Joyful Moments in Christ

This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it.

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Lesson Icebreaker Question

Can you tell about a time when you were afraid to tell the truth?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn about a man named Peter, one of Jesus’ close friends. Peter made a big mistake because he was scared. We will talk about how Jesus still loves us, even when we make mistakes.

Vocabulary List (GNT)

1. Arrest — When the police or leaders take someone away because they believe that person did something wrong.
2. Bitterly — In a way that shows deep hurt or sadness.
3. Courtyard — An open space inside a building or group of buildings.
4. Crow — The loud sound a rooster makes in the morning.
5. Deny — To say something is not true.
6. Doubt — To feel unsure about something.
7. Fire — Something that gives light and heat by burning.
8. Galilean — A person from Galilee, a place where Jesus and Peter lived.
9. High Priest — The most important religious leader of the Jewish people at that time.
10. Join — To go and be with other people.
11. Lit — Made a fire start burning.
12. Lord — A word people use to show respect for God or Jesus.
13. Peter — One of Jesus’ closest friends and followers.
14. Remember — To think of something from the past.
15. Rooster — A male chicken that makes a loud sound in the morning.
16. Servant — A person who works for someone else.
17. Straight — Right away, without waiting.
18. Strongly — In a powerful or serious way.
19. Wept — Cried with great sadness.

Summary of the Passage

This passage happens after Jesus was arrested. The leaders took Jesus to the house of the High Priest. One of Jesus’ friends, Peter, followed them but stayed far away. He sat with some people around a fire in the courtyard.

A servant girl saw Peter and said he was one of Jesus’ friends. But Peter was afraid and said it was not true. Later, someone else said the same thing, and Peter denied it again. After about an hour, another person said Peter must be one of Jesus’ followers because he was from the same place as Jesus. Peter denied it a third time and said he did not know Jesus.

At that moment, a rooster crowed. Jesus turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had told him this would happen. Peter felt very sorry and went outside. He wept bitterly because he knew he had failed.

This passage teaches us that even close friends of Jesus can make mistakes. It shows us that Jesus knows our hearts and still loves us. When we make mistakes, we can be sorry, pray, and know that God forgives us.

Read The Passage

Peter Denies Jesus
⁵⁴ They arrested Jesus and took him away into the house of the High Priest; and Peter followed at a distance.
⁵⁵ A fire had been lit in the center of the courtyard, and Peter joined those who were sitting around it.
⁵⁶ When one of the servant women saw him sitting there at the fire, she looked straight at him and said, “This man too was with Jesus!”
⁵⁷ But Peter denied it, “Woman, I don’t even know him!”
⁵⁸ After a little while a man noticed Peter and said, “You are one of them, too!”
But Peter answered, “Man, I am not!”
⁵⁹ And about an hour later another man insisted strongly, “There isn’t any doubt that this man was with Jesus, because he also is a Galilean!”
⁶⁰ But Peter answered, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about!”
At once, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.
⁶¹ The Lord turned around and looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered that the Lord had said to him, “Before the rooster crows tonight, you will say three times that you do not know me.”
⁶² Peter went out and wept bitterly.

Luke 22:54-62 (GNT)

Most English learners should use the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) or the Good News Translation (GNT) because they are easy to read. If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions:

• Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 22:54-62 (NIRV)
• Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 22:54-62 (GNT)
• Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 22:54-62 (NLT)
• Hard: New International Version: Luke 22:54-62 (NIV)
• Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 22:54-62 (ESV)

Comprehension Questions

1. Where did the leaders take Jesus after they arrested him?
2. Who followed Jesus from far away?
3. Where did Peter sit in the courtyard?
4. Who was the first person to say that Peter knew Jesus?
5. What did Peter say when the servant girl spoke to him?
6. How many times did Peter deny knowing Jesus?
7. Why did one person say Peter must be a follower of Jesus?
8. What happened right after Peter denied Jesus the third time?
9. What did Peter remember after the rooster crowed?
10. How did Peter feel after he denied Jesus?

Application Questions

1. Why do you think Peter was afraid to tell the truth?
2. Have you ever felt scared to say you are a Christian or do the right thing?
3. What should we do when we make a mistake?
4. How does it feel to know that Jesus still loves us when we fail?
5. What can you learn from Peter’s story about God’s forgiveness?

Theological Insights

1. Even people who love Jesus very much can be weak and make mistakes.
2. Jesus knows everything about us, even before we do it.
3. God wants us to say sorry when we do wrong things.
4. God is full of mercy and forgiveness for people who turn back to him.
5. Even after we fail, God can still use us for good things.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father, thank you for loving us, even when we make mistakes. Help us to be brave and tell the truth, and forgive us when we are weak. Amen.

ELL Resources for the Gospel of Luke

More ELL Resources

You can find more Bible lessons for English learners on the main ELL page.

Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.