“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,” –  Philippians 2:5 (NASB).

How would you answer questions like: What does it mean to be a Christian? How does a Christian act? Or what are the characteristics of a Christian? We can answer those questions by looking at Peter’s life. Peter is an example of the transformation a follower of Jesus goes through and how the characteristics of Jesus are to be exhibited in the lives of believers.

I think most of us can identify with Peter. Peter was a person with many facets to his character. His tenacious spontaneity attracts the wild at heart. He was quick to speak and slow to listen, just like so many of us. He often found himself in situations that could have been avoided if he kept his eyes on Christ. All of these things make Peter such a relatable person. But we must also remember that although it took a while, Peter eventually learned to find His victory in Christ. God transformed him to a powerful witness. As we trace the trajectory of Peter’s life, we see a man powerfully renewed in his walk with Jesus Christ.

One of the most important aspects of our Christianity is recognizing that we are continually involved in transformation as we grow and mature as followers of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

Peter was the one who was full of strange contradictions in his early walk with the Lord. At times, he was presumptuous, timid, and even cowardly, but we see him transformed into a man of God who led the early church in its early days. Ultimately, we find him as a rock standing firm in the faith.  Acts 5:15 tells us “As a result of the apostles’ work, sick people were brought out into the streets on beds and mats so that Peter’s shadow might fall across some of them as he went by.”

Peter’s story is recorded to show us how a man can be used by God. We can hope for God to do the same in our lives. Peter’s life is a testimony to the fact that we can change. We can move from frustration and failure to fulfillment and fruitfulness. This is our inheritance and God’s intention for our lives.

Discussion Questions:

1. What can we learn from Peter’s life?
2. How does Peter’s life give us hope?

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control”-  Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV).

If you were buying a new car, you would probably look for something well-built, dependable, and in your price range. If you were reading a novel, you likely want a good plot, a compelling crisis, and solid character development. If you were considering a new house, you would focus on location, size, quality, and price. In almost everything in life, typical characteristics make something “good.”  Similarly, characteristics, or traits, distinguish those who follow Jesus from others.

Genuine Christian character is not just about our personality or disposition. It describes who we are as Christians. It is exhibited in what we do and how we do it as followers of Jesus. In essence, our character is the display case of Christ.

Building and developing character is something we must desire and work at. Fortunately, Christ gave us a model to evaluate. Studying the character of Jesus is a lifelong effort. These qualities of Jesus Christ’s character are apparent throughout His ministry.

First was compassion: Jesus never looked away from people; He always looked upon them and had compassion (Matthew 9:36). Whenever people were around Him, Jesus understood their real needs and sought to address them. Jesus took the time to notice that people were hurting—and His compassion drove Him to help them. Jesus was the ultimate servant. He taught them to be servants by actually doing it Himself.  Despite having the authority to get anything He wanted and have people praise and pamper Him, He did the exact opposite by lowering Himself and serving others.

No list of Jesus‘ character is complete without love. If anyone doubts His love, all they have to do is look upon the cross and see the agony that He bore for our sake. He experienced that horrible death so that all could be saved. That, very clearly, is true love at its finest.

 Additional characteristics include forgiving, patience, commitment, gentleness, self-control, and humility. Jesus had every opportunity and right to demand praise and accolades for His miracles and teachings, but He never did. He did not want to become a sideshow,  He wanted to seek and save the lost and offer forgiveness for sinful people.

The world doesn’t need more role models; it needs more of Jesus, the ultimate role model. People will not find a better person to emulate positive character traits than Jesus Christ.

Imitating Jesus in even a small way is a tall order. But following Him starts with asking God to help me discover more of what that means, with a hunger to know more of the purpose for which I have been made and asking how I can grow more fully into God’s image. When I love Him, I will be like Him. When I am like Him, I will love like He loves and be a reflection of Him by wearing the following wear.

Discussion Questions:

1. Which of the characteristics of Jesus is the easiest to do? Which is the most difficult?
2. What can we do this week to follow Jesus a little bit better?

“He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.” – Luke 5:2-3.

When Jesus approached the lake of Gennesaret, He saw two boats by the lake with no fishermen. The fishermen were out of their boats washing their nets. One of the fishermen, Simon, was most likely frustrated because a night of fishing had yielded nothing. It was this unsuccessful boat that Jesus chose to sit in.  Jesus knew what would happen but wanted to see if Simon would trust Him.

Jesus sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and caught nothing. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they did so, they caught so many fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

What was different between the period when they couldn’t catch anything and the moment when they had too many fish to handle? It was the same lake, the same boat, the same nets, the same fishermen, and the same fish. The difference between empty nets and abundance was Jesus’ presence in the boat. It was a game-changer. They were no longer fishing by themselves. God was in their boat. Nothing has changed over the last 2,000 years. Jesus is still willing to meet us when things are not going well, and life is not as planned.

Think of your boat as whatever you do in your life. If you want God to bless you, invite Him into your boat. This isn’t about salvation or just saying a one-time prayer but asking Jesus to live in you and through you daily. When Simon Peter and Andrew did this, God gave them more fish than they could handle.

Life can be complicated, so let Jesus simplify things. Life can seem possible, but with God, all things are possible. Burdens are part of life and are complicated. Jesus says he will lighten your burdens. But He must be in the boat with you to do those things.

What is in your boat right now? Is it an unhealthy body, emotional upheaval, financial needs, unemployment, spiritual struggles, anxiety, etc.? Whatever it may be, invite the Lord into your boat and watch what He can do.

Discussion Questions:

1. How would life be different if you were convinced that God was in the boat with you?
2. What area of your life would change if you were confident that God was with you?

“As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. – Matthew 14: 13-14

Peter and Andrew were small businessmen. They ran their family business and most likely worked long hours to make ends meet. There were no health benefits, no vacation or personal time off. In those days, you were what you did for a living. But everything changed one day when Jesus came along and said: Follow Me.

The Bible doesn’t tell us, but you assume this presented a mental dilemma for these fisherman  You have to wonder if their first thought was, “now?” It would hardly seem the best time to drop everything and go. It didn’t seem like a convenient time.  But they decided to follow Jesus despite the uncertainty and the inconvenient time. To follow Jesus is to live a life of inconvenience.

It may be inconvenient to follow Jesus, but we must remember that no one has ever been inconvenienced more than Jesus. He laid aside His divine privileges and inconveniently became a human. Philippians 2:6-8 says, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Jesus was on a mission to redeem all mankind by His sacrificial death on the cross; in His three years on earth, He was repeatedly interrupted with inconvenient requests. “Heal my daughter,” “Raise my son back to life,“ “Open my eyes,” and “Let me just touch You.“ People did not make appointments or make their requests during business hours. They inconveniently intersected Christ as He continually strove toward the cross. In addition, Christ’s days were often so full that He could only find to commune with His Father when His own weary body would have screamed for sleep. But despite how inconvenient it was, He chose to spend the night talking with His Father.

Once they decided to follow Jesus, the disciples lived inconvenient lives. They had to leave the familiarity of their families, jobs, and communities and go where it would have been most inconvenient for them to go. Peter eventually went to Rome, where he was crucified upside down for preaching the Gospel. The Apostle Paul was inconvenienced throughout his preaching ministry when he was repeatedly imprisoned as he traveled across Europe.

The early followers of Christ gladly embraced the inconvenience of serving and following Christ, and two thousand years later, we have to ask ourselves a question: are we willing to be inconvenienced to follow Jesus?

Discussion Questions:

1. How do we deal with feelings of inconvenience and inadequacy when God uses us? What is your reaction?
2. God plans unexpected needs to arise at inconvenient times in our lives to invite us to trust and depend on Him. Agree or disagree or why?
3. When personal inconvenience is the backdrop to your willingness and love, the character of Christ shines that much brighter through you.

“I listen carefully to what God the LORD is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people” – Psalm 85.8.

Sometimes, people will believe we are not listening to them, and they will blurt out, “Listen.” When that happens, we shift gears to thinking, “I need to hear this.” It could be listening to a teacher’s instructions, listening to your parents, or maybe a friend sharing something they want to make sure we hear. But what if it is God saying, “listen.” Sometimes, we are so busy talking to God through prayer that we forget that God wants us to listen because He wants to speak to us. When it comes to hearing from God, the main question we need to answer is often the most basic one: Do we want to hear from Him?

The foundation of any relationship is communication. God wants you to hear His voice and follow Him. Most people’s honest reaction is: “Does God speak today because I have a hard time hearing Him?” The reality is that God has always spoken to His people. God spoke to Noah about how to build a boat. God spoke to Joshua and told him to march around Jericho. God spoke to Daniel with prophecies of the future. God spoke to Elijah and brought fire down from heaven. God spoke to Moses face to face, as one friend to another. Psalm 50:3 (NIV) says, “Our God comes and will not be silent….” The question is not, “Does God still speak?” The question is, “Are we listening?”

We probably will never hear His voice with our ears. God speaks to us through His word. It may be a passage of scripture you’ve read many times, but if you reread it, you will find something very applicable to your current situation. “Love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him…” (Deuteronomy 30.20 NIV). Psalm 85:8 (NLT) says, “ “I listen carefully to what God the LORD is saying, for he speaks peace to his faithful people….” 1 Samuel 3.10 (NIV) says, “…Speak, for your servant is listening,” Matthew 11:15 (NLT) says, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!” And finally, Hebrews 3:15 (NIV) says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”

The problem with many of us today is that we read through God’s word, but we are intent on mastering the text; we are trying to dissect it for its meaning so we can talk more intelligently about God. There is nothing wrong with deep Biblical study as long as we remember that reading the Bible is not to accumulate data about Him, in John 5:39, Jesus tells the best -read Bible students of His day: “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me!”

If we want to hear from God, we must read more than words. We need to encounter Him as the living God we want to follow.

While there are many methods to try to hear from God, it’s likely He’s been speaking to you this whole time. The key is to tune your ear to Him.

Discussion Questions:

1. What assurance do you have from God’s Word that God intends for us to hear His voice in very personal ways in our lives?
2. How do we distinguish God’s voice from the many others?

“One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.” – Luke 5:1-3.

When he first encountered Jesus, Peter was a simple fisherman from a small village. Peter is always interesting. He was not one to take a back seat but was always front and center, speaking his mind, for better or worse. He was considered an ordinary man, but despite his humble origin, Christ called him one of the most influential leaders among the disciples and the early church. Of course, he did not know that when he first met Jesus.

Jesus saw two boats lying at the edge of the lake. The fishermen were out of the boats washing their nets. Jesus He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put it out a little way from the land. He sat in the boat and began teaching. When He finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish” (Luke 5:4).

The fishermen were washing their nets. They had finished. They were tired. They were frustrated. Loaning the boat as a pulpit was one thing, but going back out fishing was something else. Simon answered and said, “Master,” Simon replied, “We worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again” (vs 5).

But then Peter took a step of faith that contradicted his professional experience as a fisherman. He decided to fish and caught so many fish that the two boats were in jeopardy of sinking. When Petter realized what happened, “he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” (vs. 8).

Jesus responds by telling Peter not to fear. He says, in effect, “I know you. I know what you are like. And I still want you to follow me. Don’t be afraid—just follow Me and see what you become.”  Verse 10-11 says, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

In this story, Peter shows us the content of an act of faith. An act of faith consists of doing something, in this case, leaving his nets behind.

Following Jesus is not set up for a simple life. But it’s an invitation to live differently and to see differently.

Discussion Questions:

1. Are you following Jesus? As you thought about that question, where did it lead you? 
2. What risks do you associate with following Jesus? What do you need to leave behind?

“How do you react when God doesn’t meet your expectations? If you truly accepted the invitation to follow Jesus, you’ll keep going on through hurricanes, hail, and hazardous conditions. If you have simply invited Him to follow you, you’ll bail out at the first sign of bad weather.” ― Mark Batterson, All In: You Are One Decision Away From a Totally Different Life.

Following Jesus is undoubtedly a radical pursuit. Jesus asks us to be willing to give up everything to follow Him and not to be ashamed about it. That information probably prompted some questions about what you are getting yourself into.

When Jesus chose His disciples, what questions popped up in their minds when they heard the “follow me” challenge? What issues concerned them? Practical questions? Personal questions? Priority questions? Questions about inadequacy? Anxiety? What must we know before we leave our beach and boats and follow Jesus? Their questions were probably much like ours today.

For example, why do you want me with all my baggage? Peter was on target when he said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8)  Another question is “what made you invite me?”The disciples were not the respected pillars of society. Jesus was not a talent scout but a student of the inner person. He sees potential as to what people may become, and He extends the invitation to join Him.  Another question is, “Where is following you going to take me?” Some people think that following Jesus is adhering to old-fashioned teachings in outdated, irrelevant, relic documents. It is so much more.  It is a relationship with Christ as the way to become what the Lord intended us to be.

An obvious question is, “What happens when I fall flat on my face?” Will God reject me? The first followers fell quite a bit, so we have the assurance that Jesus will also hold on to us. People can grow stronger through hard times, discouragement, and even failure. The disciples experienced all of these but never rejection.  “What are the risks of following You?” There are risks in following Jesus. There is a price for following Jesus.  Are we willing to pay the price?

Following Jesus means thinking His thoughts, loving what He loves, hating what He hates, and having the same desires and goals that He expressed. Those seeking to follow Jesus will eagerly try to follow in His footsteps. To follow Jesus means that we will seek to follow His example in our daily living and let Him be our guide in all that we do.

We aren’t simply floating around aimlessly. We follow Jesus because there is a point to all of this. This entire history of the world is headed somewhere. We can do so with joy because our hope is in a future in the presence of Jesus Christ forever.

Discussion Questions:

1. What does following Jesus mean to you? 
2. Why is it helpful to know more about Jesus to follow Him effectively?  What can we do this week to increase our knowledge of Him? 

“I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” – Ephesians 3:16-19.

This Ephesians 3 passage is powerful. Even if you have read it many times, it warrants revisiting. It tells us how to be filled with “all the fullness of God.” The fullness of God is the totality of everything God is—His attributes, His character, His perfection, His holiness, His power, His love, etc. The fullness of God is His complete nature; it is who He is.

Think for a second about being filled with the fullness of God.  Who wouldn’t want a full tank of God’s fullness? But the idea of being filled with God’s fulness is difficult to get your arms around. It sounds impossible: who can live and function with all the fullness of God? This is the God who created the universe and everything in it. This is the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, parted the Red Sea, and rose from the dead after three days. This is the God who is all-knowing and all-wise. It is hard to comprehend how He counted the hairs on my head and the hairs on the other 8.1 billion people living on the globe today. So how can anyone be filled with the fullness of God?

Paul comes to mind when discussing who was filled with the fullness of God. He authored one-third of the books of the New Testament.  He was a spiritual giant. And maybe Moses. He was put into the cleft of the rock, and God passed by.  Didn’t Moses’ face glow after he came out of the presence of God? And maybe Elijah and Peter and a few others. But what about us believers with our failings? What about us believers who get discouraged? Can we truly experience the fullness of God?

The Bible tells us the answer to that question is yes. When we follow Jesus, we will have some amazing experiences. We can hear from God in that still small voice. We will also have some not-so-amazing experiences, but we can still have the joy one can only have when we are in a relationship with God.

God wants us to grow, stretch our capacity, and be filled with God’s fullness so that we can become more and more like Christ. There is a process to becoming more and more like Christ—to grow in maturity. It doesn’t happen overnight, but we must be mindful daily of our growth, allowing grace for mistakes and a desire to continue the race.

There is nothing more God can give us than God himself residing in our hearts—leading us, convicting us, and encouraging us to be more like Jesus.

Discussion Questions:

1. Is it possible for the fullness of God’s love to fill us? Why or Why not?
2. What would that look like in your life? In Panama City? In your neighborhood?

“The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” – Jeremiah 31:31-33.

Many Christians get confused about the differences between the Old and New Covenants. The primary difference is that the Old Covenant is the law, and the New Covenant is the grace and righteousness that we attain by faith in the atonement of Jesus’s cross.

The first covenant (Old Testament) was and is not flawed; man’s willingness and ability to keep it was and is flawed. Israel had continued to break the first covenant with God by turning from Him, over and over again, even with prophets continually warning them that what they were doing was wrong. Hebrews 11 talks about some of the great figures in the Old Testament but says in verses 39-40, “All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.”

God made a new promise that was different and better. The old covenant was made to a nation, a collective of people. The new covenant, on the other hand, goes beyond the promise to a specific nation and becomes personal between God and us. It’s the covenant inaugurated by the work of Jesus. This covenant was fulfilled by Jesus and confirmed His last night on earth during Passover: “He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you” (Luke 22:19-20).

The new covenant is God’s promise to mankind that He will forgive sin and restore communion with those whose hearts believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus’ death on the cross is the basis of the promise. He defeated death by His resurrection and restored life for those who believe in Him.

We are the people of the new covenant. We can have a personal relationship with our God. This relationship is not based on keeping a set of laws but rather on forgiveness, mercy, and grace.

“But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises” ( Hebrews 8:6 ESV).   

Discussion questions:

1. What makes the New Covenant effective and better than the old one? Why is this important?
2. What promises or characteristics of the new covenant are particularly comforting, reassuring, convicting, or meaningful to you right now?

“Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant.  If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things. Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.” – Ecclesiastes 11:4-6.

Everybody has one, maybe more, risk-takers in their life. These are people who are willing to kick fear aside and take on challenges, regardless of the outcome. So when an opportunity presents itself, they are brave for God and step forward without hesitation, trusting God when things get dicey.   

The Bible tells of real people who obeyed the Lord in uncertain situations. One of them is Ananias, a disciple sent by God to minister to the newly converted Saul. Ananias risked his life by visiting this leading enemy of Christianity. Saul, too, lived with risk after his conversion, facing peril almost every day of his life as he obediently preached the same gospel that he’d previously opposed. Both men obeyed God despite the risk and uncertainty and were used greatly by the Lord.

Taking risks is a Godly trait. When you take risks for God’s sake, you put yourself in a place dependent on God. Your risk speaks volumes to God. It’s in those moments that your faith grows. In Matthew 25, a man going on a long trip gave three different people three different amounts of talents. One of them decided to avoid any risk. To the one who risked nothing because he was afraid, the master said, “That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least” (Matthew 25: 26-27 MSG). Later on, the man who gave the money said, “Get rid of this play-it-safe who won’t go out on a limb….” (vs. 28-30 MSG).

 If we are facing a seemingly insurmountable problem–a situation that we believe we are powerless to influence–we should be still and wait on the Lord. But there will also be times when action is required, when we may be asked to take bold steps and take some risks.

Whatever your risks are, I promise you this: God will prove himself faithful. Give him the chance to show you. He is good enough to show patience with your doubt and do something huge in your life with the tiniest speck of real faith, as Jesus said in Matthew 17:20: “…I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

Faith is simply doing what God tells you to do whether you feel like it or not, and in fact, especially when you don’t feel like it, regardless of the circumstances, because God will see you through. Where is God calling you to trust Him? Remember, each time you face risk; you can experience His faithfulness firsthand.

 Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think God asks us to take risks? What do we learn about ourselves, and how do we grow by taking risks?
2. How do we balance bold risk with wise safety? We don’t want to be foolishly daring, nor overly cautious, in our love to others, do we?
3. What are the obstacles to stepping out of our comfort zones and taking risks?