Lesson 6:

Peter and his new strength

INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS

In the first lesson of the previous series we dealt with Peter as an illustration of sin and its
results. I feel it is appropriate to come back again to him in this lesson as a picture of a man
whom God used mightily and a good example of how the Holy Spirit can make a weak person
strong. He truly became a ROCK. You should again tell the story of Peter in the first person and
do so in a lively and interesting way.

MEMORY VERSE for the children to revise:

Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in you?
(1 Corinthians 6 v19).

Slide 1 Title slide

Lesson
Before teaching this lesson you should revise briefly the content of lesson 5.

Slide 2
Do you remember me? I spoke with you some time ago and I told you about some of the
problems I had because of my sinful nature. My name is Peter Simon Peter. I am a disciple
or follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. I was with Him for over three years. I had many good
times, but also I had many bad ones because of my sin. The very worst one was when I denied
my Lord just before He was crucified (Matthew 26 v69-74). I repeated three times that I did
not know Him, and I will never forget the way He looked at me (Luke 22 v61). He did not say
anything. He just looked but what a look. So sad, so disappointed. I had let Him down.
Everybody knew about it and, worst of all, He knew about it.
Slide 3
My heart was broken. I wept bitterly. I thought life was over. How could He possibly want
me or love me after what I had done? How could I possibly live for Him? How could I ever
become the fisher of men He had promised I would? How could I ever become the rock He
had said I would be? Have you ever felt like this? Have you ever let the Lord Jesus down?
Have you, as a result, thought that He would want nothing more to do with you? I want to tell
you that the Lord Jesus is not like that, and I hope that my story and what happened to me will
be a help to you.

I want to tell you that the Lord Jesus still loved me despite everything. He knew that I was
deeply sorry for what I had done; He saw my tears (Luke 22 v62). He knew I was sorry and
He forgave me completely for what I had done. After He rose again from the dead He
specifically told the women who came to the empty grave to tell me that He was alive. Tell
Peter, He said, and I was the one who had denied Him. Just imagine that!
Slide 4
Also, later He spoke with me beside the lake after He rose again from the dead and said,
Simon, I want you to feed My lambs and feed My sheep. I have forgiven you and I have a
job for you to do.
I was so happy to hear what He said; but I still had a question in my mind a very
important question. How could I ever serve Him? How could I overcome my fear? How could
I overcome my sin? How could I become strong? Do you have the same questions?
The answer came 10 days after the Lord Jesus went back to Heaven. He had already
promised me and the other disciples that He was going to give us a very special gift to help us
in our lives and work, and that Sunday evening we received His wonderful gift the Holy
Spirit came to live in us. You have already heard in our last lesson what happened the sound
of a great wind, the appearance of flames above each of our heads, and the wonderful way we
all began to speak in other languages which we did not know. We did not even need a
dictionary.

Slide 5
But the most wonderful fact for me was that I found myself the one who was so fearful
standing preaching to the crowds which had gathered when they heard what was happening.
The Holy Spirit who was in me strengthened me and gave me courage and helped me to know
what to say. I was no longer the fearful, cowardly Peter which I had been several weeks
before. And if you have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour the Holy Spirit Who
lives in you will take away your fears. Above all, He worked in the hearts of those who were
listening so that 3,000 of them trusted Jesus Christ and became Christians. I had really
become a fisher of men as the Lord Jesus had promised over 3 years before.
And then He used me again, a few days later, to preach to many more people and it was
amazing to see many hundreds trust the Lord Jesus; to see so many fish coming into the net I
had been casting.
I was so thrilled and pleased to see what the Holy Spirit was doing in my life and also
through me in the lives of others. And the Holy Spirit Who lives in every boy or girl who is a
believer and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ will also help you to be a blessing to other
people.
But that was just the beginning. I dont have time to tell you everything which happened
after that but let me just give you a few glimpses not of what I did, but of what the Holy
Spirit did for me and through me.

Soon after that special time, when God the Holy Spirit came to live in me, I was walking to
the temple with my friend John. We were going there to pray.
Slide 6
There was a man sitting beside the gate who had never been able to walk and he asked us
for money. I told him that I didnt have any, but, instead, I took him by the right hand and
asked him in the Name of Jesus Christ to get up and walk and he did! It was the Holy Spirit
living inside me Who did this. And if you have trusted the Lord Jesus as your Saviour He
lives in you too and will help you whenever you especially need Him. When the crowds
gathered to see what had happened to this man, I took the chance to preach the Gospel to
them. I told them about the Lord Jesus and what He had done for them; and it was once again
the Holy Spirit Who gave me the strength and courage to do so. And the wonderful result
was, as I have already said, that many more of those listening trusted Christ and were saved.
It was the Holy Spirit Who worked in their hearts.

The religious leaders were not very happy with what had happened especially when they
saw how many people had become Christians. But this gave me the opportunity to preach the
Gospel to them also. I was amazed at myself. This would all have been impossible before but
now it was different. I knew and felt that there was Someone inside me helping me who was
much stronger than I was.
The leaders told us to stop preaching, but we replied that we must obey God and that we
couldnt stop. The end result was that later they put us into prison; but God opened the doors
of the prison in a wonderful way and we got out and continued preaching.
Slide 7
When the leaders were informed, they had us beaten and again ordered us to stop. But
God the Holy Spirit gave us strength to continue doing what He wanted us to do. And through
all the problems He filled our hearts with joy.
 And so I could go on! These were exciting days when I was learning all the time what it
meant to have God the Holy Spirit living inside me, and seeing the many wonderful things He
was doing for me and through me. And this same Holy Spirit Who lives in you, if you have
trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, will do wonderful things in you, and through
you if you let Him rule and guide in your life.
But before I finish there are three other very special events in my life which I will never
forget, and which helped me to understand the power which God has, and the way He helped
me to do things which would have seemed impossible.

Slide 8
Firstly, the Holy Spirit guided me. Up until that moment those who had trusted Christ had
all been Jews. But one evening God the Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me to go to a certain
house where a man called Cornelius lived and a number of people who were not Jews were
meeting together. I went there as the Holy Spirit had showed me and guided me and told them
the good news about the Lord Jesus and for the first time people who were not Jews trusted
Christ and were saved. This caused a real sensation because this had not happened before.
These were the first fish from outside my nation and people and I had the privilege of being
the fisherman. But it was the Holy Spirit Who worked in their hearts and helped them to
believe.
Slide 9
Then, secondly, when I did what He wanted me to do the Holy Spirit protected me. Herod
the king had made up his mind to kill me and he put me in prison, chained and surrounded by
guards. I was not afraid. I knew He was with me, looking after me, and I was so much at
peace that I fell asleep and slept soundly. And so God sent an angel to the prison, who broke
the chains, and opened the doors. I was free! It was a wonderful experience! The Holy Spirit
had not only guided me; He had also protected me.

Slide 10
But, thirdly, the Holy Spirit used me to do something very special which has been a help
to many millions of people for the last 2,000 years. He showed me that I should write two
long letters to help Christians to live for my Master Jesus Christ and serve Him faithfully.
And He also showed me what I should write. You can see these two letters here in this book,
the Bible (Show your Bible). Many people have been helped by these letters and I hope you
will read them also. These two letters tell you more about the Lord Jesus. They explain to you
Who He is and what He came to this earth to do. They explain how to be saved and how
wonderful your salvation is. They tell you how to live for the Lord Jesus.
I am so glad I was given the privilege to write these letters to help so many people.

Slide 11
And so as I look back over my life I am especially thankful for two great gifts.
Firstly, the Lord Jesus Who is God the Son met me, saved me and gave me the gift of
eternal life. This same gift of eternal life is also available for you today if you trust the Lord
Jesus as your Saviour.

Slide 12
Then, secondly, He gave me the very special gift of the Holy Spirit Who came to live in
me and Who has helped me over and over again in many ways. He lives in all boys and girls
who have trusted the Lord Jesus and He helps them to live for Him. Do you remember how
we learned in our memory verse
Slide 13
that you and I are the temple or house in which the Holy Spirit lives? He will help you if
and when you trust the Lord Jesus.
 The wonderful truth is that these two gifts are available to everybody. They are not just for
some well known people. They are for YOU. The moment you trust Jesus Christ as your
Saviour, you will receive the gift of eternal life and the Holy Spirit will come into your life.
Is Jesus Christ your Saviour? I hope so. If not, trust Him.
Does the Holy Spirit live in you and help you? I hope so. He does if you are saved. If not,
trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour and you will receive the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit
and the wonderful gift of eternal life.