Mark 14:26-31; 66-72
26 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
27 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:
‘ I will strike the Shepherd,
And the sheep will be scattered.
28 “But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.”
29 Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.”
30 Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that today, even this night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.”
31 But he spoke more vehemently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!”
And they all said likewise.
66 Now as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came.
67 And when she saw Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.”
68 But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you are saying.” And he went out on the porch, and a rooster crowed.
69 And the servant girl saw him again, and began to say to those who stood by, “This is one of them.”
70 But he denied it again.
And a little later those who stood by said to Peter again, “Surely you are one of them; for you are a Galilean, and your speech shows it.”[a]
71 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know this Man of whom you speak!”
72 A second time the rooster crowed. Then Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And when he thought about it, he wept.
A lot of people consider Peter to be their favorite disciple; perhaps because he is so human and transparent. Can you think of anything more embarrassing than for our Lord to pick a series of denials in your life and then put them into the record of His Word, allowing centuries of preaching to work over the details of them?
We’ll pick up the scene just after Jesus and His disciples had shared their last meal. They concluded their time together by singing a hymn, and then they went off into the night toward the foot of the Mount of Olives, where Gethsemane was situated. Along the way small talk was exchanged between the men, intermingled with words spoken by Jesus. Please note that all four of the writers of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) recorded the account of Peter’s denial, we have chosen Mark’s account for today’s lesson.

Read Mark 6:30-34
It may surprise some to think about God genuinely caring about His creation. Much too often, He is portrayed as a God of wrath and judgment—an angry and arrogant being who sits on a throne passing judgment on people. But, God is a loving God. He loved us even when we didn’t love Him. He loved all of mankind enough to allow us the choice as to whether to serve Him or not. God is a just God when it comes to sin. But, He has provided a way for a wayward and sinful man to come back into His flock. We call it God’s Plan of Salvation (GPS!) God is a God of love, compassion and intimacy. He is a God Who cares.
One reason He cares is because He knows what we face in life. He knows this because He came to this world and became one of us, living among us for a time. God Almighty actually robed Himself in human flesh so that He might live among men and die on a cross for sinners. He knew that was the only way mankind could find redemption.
While He was here, He endured more than His share of pain, poverty and suffering. He knows what it is like to do without, to be hungry; to be lonely, and to be rejected by those that He loves so dearly. He knows what it is like to be hated. He knows what it is like to suffer pain. He knows what it is like to die a human death. Jesus walked through this world and experienced what He did so that He might better help mankind the most in our time of need—and that is every day of our lives.

Jesus calms the storm on the Sea of Galilee and addresses the Disciples fear. Reference Mark 6:45-51