Session 4

It’s Never Too Late For A Comeback

From Overcoming Darkness: Seeing Easter in a New Light

The Big Idea: Darkness can never separate us from Jesus' ability to restore us.

If you asked Peter how strong his faith was, he would have said 10 out of 10. He spent the past three years of his life with Jesus. Peter was confident in his ability to stick with Jesus in the darkest of situations, even prison or death.

But when it came down to a moment of testing, Peter wasn’t so sure. When his connection to Jesus nearly got him arrested, Peter distanced himself and wasn’t so confident anymore.

Darkness causes our faith to waver.

We think we can make it through a dark time without God, like when someone in our family gets sick or finances fall apart. Maybe we believe we’re too good of a person to ever turn our back on Jesus. Yet as soon as we enter an unexpected challenge, our own strength isn’t so unshakeable.

If we’ve failed God, does He still care about us? If it seems like God has failed us, does He still care?

Jesus knows what it’s like in the darkness.

He went through the darkness to pay for our sins that separated us from Him. God doesn’t hold our mistakes against us; He frees us from the guilt they cause.

When we go through times that shake our faith, we see how great God really is and what He really means to us. We learn the depth of His forgiveness and compassion when we fail again and again.

God doesn’t give up on us when we’ve given up on Him.

Peter said “no” to Jesus three times, but Jesus gave Peter three chances to say “yes” to Him as well.

God doesn’t give up on us when we’ve given up on Him.

He’s not done with us because of the mistakes we made in the darkness. Instead, He redeems our past and leads us to a brighter future.

Reflect:

• Think about the mistakes you’ve made in the past. Is there anything you’re doing or experiencing now that you didn’t think would be possible because of your past?

Above right: a wall mosaic from the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu showing Jesus giving Peter the keys to His kingdom (Matthew 16:18-19)

Below: stairs in Jerusalem