Title: Hope For Failures
Text: John 18:15-27
Date: March 17, 2024

Introduction: There is no more boisterous, brazen character in all the New Testament than Simon Peter.

— He was a valiant disciple who always dared to be first. First to confess Jesus as the Christ, first to the tomb after the cross, and first into the water when Jesus appeared on the shore following the resurrection. Peter was the courageous leader of the disciples.
— He was a vigorous disciple whose life was punctuated by positive action. It was Peter who walked out on the water toward Jesus. It was Peter who drew his sword in the garden and chopped off the servant’s ear. It was Peter who rushed to the tomb. It was Peter who plunged into the sea and swam toward Jesus. He was always a man of action.
— He was a victorious disciple. Peter was the leader of the disciples, the preacher at Pentecost, and the spokesman for the church. Valiant, vigorous, victorious–all of these words described Simon Peter.

However, in our text for today, we find a different picture altogether. Here Peter was not courageous, but cowardly. Note, he was not impetuous, but withdrawn. Here, Peter was not victorious, but defeated. In the eighteenth chapter of John’s Gospel, a tale repeated in each of the Gospels, we see Simon Peter, the failure.

Because this is so very often where we are, we can learn some valuable lessons from this human portrait of Peter. What are they?

I. The

for Failure

A. Because of our

toward Christ.

B. Because of our

with the world.

C. Because of the

in all of us.

II. The

for Failure

A. We must

our failure.

B. We must

our failure.

C. We must

our failure.

Larry Gipson
First Baptist Church Oneonta