That was the theme of our all-age service last Sunday.

If Jesus really is alive, it's wonderful. The previous month, we looked at the beginning of John 20, and saw how Jesus being risen means that everyone who follows him is now a member of God's family. We can call Jesus "brother" and we can call God (his Father) "our Father".

But is he alive? We're too late to see for ourselves.

This is where Thomas comes in. Thomas thought that he needed to see Jesus alive for himself in order to believe that he was risen. But Thomas was wrong.

To illustrate, some chocolates were hidden in the pulpit. Hidden, but not secret. It was announced, early in the service, that this would happen. Then big signs were put up pointing to the pulpit to say that chocolates were there. Finally, several children were invited one at a time into the pulpit before telling the rest of us one thing they'd seen there. We were told there were three boxes, they were purple, they had particular writing on, looked they contained sugary treats, made of chocolate and so on.

Eventually, other children said they had no need to go into the pulpit to see for themselves. They trusted those they knew who had already seen, they'd followed the earlier announcement and they'd read the signs.

Thomas did not need to see Jesus alive for himself. The Old Testament announced in advance that Jesus would rise from the dead (even if John tells us that the disciples did not yet believe these Scriptures). The other disciples had reported how they had "seen the Lord". Jesus graciously revealed himself to Thomas, and John kindly recorded the whole incident, to show us that we (who are too late to see for ourselves) do not need to see Jesus alive to know that he is.

Of course, at the end of the service, we all got to share the booty.