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Questions in this GPS marked with Ø are particularly recommended for group discussion. Group leaders may add other discussion questions, or substitute other questions for the marked ones, at their discretion.
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“Peter went out and cried uncontrollably”
Saturday, 16 September 2017
John 18:15 Shim‘on Kefa and another talmid followed Yeshua. The second talmid was known to the cohen hagadol, and he went with Yeshua into the courtyard of the cohen hagadol; 16 but Kefa stood outside by the gate. So the other talmid, the one known to the cohen hagadol, went back out and spoke to the woman on duty at the gate, then brought Kefa inside. 17 The woman at the gate said to Kefa, “Aren’t you another of that man’s talmidim?” He said, “No, I’m not.” 18 Now the slaves and guards had lit a fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it warming themselves; Kefa joined them and stood warming himself too., 25 Meanwhile, Shim‘on Kefa was standing and warming himself. They said to him, “Aren’t you also one of his talmidim?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.” 26 One of the slaves of the cohen hagadol, a relative of the man whose ear Kefa had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you with him in the grove of trees?” 27 So again Kefa denied it, and instantly a rooster crowed., Luke 22:59 About an hour later, another man asserted emphatically, “There can be no doubt that this fellow was with him, because he too is from the Galil!” 60 But Kefa said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” And instantly, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Kefa; and Kefa remembered what the Lord had said, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went outside and cried bitterly.
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Let’s review: of all the disciples, only Peter walked on water (Matthew 14:28-29). He was the first to say flat out that Jesus was the Messiah (Mark 8:27-29). On this fateful evening, Luke wrote, “Lord,” Peter said, “I’m ready to go with you, both to prison and to death!” (Luke 22:33) Yet, when the crunch came, he wasn’t, in fact, “ready.” He discovered that Jesus knew him better than he knew himself. He was no coward—but he was a human being facing kinds of pressure he’d never faced, and didn’t anticipate.
• Pastor Adam Hamilton wrote, “The incident [Peter’s denial] is one of the few that is mentioned in all Four Gospels…. It was not included to embarrass Peter…. The gospel writers knew the story because Peter must have regularly told the awful truth of that episode himself.” * Has pressure ever led you to be ashamed of and to hide your allegiance to Jesus? What do you think Peter saw in Jesus’ eyes when Jesus looked straight at him that broke his heart (and may have preserved his eternal life)? When have you grown through a failure that God’s grace enabled you to embrace and learn from?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, like Peter, I need to keep learning things about myself, finding room to grow even in areas I thought I had mastered. Thank you for your ongoing grace, for nudging me to grow even in places where I may think I’m done growing. Amen.
* Adam Hamilton, 24 Hours that Changed the World. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009, p. 58.
Family Activity: Jesus often shows us the power of forgiveness. Blow up one balloon for each family member. Place them in the center of the room. Invite each family member to choose one balloon and a marker. Ask each person to draw a picture or write words representing something they have done wrong. Read I John 1:9(I John 1:9 If we acknowledge our sins, then, since he is trustworthy and just, he will forgive them and purify us from all wrongdoing.) aloud. Explain that this means that no matter what we do, we can tell God we are sorry and God forgives us. Pray together, asking God to forgive what is written on your balloons. After you pray, have each person pop his or her balloon, representing God forgiving and forgetting your sin. Continue until each person has popped their balloon. Thank God for forgiving our sins.
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Ginny Howell
Ginny Howell serves as the Mobilization Program Director at Resurrection Leawood. She has a passion for helping people get engaged in the life of the church, and she oversees Community Events, Member Engagement and our ReConnection Team.
Peter’s heartbreak was palpable once he realized what he had done, and that it was exactly what Jesus forecast. Radiating from his own doing, Peter cried messy, loud tears. The kind where you can’t catch your breath between the waves of sadness coming over you and you have no control over the sound of pain leaving your body. Exhausting, defeated tears.
We don’t know how long Peter cried, or what it was that helped him move to a better place. I would want to hold Peter as he cried out all of his messy tears. Provide space for him to release all of the emotions that had been building up in this time of uncertainty and fear as he was about to lose Jesus, who he loved. When Peter could take a breath, I would remind him that Jesus already told him he wouldn’t feel this bad forever.
In Luke 22:32, Jesus told Peter, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers and sisters.” Jesus offered reassurance, stating “when you turn back”, not “if you turn back.” Jesus set a task before Peter, “strengthen your brothers and sisters,” a task Jesus knew Peter would be passionate to pursue.
Think about how you feel when someone tells you that you aren't going to live up to what you expect/hope/dream for yourself. I'm sure each of us has a moment that comes to mind when someone else recognized our attitude or outward behavior wasn't reflective of how we really see ourselves. And for all of us, that prediction has come true one time or another, and we’ve cried our own version of those messy tears.
We often don’t recognize how we end up in a messy tears situation. We make great plans, we want to do good things. Sometimes, though, we are so far off track we get blindsided by how our own actions have led us to the exact place we never wanted to be. A place we stubbornly denied we would ever go, yet there we are.
When you find yourself in that place, let those messy tears flow. Spill out all those painful feelings, just like Peter did. And just like Peter did, know that your mistakes don’t define your relationship with Jesus; whatever led to your messy tears Jesus can use for good. Take up the task that God has set before you, and look for ways to strengthen your brothers and sisters along that path.
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Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
•Christy Bradley and family on the death of her mother Carolyn McDonald, 9/6
• Julie Allison and family on the death of her mother Barbara Jean Allison, 9/5
•Clay Patterson and family on the death of his step-mother Jeanne Lillig-Patterson, 9/4
•Karl Neybert and Anne Marie Wells and families on the death of their father Gregory Neybert, 9/2
•Cathy AuBuchon and family on the death of her husband Jim AuBuchon, 9/1
•Nancy Kilpatrick and family on the death of her father Jim Merritt, 8/30
• Marcy Henderson and family on the death of her mother Margery “Midge” White, 8/30
•Bonnie Gleason and family on the death of her brother Bobby Ray Thomason, 8/11
“Peter went out and cried uncontrollably”
Saturday, 16 September 2017
John 18:15 Shim‘on Kefa and another talmid followed Yeshua. The second talmid was known to the cohen hagadol, and he went with Yeshua into the courtyard of the cohen hagadol; 16 but Kefa stood outside by the gate. So the other talmid, the one known to the cohen hagadol, went back out and spoke to the woman on duty at the gate, then brought Kefa inside. 17 The woman at the gate said to Kefa, “Aren’t you another of that man’s talmidim?” He said, “No, I’m not.” 18 Now the slaves and guards had lit a fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it warming themselves; Kefa joined them and stood warming himself too., 25 Meanwhile, Shim‘on Kefa was standing and warming himself. They said to him, “Aren’t you also one of his talmidim?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.” 26 One of the slaves of the cohen hagadol, a relative of the man whose ear Kefa had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you with him in the grove of trees?” 27 So again Kefa denied it, and instantly a rooster crowed., Luke 22:59 About an hour later, another man asserted emphatically, “There can be no doubt that this fellow was with him, because he too is from the Galil!” 60 But Kefa said, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” And instantly, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Kefa; and Kefa remembered what the Lord had said, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went outside and cried bitterly.
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Let’s review: of all the disciples, only Peter walked on water (Matthew 14:28-29). He was the first to say flat out that Jesus was the Messiah (Mark 8:27-29). On this fateful evening, Luke wrote, “Lord,” Peter said, “I’m ready to go with you, both to prison and to death!” (Luke 22:33) Yet, when the crunch came, he wasn’t, in fact, “ready.” He discovered that Jesus knew him better than he knew himself. He was no coward—but he was a human being facing kinds of pressure he’d never faced, and didn’t anticipate.
• Pastor Adam Hamilton wrote, “The incident [Peter’s denial] is one of the few that is mentioned in all Four Gospels…. It was not included to embarrass Peter…. The gospel writers knew the story because Peter must have regularly told the awful truth of that episode himself.” * Has pressure ever led you to be ashamed of and to hide your allegiance to Jesus? What do you think Peter saw in Jesus’ eyes when Jesus looked straight at him that broke his heart (and may have preserved his eternal life)? When have you grown through a failure that God’s grace enabled you to embrace and learn from?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, like Peter, I need to keep learning things about myself, finding room to grow even in areas I thought I had mastered. Thank you for your ongoing grace, for nudging me to grow even in places where I may think I’m done growing. Amen.
* Adam Hamilton, 24 Hours that Changed the World. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009, p. 58.
Family Activity: Jesus often shows us the power of forgiveness. Blow up one balloon for each family member. Place them in the center of the room. Invite each family member to choose one balloon and a marker. Ask each person to draw a picture or write words representing something they have done wrong. Read I John 1:9(I John 1:9 If we acknowledge our sins, then, since he is trustworthy and just, he will forgive them and purify us from all wrongdoing.) aloud. Explain that this means that no matter what we do, we can tell God we are sorry and God forgives us. Pray together, asking God to forgive what is written on your balloons. After you pray, have each person pop his or her balloon, representing God forgiving and forgetting your sin. Continue until each person has popped their balloon. Thank God for forgiving our sins.
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Ginny HowellGinny Howell serves as the Mobilization Program Director at Resurrection Leawood. She has a passion for helping people get engaged in the life of the church, and she oversees Community Events, Member Engagement and our ReConnection Team.
Peter’s heartbreak was palpable once he realized what he had done, and that it was exactly what Jesus forecast. Radiating from his own doing, Peter cried messy, loud tears. The kind where you can’t catch your breath between the waves of sadness coming over you and you have no control over the sound of pain leaving your body. Exhausting, defeated tears.
We don’t know how long Peter cried, or what it was that helped him move to a better place. I would want to hold Peter as he cried out all of his messy tears. Provide space for him to release all of the emotions that had been building up in this time of uncertainty and fear as he was about to lose Jesus, who he loved. When Peter could take a breath, I would remind him that Jesus already told him he wouldn’t feel this bad forever.
In Luke 22:32, Jesus told Peter, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers and sisters.” Jesus offered reassurance, stating “when you turn back”, not “if you turn back.” Jesus set a task before Peter, “strengthen your brothers and sisters,” a task Jesus knew Peter would be passionate to pursue.
Think about how you feel when someone tells you that you aren't going to live up to what you expect/hope/dream for yourself. I'm sure each of us has a moment that comes to mind when someone else recognized our attitude or outward behavior wasn't reflective of how we really see ourselves. And for all of us, that prediction has come true one time or another, and we’ve cried our own version of those messy tears.
We often don’t recognize how we end up in a messy tears situation. We make great plans, we want to do good things. Sometimes, though, we are so far off track we get blindsided by how our own actions have led us to the exact place we never wanted to be. A place we stubbornly denied we would ever go, yet there we are.
When you find yourself in that place, let those messy tears flow. Spill out all those painful feelings, just like Peter did. And just like Peter did, know that your mistakes don’t define your relationship with Jesus; whatever led to your messy tears Jesus can use for good. Take up the task that God has set before you, and look for ways to strengthen your brothers and sisters along that path.
-------
Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
•Christy Bradley and family on the death of her mother Carolyn McDonald, 9/6
• Julie Allison and family on the death of her mother Barbara Jean Allison, 9/5
•Clay Patterson and family on the death of his step-mother Jeanne Lillig-Patterson, 9/4
•Karl Neybert and Anne Marie Wells and families on the death of their father Gregory Neybert, 9/2
•Cathy AuBuchon and family on the death of her husband Jim AuBuchon, 9/1
•Nancy Kilpatrick and family on the death of her father Jim Merritt, 8/30
• Marcy Henderson and family on the death of her mother Margery “Midge” White, 8/30
•Bonnie Gleason and family on the death of her brother Bobby Ray Thomason, 8/11
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©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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©2017 Church of the Resurrection. All Rights Reserved.
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
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