"Faith is born from the breath of God" Quasimodo Geneti 2026

This sermon, delivered at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Random Lake, Wisconsin, explores the profound truth that faith is not a human decision or emotional response, but a divine act of God breathing life into the dead. Drawing from John 20:19-29, the preacher reflects on Jesus' appearance to the disciples behind locked doors, emphasizing that Christ enters not through physical means but through the power of the Holy Spirit. The sermon uses the imagery of Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones and the creation of Adam to illustrate how faith begins when the Spirit of God—pneuma, breath, wind—enters the lifeless, sin-cursed soul. The story of Thomas, who demands physical proof before believing, is used to show that even his eventual confession, 'My Lord and my God,' was not the result of sight, but of the Spirit's work through the Word. The sermon concludes with a powerful affirmation: faith is born not from seeing, but from hearing the Word of God and receiving the Spirit's breath, making believers alive in Christ. The message is one of grace, resurrection, and the transformative power of divine initiative.