Click here for the sermon discussion questions or see them listed below. We highly encourage you to listen, think, and talk about the sermon. These are questions you can reflect on by yourself, with your family, or with your small group.

Discussion Questions

1. How would you define “spiritual failure”?  From your own experience, what do you think leads to spiritual failure and how can one recover from it?

2. Although we might be critical of Peter as a cowardly denier of Jesus, give some examples of how we know he was actually brave and loyal. Why is it important for us to see Peter in this correct light? 

3. In spite of Peter’s bravery and love for Jesus, he ends up betraying Jesus, denying that He even knows Him. Describe what you think led to Peter’s downfall.  What is the danger of applying God’s word to other people before applying it to ourselves?  What does the lack of prayer reveal in our hearts and how can it lead to our own downfall?

4. As soon as Peter denies Jesus for the third time, Luke makes a point of telling his readers that “the Lord turned and looked at Peter…And he went out and wept bitterly.”  How would you feel if you were Peter?  Why is it so important for Christians to know the difference between “godly grief” and “worldly grief”?  (see 2 Corinthians 7:10)  

5. How do you think Peter’s failure made him stronger and even more effective for future ministry?  What can we learn from Peter?