God wants to be in a relationship with you. He wants to cleanse your sin and see you whole. But He has to be in charge and you have to surrender. The Bible says if you believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, you will be saved.

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KEY VERSES

MATTHEW 16:21-23 (NASB)

21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”

MATTHEW 26:31-35 (NASB)

31 Then Jesus *said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’ 32 But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 33 But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” 35 Peter *said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You.” All the disciples said the same thing too.

MATTHEW 26:69-75 (NASB)

69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said.

70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.”

72 He denied it again, with an oath: “I don’t know the man!”

73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, “Surely you are one of them; your accent gives you away.”

74 Then he began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know the man!”

Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

JOHN 21:15-17 (NASB)

15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, sonof John, do you love Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Tend My lambs.” 16 He *said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He *said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” 17 He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep.

UNDERSTANDING

• Share a most embarrassing moment, or “epic fail” like Pastor Jeff described. 

• How do you tend to respond when you do or say something you wish you hadn’t: laugh about it, beat yourself up about it for days, brush it off because, “So what?”, work really hard to correct the misstep, or something else? 

• What about when you mess up in relationship to God? How do you tend to respond: joke about it, beat yourself up, brush it off because everybody sins, work really hard to do better, or something else? 

• Which would you say personal spiritual failure impacts the most—your belief that God loves you or any future effectiveness you have in service and demonstration of your love for Him? Explain. 

• Once the disciples correctly identified who Jesus was (see v. 13-20), what did Jesus begin to do (v. 21)? 

• How is it possible to know Christ and at the same time misunderstand or resist His plan, purpose, and mission? Can you relate? Explain. 

• Peter didn’t like God’s plan. Considering you can’t challenge Jesus face to face like Peter did, what are some signs you are resisting or rejecting God’s plans? 

• According to Jesus, Peter responded this way because he was setting his mind on the things of man. In what areas of life do you have a human-centered perspective? How is this a hindrance to serving Jesus? 

• Agree or disagree: Peter needed to receive the Lord’s rebuke. Explain. Is it surprising to you that God later used Peter, who failed so miserably, in such a powerful way? 

• How is God’s demand that you follow His plan over your own a demonstration of His lovingkindness? 

• Have you ever said, “I would never...” regarding a certain sin? While perhaps well-intentioned, in what way does such a statement miss the mark? 

• Why do you think Jesus wanted the disciples to know they would fail? What benefit is there in acknowledging your propensity to sin? 

• In this week’s message, we learned that an epic fail is soon to follow whenever you purposefully elevate yourself above others, trust in yourself, or directly contradict the words of Jesus. In our present context of the pandemic, what would it look like to do those three things? 

• Consider again verses 33-35 and read Luke 9:18-20. Note how Peter talked about Jesus when the conflict wasn’t present. What is the lesson for you? 

• What emotions might Peter have felt in that moment when he realized Jesus’ prophecy had come true? 

• Given Peter’s bold proclamation that he would die before denying Christ, how would you expect Jesus to confront him? 

• How did Jesus interact with Peter in these verses? What does this tell you about Him?

• What task did Jesus charge Peter within these verses? Given Peter’s moral and spiritual failure, did Peter seem like a likely candidate for this charge? Why or why not? Based on what you know about Peter, how did he handle this charge? 

APPLICATION

• You’ve learned that an epic fail is soon to follow whenever you purposefully elevate yourself above others, you trust in yourself, or you directly contradict the words of Jesus. Based on these truths and your current attitude about your circumstances, what caution about a potential epic fail is there for you? 

• In what situation are you resistant to listening to and obeying the words of God? 

• You’ve learned from Peter’s story that when you fail, Jesus remains faithful and renews your relationship. Do you have a testimony about that very thing? If so, please share with the group. 

WANT TO DIVE DEEPER?

Joining a group is a great way to know people and strengthen your relationship with Jesus Christ. Take a look at available groups to get plugged in to and find the group that is right for you. 

GIVING

Everything that happens at LCC is because of your generous gifts. When you give to God through LCC, you're helping reach thousands with the Gospel each week and are making a difference for the Lowcountry and around the world.