Hi everyone, its Aunt Frenita
Today's story is called 'Do you love me?'
The memory verse is from John 21:16
It says, 'Again Jesus said 'Do you truly love me? Take care of my sheep'
Today's message is 'We serve God when we take care of others'
'Asante, do you have your hat?' Mom called
"I think so," Asante responded
A few minutes later, Mom called out the same question
"I thought I told her yes," he thought as he answered again
As he headed through the door, Mom asked Asante if he had his hat once again
Trying not to let his impatience show,
he once again told her that he had it
Has someone asked you the same question over and over?
They may have been trying to show the importance of what they were asking
In this story, Jesus asked Peter the same question three times
Peter was restless
"I'm going fishing," He told the other disciples
At least, fishing was doing something
It had been awhile since Jesus had been crucified
He had appeared to them twice since his resurrection
It had been wonderful to see him and to know that he was alive
Jesus hadn't mentioned that Jesus had denied him three times
Peter was still so embarrassed
He was ashamed of what he had done
He may have asked God to forgive him
He may have thought that Jesus would no longer trust him
How much did the other disciples know about it?" He may have wondered
Did they know how sorry he was?
Some of the other disciples decided to go fishing with Peter
So just as the sun was going down
They stepped into Peter's boat
The wind son swept across the water
They stayed out all night
But they caught nothing
"What a waste of a night's work," Peter probably thought
Early in the morning, just as the sun was coming up
They returned to shore without any fish
As their boat drew closer to shore
They noticed a man standing on the beach
The man called out, "Have you caught any fish?"
The disciples called back, "No, not at all!"
The man called out again," Throw your net on the right side of the boat!"
"You'll find some!"
Perhaps, they just wanted to please the man
Perhaps they wanted to try once more
Whatever the reason, they did what the man said
Immediately, their nets were full of fish!
They couldn't even haul their nets into the boat
Suddenly, John recognized the man and called to Peter
"It is the Lord!" Peter was very happy to see Jesus again
Jesus was waiting for them
The boat was so very close to shore
that Peter decided not to wait
He jumped out of the boat and hurried through the water to Jesus
The others followed in the boat
When they reached the shore, they found that Jesus had made a fire
He was cooking fish for their breakfast
They soon enjoyed fish and some bread
After breakfast, Jesus turned to Peter
"Do you truly love me more than these?" he asked
Peter immediately answered, "Yes Lord, you know that I love you"
Jesus looked into Peter's eyes and said quietly
"Feed my lambs"
Again Jesus asked, "Peter, do you truly love me?"
And again, Peter replied
"Yes Lord, You know that I love You!"
Jesus replied, "Take care of my sheep"
A third time, Jesus asked Peter, "Peter, do you love me?"
Peter didn't know what to think
Perhaps, he wondered if Jesus didn't believe him
And why did Jesus ask three times?
Was it because Peter denied Jesus three times?
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him three times
With a heavy heart, Peter answered, "Lord, You know all things,
You know that I Love you."
Jesus said again
"Take care of my sheep."
Finally, Jesus said to Peter, "Follow Me"
Peter realised then that Jesus had forgiven him
Jesus still wanted Peter to follow Him
Why did Jesus ask Peter these questions in front of the other disciples?
Perhaps it was so that they would know that He had forgiven Peter
Jesus also wanted to teach Peter a lesson in patience, sympathy and forgiveness
Peter would need all of that in the future
He had work to do for Jesus
He would lead and care for many new believers of Jesus during the rest of his life
Jesus also wants us to know something special
There is only one thing we must do to follow and serve him
Love Him with all our hearts
and when we really do
We will want to take care