John 13:31-38 · Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

31 When he was gone, Jesus said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once.

33 "My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come.

34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

36 Simon Peter asked him, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus replied, "Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later."

37 Peter asked, "Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you."

38 Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

LENT: The Passion of Christ: "Denied!"
John 13:36-38; 18:12-27
Sermon
by Billy D. Strayhorn
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A wealthy old farmer was asked by the newspaper reporter to reveal the secret of his success. The farmer shared a story about one of his old roosters.

"This rooster was the best at everything he did. He was better at fighting, flying, pecking, jumping and crowing than any of the other roosters on the farm. Unfortunately, he still lost fights to much weaker birds. The trouble was that just as he was winning a fight, he would stop to crow." (1)

Maybe that's what happened to Peter. Peter struggled, not with his faith, but with his faithfulness. He was impulsive and sometimes his feet turned to clay.

During the storm on the Sea of Galilee, he was filled with fear just like the others but when he realized it was Jesus walking on the water, he jumped out of the boat and started walking on the…

CSS Publishing Company, Inc., From the Pulpit, by Billy D. Strayhorn