Swimming Back to Jesus: Peter’s Path from Denial to Devotion

Join Shannon Bream as she welcomes back Pastor Jonathan “JP” Pokluda, lead pastor at Harris Creek Baptist Church and bestselling author known for his transparent ministry to young people, to explore the redemptive story of Peter from her new book Nothing Is Impossible With God. With refreshing honesty about his own failures and compelling insight into Peter’s character, Pastor JP reveals how the passionate disciple who declared Jesus was the Christ became the coward who denied Him three times using curses and profane language. He unpacks the exquisite detail of John 21, where Jesus finds Peter fishing (a career change born of shame) in the exact place He first called him, recreates the miraculous catch, and restores him around a coal-burning fire, the same rare Greek word used only twice in Scripture, once at Peter’s denial and once at his restoration. Pastor JP explains how three denials led to three restorations as Jesus asked “Do you love me?” each time, showing that God takes our mess and makes it our ministry. He addresses the prideful trap of thinking our sin is too big for God to handle, illustrates how the worst day in history (Good Friday) became the source of greatest good, and reveals how Peter transformed from hiding in fear to dying as a martyr crucified upside down, offering hope for anyone who thinks they’ve disappointed God too much.