DANGEROUS PEOPLE Week 3: Peter—Take a Step of Faith

This includes: 1. Leader Preparation 2. Lesson Guide

1. LEADER PREPARATION

LESSON OVERVIEW Following is a step of faith, and the Christian journey is full of moments when God calls us to obey and act in faith. We don’t know what will happen, but we know that God wants us to act. One of the most familiar “step of faith” stories in the is Peter’s early morning walk on water. This lesson will help your students discover the importance of obeying God by taking big steps of faith—and turning to Jesus to find the courage to take those steps.

LESSON OBJECTIVES 1. WHAT: Stepping out in faith deepens our relationships with Jesus. 2. WHY: When we step out in faith, we experience God’s power and can do things we never imagined being able to do. 3. HOW: Your students will be encouraged to find ways they can step out in acts of faith in their daily life.

PRIMARY SCRIPTURE Matthew 14:22-33

SECONDARY SCRIPTURE :14-20

TEACHING PREP The short overview below is designed to help you prepare for your lesson. While you may not want to convey this information word-for-word with your teenagers, you’ll definitely want to refer to it as you lead your lesson.

Read Matthew 14:22-33.

Peter witnessed numerous miracles during Jesus’ ministry. In this passage, we see how he boldly obeyed Jesus’ invitation to leave the boat in the middle of a storm—and walk on water. Peter’s willingness to take a step of faith and walk on water transformed him from an observer into a participant. God desires us to know and observe his power, but he also wants us to experience it by taking bold steps of faith.

Faith is belief followed by action. Peter knew Jesus was the Lord, but it was his faith that got him to step out of the boat and trust his life to Jesus. Many of your students already believe Jesus is their Savior and have chosen to follow him. Our focus this week is challenging your students to think of ways they can put their faith into action through bold steps of obedience.

In John 14:12, Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” The Son of God said that we could do even greater works because of his power and because of

his intercession before God the Father! When we take bold steps of faith, we allow ourselves to be used by our big God to do big things—and we are able to see God like we’ve never seen him before.

THE BEFORE & AFTER [optional]

Text Message Questions We’ve provided a couple of different text message questions to send out to your students prior to your meeting. Feel free to use one or both of the questions below. As with the rest of the curriculum, edit these questions to fit the needs of your ministry.

What’s the boldest thing you’ve ever done as a follower of Jesus? Join us tonight for small group.

Have you ever walked on water? Come to small group tonight and meet a guy who did!

Parent Email We’ve provided you with an email below that you can send to your parents following the lesson. Our hope is to encourage parents to continue the conversation at home. Feel free to edit and customize the email to fit your ministry needs.

Dear parents,

Our small groups finished their three-week series on “Dangerous People” by talking about the Apostle Peter. He witnessed numerous miracles during Jesus’ ministry. In Matthew 14, we saw how he boldly obeyed Jesus’ invitation to leave the boat in the middle of a storm— and walk on water. Peter’s willingness to take a step of faith and walk on water transformed him from an observer into a participant. God desires us to know and observe his power, but he also wants us to experience it by taking bold steps of faith.

Faith is belief followed by action. Peter knew Jesus was the Lord, but it was his faith that got him to step out of the boat and trust his life to Jesus. Many of our students already believe Jesus is their Savior and have chosen to follow him. Our focus this week was challenging our teenagers to think of ways they can put their faith into action through bold steps of obedience.

Here are some questions you could use to fuel conversation with your teenager about this week’s lesson.

Why do you think only Peter left the boat and walked on water? Why didn’t the other disciples join him? How would you define a “step of faith”? What does that phrase mean? Why is it important to focus our attention on Jesus in the middle of tough situations—or when we’re taking a big step of faith? What is one bold step of faith you sense God asking you to take? Are you willing to obey, or do you need extra courage from Jesus?

Thanks for all your prayers for our students and our ministry. Have a great week!

DANGEROUS PEOPLE Week 3: Peter—Take a Step of Faith

2. LESSON GUIDE

GETTING THINGS STARTED [optional] Bring a picture or an item that represents something that you did to overcome a big fear. For example, you might bring a picture of you jumping into deep water or riding a big roller coaster at an amusement park—or bring a model airplane to talk about how you overcame your fear of flying.

Welcome your students and invite them into your meeting area. Open in prayer, and then ASK:

What is the bravest thing you’ve ever done? How did you overcome any fears associated with this thing? What is the craziest thing you want to try someday, and why? Name two of the bravest people you know. Why do you consider them so brave? What do you think is the difference between being brave and being reckless?

SAY SOMETHING LIKE: tells us about lots of men and women and teenagers who took bold steps of faith. One of those guys is Peter, who was a disciple of Jesus. Peter got to see Jesus work, and he played an active role in some of Jesus’ miracles. God desires the same for us. God wants us to take big steps of faith as we follow Jesus.

If you came up with an opening activity, movie clip, or game that worked well with your group, and you’d like to share it with other youth workers, please email us at [email protected].

TEACHING POINTS The goal of the Teaching Points is to help students capture the essence of each lesson with more discussion and less lecture-style teaching. The main points we have chosen here are (1) God wants you to take steps of faith, (2) Keep your eyes on Jesus, and (3) Turn to Jesus to overcome fear.

Remember: All throughout these lessons, it’s up to you to choose (1) how many questions you use, and (2) the wording of the main points—keep ours, or change the wording to make it clearer for your audience.

Read Matthew 14:22-33 together as a group. Consider allowing one or more of the teenagers to read the text.

SAY SOMETHING LIKE: It’s one thing to sit in the boat and watch all of this happen. It is a completely different experience to be the one who walks on water. Today we are going to talk about taking bold steps as we follow Jesus.

1. God wants you to take steps of faith

ASK: Imagine you’re one of the disciples in this situation. What’s going through your mind? What emotions are you feeling? Why do you think only Peter left the boat and walked on water? Why didn’t the other disciples join him? What do you think it feels like to walk on water? Why do so many people think of this as being such an incredible, supernatural miracle? In verse 29, Jesus tells Peter to “come” and walk on the water. When have you felt God asking you to take a big step and do something unexpected or challenging or bold? Tell us about that experience. How would you define a “step of faith”? What does that phrase mean?

SAY SOMETHING LIKE: God wants us to take steps of faith as we follow Jesus—in other words, attempt to accomplish things that will only succeed with God’s help. It doesn’t require faith to do something if the outcome is certain.

2. Keep your eyes on Jesus

ASK: Verse 30 says Peter began to sink once “he saw the strong wind and the waves.” Why did he become afraid then? Didn’t he already realize it was windy and stormy? Explain. Why is it important to focus our attention on Jesus in the middle of tough situations—or when we’re taking a big step of faith? The Bible doesn’t record Peter’s answer to Jesus’ question in verse 31. What do you think Peter might have said, and why?

SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Peter began to sink because his fears distracted him from his focus on Jesus. He was already walking on water, which is something the other disciples didn’t do and something you and I haven’t done! Jesus was capable of helping Peter stay on top of the water the whole time—just like Jesus is capable of helping you and me as we take bold steps of faith.

3. Turn to Jesus to overcome fear

ASK: Think of one thing you used to be afraid to do but you now do confidently. How did you reach this place in life? What changed? Do you think this experience made Peter more willing to obey Jesus? Why or why not? What are some fears that might keep you from obeying God to take a step of faith? Read verse 27. How can these words from Jesus help you face your fears?

SAY SOMETHING LIKE: I know this sounds like a cliché, but when Jesus is on your side, you can do anything he asks you to do. The more you obey and take bold steps, the greater your faith becomes, and the more you realize that Jesus will help you conquer your fears. We can find courage knowing Jesus is with us, just as he was with Peter.

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION [optional] ASK: Read Matthew 17:14-20. A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds on the planet. Knowing that, do Jesus’ words in verse 20 surprise you? Why or why not?

How can taking steps of faith give others an opportunity to see God?

What are some difficult things you have had to go through in life?

Who are some people that have helped you get through those circumstances?

How do you feel when you are able to get through something tough?

Think about your relationship with Jesus. On a scale of 1 to 10 how active have you been in living out your faith in Jesus? (A “1” means being a bystander and a “10” means being extremely active.)

APPLICATION Ask students to find a partner for these questions.

ASK: What is one bold step of faith you sense God asking you to take? Are you willing to obey, or do you need extra courage from Jesus?

What bold steps of faith might God be asking you to take at your school? with your family? with your friends? What will it take for you to obey?

On a piece of paper or on your handout, make a list of things that you would like to see God do in your life and in other people’s lives in the next few months. Keep this list and beginning praying for it. Ask God to use you to make these things happen. When you see changes or answers, write them on your list.

Think about your community. Brainstorm some ways you would like to see God work in your community. What are some ways that God could use our small group or youth ministry to help make that happen?

SUMMARY End your small group lesson here. Provide your teenagers with a quick summary or take- home challenge based on (1) the content of this lesson, (2) the dialogue that took place during the lesson, (3) your understanding of the issues and struggles your teenagers are facing, and (4) the big picture of your youth ministry and what your leadership team wants accomplished with the teaching and discussion time.

FOR KEEPS [MEMORY VERSE] Encourage and/or challenge your teenagers to memorize the verse below.

But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” (Matthew 14:27).