Weakness in Peter...Strength in Jesus

Appearances Can Be Deceiving was the title of the sermon preached this weekend at Southern Gables by Pastor Nelson. He contrasted Peter and Jesus in Mark 14:43-15:15 and how their appearances are deceiving. Peter appears to be strong, but he is actually weak. Jesus appears to be weak, but He is actually strong. It's a great sermon! Here are a few things that stuck out to me.

When I look more carefully at this arrest and trial, I don’t see a weak victim. I see a man with resolve, a focused attention and an incredible strength. I see the perfect man, doing exactly what he had determined to do. And he is doing it for me and for you! It is the combination of his goodness and his greatness that makes him trustworthy. Sovereign benevolence!

When your faith is threatened,
· when God seems most distant,
· when Christianity seems to be under attack,
· when you are tempted to doubt God’s ability or love,
· when circumstances seem to be overwhelming even for God,
· when Jesus seems so far away as to be useless in the present, and when God seems as weak as Jesus must have seemed to Peter, what will you cling to – appearances or the truth?

I’m increasingly convinced that the single greatest indicator of where our trust is centered is whether we pray or not.