Peter: The Fisherman, The Common Man, The Impulsive Man & The Apostle

Sermon for January 11, 2026 Peter: The Fisherman, The Common Man, The Impulsive Man & The Apostle”

I love the Bible—I love the Word of God. There is no book more beautiful, more wise, or more important. There is no book that is a greater commentary on the human condition, what it's like to be human.

And in the pages of the Bible we meet real people encountering the living God. As we read and watch how God deals with them, we start to understand ourselves more clearly too—because we learn to see our lives in the light of how God sees us.

Last week we looked at Abram in Genesis chapter 12, who became Abraham. We looked at Abram’s call from God, the Cost of that Call, the Covenant God made with Abram and God’s Commission to Abraham.

Today, in the second part of our series, we look at how another person encountered Jesus, and how he interacted with Jesus in a few different situations over three years. And perhaps we will see ourselves in his story.

We’re going to look at 4 short snapshots about Peter, who was a simple fisherman.

Here’s where we’re going:

Call: Jesus, God-in-the-Flesh, calls Peter

Cost: Peter leaves it all behind to follow Jesus

Covenant: Jesus promises Peter that He will have an important role in His church

Commission: To preach the gospel

Snapshot 1: Jesus Meets Peter

Here’s the first snapshot. In Luke Chapter 5:1-11, Jesus teaches from Simon’s boat, then tells him to fish in deep water. Though they’d caught nothing all night, Simon obeys and they haul in an enormous catch that nearly sinks two boats. Overwhelmed, Peter confesses his sinfulness, but Jesus tells him not to fear and calls him to “catch people.” They leave everything and follow Jesus.

This was, as far as anyone can tell, Peter’s first real encounter with Jesus. And honestly, it did not start great for Peter. He’d just spent an entire night fishing with the grand total of zero fish.

Then Jesus shows up, tells him to try again, and suddenly Peter’s nets are overflowing.

Peter saw the miracle, experienced that impossible experience, but Interestingly he didn’t focus on the miracle. He pretty quickly summed up that the real point of this event was Jesus and His power.

Faced with this, Peter falls at Jesus' knees and says: “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man.

So we see in Peter a man with his eyes open…both to the sinfulness of his own heart and also to the beauty of Jesus’ heart. And, his eyes being open, he was ashamed. Not a self-absorbed, woe-is-me kind of shame.

Peter knew himself. Peter meets Jesus. Peter feels the first hint of the potential of a life bound to Jesus, and he is overwhelmed. He is overwhlemed with how short he falls of the glory of God. He’s trembling. So he says: “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man. It’s like he’s giving a “no” to this encounter with goodness.

But Jesus says to Peter: "Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men." Jesus doesn’t affirm the “No!” Peter is giving himself. Jesus immediately responds with something that connects directly to Peter and what he knows the most about - fishing - and He redefines for Peter his life’s purpose.

So Peter, along with the other fishermen pulled their boats up on shore. He left EVERYTHING and followed Jesus.

That’s our first snapshot of Peter. His encounter with the one who would save him and completely redefine his life.

So Today’s Big idea is this: Jesus takes ordinary, impulsive people and, through calling, failure, and restoration, turns them into faithful witnesses who help build his church.

Snapshot 2 - Peter Identifies Jesus

Our second snapshot is from Matthew chapter 16. To summarize, in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asks who people—and the disciples—say he is. Peter confesses, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” and Jesus says this truth was revealed by the Father. Jesus renames him Peter, promises to build his church on this “rock,” declares the gates of Hades won’t prevail, and gives him kingdom authority to bind and loose.

This snapshot is about the single most important question ever asked: Who do you say I am?”. All kinds of people had opinions about Jesus. Even then people struggled to understand Him.

To some, the Disciples said, Jesus was John the Baptist, to others the prophet Elijah or the prophet Jeremiah.

But something in Peter knew, and something in Peter gave him a holy boldness to speak the truth He knew…a truth he definitely understood at one level, while at another level he was struggling to let it fully sink in: Peter said to Jesus: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”.