Peter
Easter Changes Everything • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 4 viewsIn today’s message, we will look at how Peter, no matter how much he failed, was always forgiven by Jesus.
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March 29th 2026
Series: Easter Changes Everything
Sermon Title: Peter
Topic: Easter, Peter, Transformation
Key Passages: Mark 16: 1-7, Mark 14:26-31 & 66-72, Luke 24:34, John 21:1-19
Sermon Blurb: In today’s message, we will look at how Peter, no matter how much he failed, was always forgiven by Jesus.
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Sermon:
Hello, Family Church!
Welcome, whether you are here in person or online.
Family Moment –
Start with something personal from your family life recently to help people get to know you.
Celebrate salvation/rededications/baptisms last week.
Celebrate new disciples and disciple-makers.
PAUSE
If you are new to Family Church, we are SO happy you are here today!
Today, we continue talking about how Easter changes everything.
In this series we are looking at some people who were DEEPLY impacted by Easter.
We are going to talk about how Easter is for everyone.
Easter is for men.
Easter is for women.
Easter is for adults.
Easter is for children.
Easter is for all people.
And as a reminder…
Next Sunday is Easter Sunday.
You need to be inviting your friends, family members, co-workers, and classmates to church with you BECAUSE Easter is one of two times a year that people are HIGHLY likely to come to church with you!!!
I would encourage you to invite your friends to church over the next three weeks, as these messages will be great for people who do not go to church.
PAUSE
If you have your Bible with you —and I hope you do —open it back up to
Mark 16
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I want to start today by reading the same verse we started with last week.
Mark 16 verse 1 says this:
Mark 16: 1-7 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.
2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb
3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away.
5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified.
He has what church?
Yes!!!
And he was not where?
He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.
Jesus was not there.
Now thinking like a skeptic…
Now that does not mean he rose from the dead.
I know the angel said that…
But it doesn’t mean it is true…
It just means his body was not there.
Just like we said last week….
But this angel said:
7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
And this is where I want us to shift our focus this week.
Last week we talked about Mary Magdalene.
But I want to point out something here and shift who we focus on today.
I find this verse so interesting…
Because it says…
Look in your Bible…
Go… tell his disciples AND who church?
Why name just Peter?
Why not name any of the other disciples?
Why just Peter?
PAUSE
Well…
If you are here, or you’re listening online, this might help you.
If you’re a skeptic on this whole Jesus raising from the dead thing…
Today’s message might help you.
See, because if this is true.
If Jesus did raise from the dead…
This changes everything.
If Jesus rose from the dead as this angel said, it changes everything.
This claim is the cornerstone of Christian faith.
This is the hope we will take to the grave.
This is what will bring us through the valley of the shadow of death.
This is our victory.
PAUSE
The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is our hope.
Without it, we have nothing.
Without it, we believe in vain.
Without it, there is no point in church.
Without it, Christianity is meaningless.
PAUSE
Last weekend, we saw that Mary Magdaline had a unique story.
We saw how Mary was SO unlikely to be the FIRST person to know Jesus rose from the dead.
She was so unlikely because when Jesus first met her, she was a CRAZY demon-possessed rich lady!
That was set free by Jesus.
And she was SO TRANSFORMED that it flipped her life upside down!
She went on to use her wealth and influence to help Jesus build His ministry.
And she was so committed to Jesus that she was the FIRST person at His tomb to just be near Him after his death…
And she got to see Jesus raised from the dead and was charged as we just read to go to Jesus’ best friends, who were alive…
If you missed that message, go back and listen to it online later today…
PAUSE
Today, I want us to discover why Peter specifically was called out here.
Because I think this will help a lot of you listening to this.
Because I know there are a lot of you who think you have messed up too much for God to do something big in your life.
I know there are a lot of you who think you have made too many mistakes for Jesus to forgive you.
And today you are going to see how that is NOT true…
PAUSE
Flip backward in your Bible to
Mark 14
This passage we are about to read happened a few days before Jesus died.
Staring at verse 26 it says:
Mark 14:26-31 & 66-72
26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
HEY!!!!
Hymns in the Bible!
Come on, who are my Hymn people that love them!!!!
27 And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’
28 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”
Interesting, you see something there tied to what the Angel said to Mary????
Look back at Mark 16…
Same thing the Angel said to Mary…
Check out what Peter says next.
Because Peter was fond of thinking he was the man…
He was the strongest follower of Jesus.
Which is why in a few verses he chops a dudes ear off!!!
Literally, that is in the Bible in a few verses; you can read it later.
We won’t today…
29 Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.”
30 And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.”
31 But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same.
Now let’s skip the ear-chopping-off verses…
You can read it later…
But in these verses, Jesus gets arrested.
Peter chops off a dude’s ear to try and stop it.
Jesus heals the dude’s ear.
They take Jesus off to put him on trial.
And Peter tails along to probably think about how he can spring Jesus from jail…
Drop down to verse 66…
66 And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came,
67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.”
68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed.
Pause there…
Rooster crow one…
Part of what Jesus said would happen just did.
And you know Peter is not the sharpest tool in the shed because you would think he would have heard that and remembered what Jesus said.
But….it goes on to say….
69 And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But again he denied it.
There is the second time!
Again…if you are here today and you have been afraid to stand up for Jesus, this is going to give you hope because even Jesus’ best friend was afraid to stand up for him at times!
And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”
71 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.”
72 And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him,
“Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
Peter did exactly what Jesus said he would.
He did not catch himself after the first denial.
He did not catch himself after the second denial.
He denied Jesus three times.
He denied knowing Jesus three times.
He denied following Jesus three times.
He denied being a part of the Jesus movement three times.
PAUSE
And he wept because he knew he had messed up.
And Jesus was in jail.
And shortly, Jesus was going to die.
And Peter was NEVER going to get the chance to apologize to Jesus.
Peter was NEVER going to be able to ask Jesus to forgive him.
Peter was NEVER going to be able to reconcile with Jesus…
Peter failed.
Peter messed up.
PAUSE
Have you ever been there?
Have you ever messed up really bad?
Have you ever done something that you thought there was NO coming back from?
Have you ever failed REALLY badly…
Have you ever thought…there is NO way I am coming back from this one…
ADD A PERSONAL EXAMPLE or two….
Let me be transparent….
Let me give you two examples of this in my life…
When I was in High School, it was cool to toilet paper people’s homes.
And one time, we TP’d the same guy's house 5 weeks in a row because we really hated him…
And the fifth weekend we knew he was bound to try and chase us in his car…
So we put massive boulders across the front of his driveway.
And I will never forget his garage opening and his dad coming ripping down the driveway in his BRAND new sports car and CRASHING across those boulders and destroying his car…
Yes…you pastor was not a great kid….
I remember all the guys took off one way and all the girls took off another way.
And we got away…
And I thought we were safe…
Then, a little after midnight, the cops showed up at my friend's house because the dad and his son had caught the girls.
You want to talk about thinking your life was over…
You want to talk about a BIG FAIL!
Yup…ring leader Adam…I was in BIG trouble…
And I did NOT think my parents would ever forgive me when they found out…
I EPIC failed like Peter…
PAUSE
You want to hear another epic failure of mine?
As many of you know, Jenny, my wife, and I started dating in 8th grade.
We went to the same college because we did not want to be apart.
However, in college, there were all these new girls.
And not once but twice, I broke up with Jenny because I thought there might be greener grass out there.
And BOTH times I realized…
What are you doing, Adam…
Jenny is amazing!
You’re an idiot.
But…after the second time I broke up with Jenny, she started dating another guy…
And I almost lost her because I was a selfish idiot.
I almost missed out on everything I have today because I would not be the man I am today without her…
Because I was self-centered and selfish.
I yet again….EPIC failed like Peter…
PAUSE
In the same way, I know…there are many of you out there who have had some epic fail moments in your life.
But what you're about to see is that Jesus did not give up on Peter just because he had chopped off a dude’s ear, denied him, and a bunch of other stupid stuff.
Just like Jesus did not give up on me after all the stupid things I have done!
PAUSE
Write this down.
Your past is a chapter, not the conclusion—God is still writing your story.
Repeat
I am so thankful that is true of my life.
And it is true of yours as well.
Your past does not define your future.
PAUSE
So….
Go back to where we started…
The angel said to Mary.
Go especially to Peter.
Peter needs to hear this.
Peter messed up bad.
Peter thinks he is done.
Peter thinks the movement is over.
Peter went back to his old life because there is no coming back from this.
PAUSE
Move to
Luke 24
in your Bibles.
This passage is a POWERFUL example of how Easter Changes Everything…
And again, if you are listening to this and you're skeptical of Jesus rising from the dead…
Lean in…
Because Peter believed Jesus was God.
Peter left his entire life behind to follow Jesus.
And then Jesus got arrested.
Peter denied being his follower.
Peter saw Jesus die.
Peter saw Jesus get buried.
And Peter waited 3 days for Jesus to return like he said he would…
And Peter went to the tomb, and Jesus’ body was gone.
But Peter did not see Jesus.
And lean in skeptics….
So…Peter gave up.
Peter walked off.
And we have no idea where he went.
But sometimes we all need to just go for a walk.
Sometimes we need to go and process.
Sometimes we need to get alone and cry.
Sometimes we need to get alone and whatever…
PAUSE
But…. Later that same day, we have the next scene in Jesus' resurrection.
Luke 24, verse 13-34, talks about Jesus appearing to random people on the road…
And I want to show you something awesome in what they said about Jesus’ visit with them.
Verse 34.
Luke 24:34 “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!”
Jesus had already appeared to which church?
Simon…
Simon was the name Jesus gave to Peter.
So, wherever Peter went, Jesus met with him there.
And we have NO idea what happened because Peter didn’t write it down or tell anyone else to write it down.
Simon was actually the second person to see Jesus raised from the dead.
I wonder why.
Why appear first to a former demon-possessed lady?
Why second to a guy who failed so often?
Why?
What should this tell us about Jesus?
What should this tell us about God?
PAUSE
And skeptics…lean in…
Now Jesus has appeared to Mary, Peter, and two other random, unnamed people walking.
And after this, Jesus began appearing to all kinds of people.
Over the next 40 days, Jesus appears to hundreds of people in various settings and areas.
And we do not have time to look at all those today.
Move in your Bibles to one more place…
John 21
PAUSE
Skeptics, I want to show you one more thing about Peter.
Peter, who got to see Jesus raised from the dead multiple times over the next 40 days.
I don’t know what was going through his mind as he processed all this.
BUT….
I do know he must have thought he still failed too badly.
And we know that because Peter went home.
Peter went back to his old job.
And Jesus came to reinstate Peter as the leader of his small band of disciples…
Let me read that story to you.
John 21:1-19 Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way:
2 Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered.
6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.”
When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.
7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”
Stop there…
You all remember that from last week?
There, John goes again…
Saying he is Jesus’ favorite in a story about Peter!
But what comes next should give all of you hope out there who are willing to admit you're not the smartest person in the room.
Check out what Peter does next…
As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.
Stop there…
WHAT!!!!
Come on, Peter….
Has ANYONE here ever been on a boat and said I need to go for a swim…
So let me put on MORE clothes before I jump in…
Anyone???
NO!!!!!
Church, hear me….
If God can work through someone like Peter, who is clearly not the sharpest tool in the shed….
God can work through you!
Verse 8…
8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.
9 When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
11 So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.
Now I know why Peter wasn’t so smart.
He was a meat-head!
He was hitting the roids!
Because you are talking about 153 tilapia or barbel, which are the most common fish in the Sea of Galilee.
Each fish weighing 2-5 pounds.
The mean Peter ALL alone hauled 306-612 lbs. of fish with no problem.
And Peter did this after working ALL DAY fishing.
Then swimming to shore FULLY clothed!
Peter was the original cross fit master!
Peter was clearly a SUPER jacked fit dude!
Peter was clearly JACKED!
But look at what comes next…
This is the best part of the story….
12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
13 Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.
14 This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.
15 When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”
“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”
16 Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”
17 The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?”
He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.
18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted;
but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”
19 Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”
The grace of Jesus.
The grace of God is amazing.
I am so thankful in my life for Jesus's endless forgiveness.
Just like I was thankful for Christ-filled parents who forgave me for destroying a dudes car in high school.
Just like I was thankful for a Christ-filled girlfriend who took me back in college.
PAUSE
Let me end with this…
If you study church history, you will find that Peter became one of the central church leaders after this.
The Roman Catholic church teaches that Peter became the first Pope.
Peter went from epic failing…
To being not only forgiven by Jesus.
To being not only restored by Jesus.
But to being elevated by Jesus!
And if you will lean into Jesus today, I can promise you that Jesus could do more in and through you than you could imagine.
END with tying it back to your story….
Take me as an example…
I was a typical, stupid high school jock football player.
I was a typical, self-centered college boy.
I was a typical, career-focused man.
I have made so many mistakes in my life.
But Jesus forgave me…
And Jesus has done things through me in life that I would never have imagined…
And my prayer for you all is to experience the same.
PAUSE
Let me give you a life application today.
If you are new or newer to Family Church, we LOVE to end our messages with something for you to talk about with someone else.
Something to help you apply the message to your life.
So here is this week’s Life Application…
Life Application: God is not limited by your past—He redeems it and uses it for His glory. How could you use your past to bring God more glory? As a result of today’s message, I will….
Prayer:
Make sure to do a salvation call!
Offering:
Thank you all for being here today!
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Have a great week!!
