Teaching

In our video today, why did Chris say he didn’t know Joy?

Chris made a bad choice because he wanted to fit in with the boys. Sometimes we struggle with difficult decisions and make bad choices that we regret. Why did Peter say he didn’t know Jesus?

Jesus had been arrested and was being questioned by powerful men who hated Him and wanted to kill Him. Do you think Peter was afraid that if these men found out he was Jesus’ friend, they might kill him, too? 

For Grades 1–3, or if time does not permit for Grades 4–6, skip these optional teaching points and go directly to the object lesson below: 

• Let’s look at Peter’s life. Before he met Jesus, Peter was a professional fisherman. When Jesus called Peter to follow Him, Peter immediately left everything behind to follow the Lord! That took a lot of courage! Why do you think he instantly gave up everything to follow the Lord? He felt called by God; he admired Jesus; he wanted to devote his life to Jesus.
• Peter was bold, confident, and ready to jump into any situation.
• Once, when the disciples were in a boat during a big storm, they saw Jesus walking toward them on the water. Who do you think got out of the boat and began walking on the water toward Jesus? See Matthew 14:24–33. Peter didn’t get very far while walking on the water, but at least he tried! All the other disciples stayed in the boat.
• Peter was one of Jesus’ closest friends. When Jesus went up a mountain to meet with God, He chose just three disciples to go with him. Can you guess which ones? Jesus chose Peter, James and John to go with Him. They saw Jesus’ face shine like the sun, and His clothes became as white as light. Jesus allowed these three disciples to have a glimpse of His great glory. See Matthew 17:1–2.
• When Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was, Peter was the first one to come up with the correct answer. See Matthew 16:13–17. Peter boldly declared the truth: that Jesus is the Christ—the Messiah—the One God promised would come—the Son of the Living God. Jesus said that Peter hadn’t learned this from any human being, but from God the Father.
• Yes, Peter was very bold—but sometimes he relied on his own strength and wisdom instead of God’s. When Jesus told the disciples that He would die and rise again, Peter argued with Jesus! See Matthew 16:22–23. Peter thought he knew better than Jesus!
• And on the night before Jesus died, when He warned Peter that he would deny Him three times, what did Peter say? See Matthew 26:35. Peter said he would never deny Jesus, even if he had to die!

Hold up the opaque cup high enough so children can’t look down into it. Can anyone tell me what is inside this cup? 

Yes, there is something inside, but you can’t see it with your human eyes.   

We can sometimes hide our weakness from others—like this cup hides what is inside. Sometimes even we ourselves don’t realize we are weak until we are tested or face a difficult decision. Peter boldly proclaimed that he would never deny Jesus, even if he had to die! Yet, when the time came to stand up for the Lord, Peter turned his back on Jesus because of fear. When Peter realized what he had done, how did he feel?

He wept deeply! He was absolutely crushed to know he did something terrible that he had thought he would never do! Sometimes we try to hide our weaknesses, fears and failures from God, but that is impossible! God knows us inside and out.

Hold up the transparent cup so children can read the slip of paper. This cup represents how Jesus sees us. He can see right into our hearts. He knows all of our failures and weaknesses—and He loves us anyway! 

Peter denied Jesus and turned his back on Him, but was that the end of Peter’s story?

No, after the Resurrection, Jesus came to him and offered restoration, love and forgiveness. After Jesus went up to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost to fill His followers with strength, comfort and wisdom. On that day, Peter was filled with such boldness that he preached about Jesus in the very same city where people had recently crucified the Lord! Instead of relying on his own strength, which failed him, Peter was filled with God’s strength, which will never fail! For the rest of his life, Peter would never deny Jesus again. He boldly proclaimed the Gospel and eventually died for Jesus! Peter’s weakness was replaced by God’s strength! And instead of trusting in his own power, Peter trusted in God’s strength, grace and forgiveness.

We may make bad choices sometimes, just like Peter. It doesn’t mean we don’t love Jesus—it means we are human and weak. As our SuperTruth says, “Jesus knows my weaknesses”—and He gives us the power of His Holy Spirit to help us overcome them. He loves us in our weaknesses and is ready to forgive and restore us, just like with Peter!

Hold up the clear cup. We should never try to hide our weaknesses from God—it is impossible. Instead, we should bring them to God for help and strength to overcome them!

Optional: read Hebrews 4:16 (cev):

So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Give each child a Quick to Listen Pattern and a pencil. Help them make their crafts and put their names on the back.

Peter often did and said things quickly, probably before he stopped to think about it! Have you ever said something and then immediately thought, I wish I hadn’t said that? That’s why our craft has these words from James 1:19b:

You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

God gave us two ears, and just one mouth. That should remind us that we should listen twice as much as we speak. We should listen carefully to hear what others are saying so we can truly understand them—then we should also listen carefully to God, to hear what He is telling us to do. For our Discipleship Challenge, we are going to make a craft to remind us to take time to think and pray before we say or do something that we shouldn’t.

Ask the children to turn the wheels of their crafts to find possible answers to different scenarios that you suggest, such as if someone says something mean, etc. Take this craft home and use it as a reminder to listen carefully—then stop and pray before you respond too quickly or out of anger. Next time we meet, I’ll ask you to share what happened when you did!