do you notice in how Jesus engages each person: Mary, Thomas, and Peter? What does He seem to be after?
Resist the urge to jump to application. Stay grounded in what the text is explicitly showing.
Application
This section asks: How does this text intersect with real life right now?
Use these three core application questions (discuss at least one):
This section asks: How does this text intersect with real life right now?
Use these three core application questions (discuss at least one):
1. From Anonymous to Known:
Mary didn’t recognize Jesus until He spoke her name—what changed was personal, not visual.
Where are you going through the motions instead of relating to God personally?
What would it look like this week to slow down and listen for His voice?
Mary didn’t recognize Jesus until He spoke her name—what changed was personal, not visual.
Where are you going through the motions instead of relating to God personally?
What would it look like this week to slow down and listen for His voice?
2. Encounter over Argument:
Jesus met Thomas’s doubt with Himself, not a lecture. Thomas responded with surrender, not analysis.
Are you waiting for certainty before responding to Jesus?
Has doubt become a way to keep distance rather than seek truth?
Jesus met Thomas’s doubt with Himself, not a lecture. Thomas responded with surrender, not analysis.
Are you waiting for certainty before responding to Jesus?
Has doubt become a way to keep distance rather than seek truth?
3. Failure, Restoration, and Mission:
Jesus restored Peter at the site of his failure, grace matched every denial, then came the call to follow.
Where do you feel disqualified by your past?
Where do you need to let Jesus bring restoration into shame?
What step can you take this week that reflects this: relationship comes before mission?
Jesus restored Peter at the site of his failure, grace matched every denial, then came the call to follow.
Where do you feel disqualified by your past?
Where do you need to let Jesus bring restoration into shame?
What step can you take this week that reflects this: relationship comes before mission?
Prayer; Close by praying based on what you’ve learned from this passage.