Do You Love Me? The Restoration of Peter

This sermon, the seventh in a series of ten, examines the recommissioning of Peter in John 21, focusing on the intentional and probing conversation Jesus initiates with him by the shores of Galilee. Drawing on the significance of charcoal fires, the Greek distinctions between types of love, and the deliberate use of Peter's given name, the pastor explores how Jesus lovingly but firmly brings Peter face to face with his past failure in order to restore him to usefulness. The sermon emphasizes that genuine service to God requires humility, honest self-examination, and an acknowledgment of our own limitations. Just as Peter had to confront his three denials before he could be recommissioned, believers today must come to terms with their weaknesses and depend entirely on God's strength rather than their own.