Sunday, June 12: Living Stones

1 Peter 5:1–14

Peter is one of the most beloved people in the Bible. People love his boldness, his passion, and his bravado. Peter was a man who drew swords first and asked questions later. He said out loud what everyone else was thinking but afraid to say.

There are so many popular stories about him in the Bible, it’s impossible to determine the definitive story of his life. For some it’s his calling, where he dropped his fishing nets and left everything to follow Jesus. For others it’s the time he stepped out of the boat to walk on water after Jesus. For others it’s the time he witnessed the Transfiguration.

We could go on.

Regardless of your favorite story about Peter, one of the most iconic stories of him is the one of his denial of Jesus. In Luke 22:31, Jesus says to him, “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.”

Think about those words for a second: First, Jesus tells Peter, “Satan demanded to have you.” Those are some chilling words! Could you imagine if Jesus told you that Satan demanded to have you? But second, Jesus says, “But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” Jesus prayed specifically for Peter’s faith.

If you know the story, you know that Jesus’ prediction came true. Peter did deny Jesus three times. It appeared (at least for the time being) that Satan had won. Peter fell away from Jesus and went back to his fishing nets.

But Peter’s story wasn’t over. He stumbled in his faith, but he didn’t fall. And Jesus’ prayers for him were answered.

One of the things that I love about 1 Peter 5 is that we see Peter’s firsthand account of what he learned through all that. Join us this week as we finish our series on 1 Peter and see what to do when it seems like Satan is trying to sift us!

See you Sunday.

Service times are at 9:30 & 11:00. If you can’t make it in person, you can watch live at those times.