Jr. Tree of Life
Fear and the Faith-Rest-Drill
Part 4
Peter denies Christ Matthew 26:31-35 & Matthew 26:57-75
Promise from God
“Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9b
Before you begin this Bible study, If you have never believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior, John 3:16 tells us: “ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life.’ Simply have faith that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins and you will have eternal life and be saved. If you have believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior; then 1 John 1:9 tells us; “If you confess your sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Simply privately tell God the Father your sins to be filled with God the Holy Spirit and He will teach you Bible truth. (Rebound)
Sometimes friends can be mean, which can make us feel afraid that nobody will like us. This is what happened to a red headed girl named Sophie when Patrick, her best friend, whispered to her that she talked way, way too much. Sophie looked around and it felt like everyone was staring at her. Later in the afternoon, her mom picked her up from school. Sophie burst into tears and told her mom what had happened. She felt better when her mom reminded her that God loved her and was always by her side (omnipresent) loving her, even when someone was being mean to her.
“Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9b
When we are afraid, God wants us to rebound and then recover by using the faith-rest-drill. Remember a promise from God, think of a reason to trust God, Relax, because God will take care of everything. Do something fun like baking some cookies, or go outside and ride your bike, or watch your favorite movie.
The Bible story today happened during a time period, known as the Hypostatic Union, when Jesus walked among mankind. During that time, Peter, John and other disciples were sitting in recliners around a table having their last supper with Jesus. Jesus had a special job to do. He was going to obey God the Father and pay for everyone’s sins, which are the bad things we think, do and say; by dying on the cross for them. Jesus wasn’t just a good man who never sinned. He is 100% God and 100% man.
During supper, Jesus told his disciples that they were all going to run away and leave Him. But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may fall away because of You, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Matthew 26:33-34
When supper was over, they went to the Garden of Gethsemane; so that Jesus would have a quiet place to pray. Suddenly, a disciple named Judas Iscariot pretended to be Jesus friend, by kissing him on the cheek. This was really the signal for the soldiers and people that hated Jesus to arrest Him even though He didn’t do anything wrong. They took Jesus and led Him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the Jewish leaders who hated Jesus were gathered.
Peter followed the soldiers to where they were taking Jesus and was sitting outside waiting to see what would happen and a girl came to him and said, “You too were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he said, “I do not know what you are talking about.”
When he had gone out to the gateway, another girl saw him and said to those who were there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again, he said, “I do not know the man.”
A little later other people came up and said to Peter and said, “Surely you too are one of them; for even the way you talk gives you away.” Then he said, “I do not know the man!”
Immediately, a rooster crowed, and Jesus looked at Peter. Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Matthew 26:34. Peter cried and went away. Jesus didn’t get mad; He still loved Peter and forgave him.
Peter made many mistakes that awful night! He was afraid, that he lied and told everyone that he didn’t even know Jesus! When Jesus looked at him, he felt so bad for hurting Him, that he cried and ran away. Peter was out of fellowship with God and he needed to rebound that he was afraid and that he lied. Next, he needed to recover and use the faith-rest-drill below.
Faith-Rest-Drill
- Remember a promise from God: In today’s lesson, the promise is:“Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
- Think of a reason to trust God with your problem: Peter heard the rooster crow and felt horrible for telling everyone he didn’t know his friend Jesus! Our Savior, Jesus Christ forgave Peter for being afraid, lying and telling everyone that he didn’t know Him. Jesus still paid for Peter’s sins on the cross and Peter is in Heaven right now because he believed in Jesus Christ as his Savior.
God never left Peter’s side, but Peter forgot this. God is always by our sides.
Today’s lesson, God is with your wherever you go. (Omnipresent)
3. Relax: God is everywhere and will never leave your side even when you are afraid. Just trust Him, and then Relax. While God takes care of everything. Do something fun like baking some cookies, or go outside and ride your bike, or watch your favorite movie.