08/31/2026
Following Jesus Through the Eyes of Peter
Luke 5:1–11 | Matthew 14:22–33 | John 6:60–71 | Matthew 16:13–28 | Luke 9:28–36 | John 13:1–20 | Matthew 26:30–75 | John 21:9–19
What does it really look like to follow Jesus? Perhaps one of the best places to discover the answer is through the life of Peter.
Peter was passionate, impulsive, confident, fearful, faithful, doubtful, broken, and restored. He followed Jesus, but he didn't always understand Jesus. He made bold declarations of faith, struggled with doubt, experienced incredible moments of glory, and eventually experienced devastating failure.
Throughout this series, Following Jesus Through the Eyes of Peter, we will walk alongside Peter as he encounters Jesus and grows from a fisherman who says, “Depart from me,” to a disciple who declares, “To whom shall we go?” From stepping out of the boat and crying, “Lord, save me!” to confessing, “You are the Christ.” From saying, “It is good that we are here,” to learning that following Jesus means leaving the mountain and entering the mission. We will see Peter struggle to receive Jesus' grace, boldly promise that he will never fall away, and then deny Jesus three times. We will see his confidence collapse into failure and discover the beautiful truth that failure does not have to be the end of our story. Finally, we will stand with Peter on the shores of Galilee as the risen Jesus restores him with a simple question: “Do you love me?”
Peter's story is not simply about Peter. It is about us. Like Peter, we can be confident one moment and afraid the next. We can declare our faith and then struggle with doubt. We can experience Jesus deeply and still stumble along the way. We can fail, fall short, and wonder if we've gone too far.
But Peter's life reminds us that Jesus doesn't simply call perfect people to follow Him. He calls ordinary people—and transforms them.
This series is an invitation to look at our own discipleship through Peter's eyes.
What does it mean to trust Jesus when we're afraid? To follow Him when His teaching is difficult? To surrender our pride? To serve humbly? To wrestle honestly with doubt? And when we fail, what does it look like to receive His grace and follow Him again?
Jesus didn't abandon Peter in his weakness. He met him there, restored him, and called him forward. And He does the same for us.
Our prayer is that as we walk through Peter's story, we won't simply learn more about Peter. We will learn what it means to follow Jesus more faithfully in our everyday lives.
Because discipleship isn't about never falling. It's about following the One who is faithful to pick us up, transform us, and say again: “Follow me.”
Join us at Christ Church Arlington every Sunday as we discover what it means to follow Jesus through the eyes of Peter—and what Peter's journey teaches us about becoming everyday disciples of Jesus who know Him, make Him known, and make His Kingdom visible in the ordinary places of life.
Follow Jesus. Be transformed by the gospel. And live every day as His disciple.