The Theme: The grace of God is big enough to cover our greatest failures; His compassion is strong enough to pick us up when we fall.

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2 Inspired by the song: Get Back Up Artist: TobyMac The Theme: The grace of God is big enough to cover our greatest failures; His compassion is strong enough to pick us up when we fall. Scripture: Luke 22:54-62 John 21 Romans 3:23-24 The Point: We all make mistakes. There will be times along our journey when we will wake up to the sting of regret. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are covered by a grace that stretches farther and runs deeper than our greatest failure. By His grace we can get back up again we can experience forgiveness and freedom. We can find purpose for the days ahead as we follow His lead. The Warm Up: Before the session gather the following materials for an object lesson: baseball and bat, tennis ball and racquet, football and basketball (you can use a few or all of these objects). As the session starts hold up each object and ask students to describe what players must do to score points in that particular game. Close by sharing something all of these sports have in common: you get more than one shot or chance to get it right: basketball (two foul shots), tennis (two serves), baseball (three strikes), football (four downs). Transition to The Main Event by reminding students that we will all make mistakes in this life. When we do, we must not be tempted to give up or quit. We must recognize the powerful grace of God that picks us up, brushes us off and invites us to get back in the game. **Play the TobyMac song, Get Back Up as students are coming in for this session or as you transition from one activity to another.

3 The Main Event: Divide students into smaller groups. Instruct them to identify (from memory or using their Bibles) influential people from scripture who made big mistakes at some point in their story. Allow them time to discuss each character s situation and how God dealt with his/ her mistake. If time permits, give groups an opportunity to share one story they talked about. Introduce the group to Peter who will be the main character in this lesson on grace and redemption. Give students a glimpse into Peter s potential and God s plans for his future. Read Matthew 16: And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven." (HCSB) Peter is an example of an influential person who failed miserably but experienced grace to get back up. Ask a student to read Luke 22: They seized Him, led Him away, and brought Him into the high priest's house. Meanwhile Peter was following at a distance. 55 They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, and Peter sat among them. 56 When a servant saw him sitting in the firelight, and looked closely at him, she said, "This man was with Him too." 57 But he denied it: "Woman, I don't know Him!" 58 After a little while, someone else saw him and said, "You're one of them too!" "Man, I am not!" Peter said. 59 About an hour later, another kept insisting, "This man was certainly with Him, since he's also a Galilean." 60 But Peter said, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. 61 Then the Lord turned and looked at Peter. So Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, "Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times." 62 And he went outside and wept bitterly. (HCSB) 1. What is the context of this passage? This is right after Jesus has been arrested. Peter, one of His disciples, is following from a distance to see what happens to Jesus. 2. Why is Peter keeping his distance from Jesus? He is afraid that if he is recognized as a follower of Christ, the people will arrest him as well. 3. What mistake does Peter make? How many times does he make it? Peter denies Christ three times just as Jesus said he would (Luke 22:34). Someone recognizes Peter as a follow of Christ and he immediately denies knowing Him. Two more people call attention to Peter and again he denies his relationship with Christ. After the third time, he sees Jesus and realizes he has failed miserably. 4. How does Peter respond after he realizes his failure? Verse 62 says he went outside and wept bitterly. He immediately feels remorse when he realizes the depth of his failure.

4 The Main Event (continued): Give students a brief summary of John 21 (the restoration of Peter). Jesus challenges Peter to get back up; to trust in God s grace and get back to the Kingdom work he was created to do. 5. What evidence do we have that Peter went on to live an eternally significant life after his failure? The book of Acts records pivotal moments in Peter s life and ministry. Peter s letters to the church (1 Peter and 2 Peter) show his deep love for the body of Christ and his passion for the Gospel. The fact that we still learn from his life is substantial evidence that he was not disqualified from being used by God at the point of his mistake. The Wrap Up: Instruct students to complete the following challenge in The Wrap Up section of their student guide. Think about some of the biggest mistakes you ve made. What did you learn from those failures? Is the guilt from those experiences keeping you from living a life of influence and eternal significance? Have you asked God for forgiveness? Read Romans 3: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24 They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (HCSB) The weight of regret is heavy. If we don t lay our mistakes before the Lord in humble repentance and accept His grace, we will find ourselves crushed under a load of guilt. God desires that we get back up after we fall; that we learn from our mistakes and get back to the work He has called us to. Contributed by Ali Claxton // LifeWay Christian Resources

5 Inspired by the song: Get Back Up Artist: TobyMac The Main Event: Read Luke 22:54-62 LESSON FIVE 1. What is the context of this passage (what s happening, who is involved)? 2. Why is Peter keeping his distance from Jesus? 3. What mistake does Peter make? How many times does he make it? 4. How does Peter respond after he realizes his failure? Student Guide 5. What evidence do we have that Peter went on to live an eternally significant life after his failure? The Wrap Up: Think about some of the biggest mistakes you ve made. What did you learn from those failures? Is the guilt from those experiences keeping you from living a life of influence and eternal significance? Have you asked God for forgiveness? Read Romans 3: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24 They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (HCSB) The weight of regret is heavy. If we don t lay our mistakes before the Lord in humble repentance and accept His grace, we will find ourselves crushed under a load of guilt. God desires that we get back up after we fall; that we learn from our mistakes and get back to the work He has called us to.