He is risen!  I hope you’ll join us at BBT as we celebrate Resurrection Sunday next week.  Here’s your preview.

With so many still sick and no bus running, we had a very small crowd last week.  But if you were here, you got a treat.  Linda took it up a notch and made a video for her Sunday School lesson.  We still haven’t posted it due to time and technology constraints, but we’ll have it up in some form when we can.  I enjoyed looking into the events of Palm Sunday and sharing what I found with you.

This Sunday I want to talk about Peter.  You might be wondering why on Resurrection Sunday I’m not talking about Jesus, but stick with me.  You’ll find that Peter’s story is all about Jesus.  What happened with Peter in the days surrounding Jesus’ death and resurrection is a redemption story that illustrates on a very personal level what He came to do.

Sometimes those of us raised in church can have a harder time with grace and humility than those who were not.  We imagine that we’ve got this.  Then, something puts us in our place.  Temptation, fear, disappointment; the reasons are as diverse as we are, but they lead us to a crisis of faith.  We have fallen, and we can’t get up.

Consider Peter.  This ardent follower of Christ has just pledged his life in devotion to Him.  He’s ready to go out in a blaze of glory, attacking the mob that had come out to arrest Jesus with his loan sword.  But Jesus puts a stop to that, and within hours Peter has fulfilled His prediction that he would Deny Him three times.  Is his life over?  Is his ministry career finished?  Is he going to be cooking next to Judas in Hell?  No!  In a moment of weakness, Peter fell, but Jesus would not allow him to stay down.  He became a central figure in the early church, performing the same kinds of miracles that Jesus did.

Our central text will be Luke’s account of Peter’s denials, found in Luke 22:54-62.  It will be helpful to read Matthew 26:69-74, Mark 14:66-72, John 18:15-27, and John 21:15-17.

Hopefully everyone will be all better and we can have a full house as we celebrate the reason for our FAITH.  Pray for each other.  Encourage each other.  Come and bring a friend!

Love y’all!

Larry