Failure is an event, not a person — it's part of everyone's life, but it doesn't get to define who you are.
Every person fails, but God never intended failure to be your identity. Through Peter's story — walking on water, sinking, and later denying Jesus three times — Pastor Scott shows that God delights in redeeming our failures and using us anyway, so we can learn from failure without being haunted by it.
A story from life
Scott Rogers shares his own senior-year sociology class failure and being called out by his teacher Mr. Perry
“failure is an event not a person”
— Pastor Scott Rodgers
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 1 of 7
Failure is a normal part of being human, even for people God uses greatly
Pastor Scott opens with his own story of flunking a sociology class as the only senior in a room full of freshmen and sophomores, and asks the congregation who has ever felt like a failure as a parent, spouse, or worker. He notes that this feeling is universal, Christian or not.
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 2 of 7
Peter's resume proves God uses flawed, failing people for great things
Pastor Scott points out Peter was one of the Twelve Apostles, the rock Jesus said He'd build His church on, and the human source behind Mark's Gospel and the books of first and second Peter — yet he failed repeatedly, because he was human just like us.
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 3 of 7
Peter stepping out of the boat and sinking wasn't a rebuke moment — it may have been a celebration
Working through Matthew 14:25-33, Pastor Scott retells how Peter asked to walk on water, did it, then got scared and sank, crying out to be saved. He reframes Jesus's line, "You have so little faith, why did you doubt me," suggesting Jesus may have been celebrating Peter's step of faith rather than scolding him, using the illustration of celebrating his son Dylan's bike crash after riding without training wheels for the first time.
“Don't let the fear of what others might think or say keep you from trying something new or doing something great for the glory of God”
— Pastor Scott Rodgers
“At least you stepped out of the boat and you went for it”
— Pastor Scott Rodgers
Illustration
A father teaching his young son Dylan to ride a bike without training wheels — used to argue Jesus celebrated rather than rebuked Peter's attempt
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 4 of 7
Staying in the boat is more dangerous than the risk of stepping out and failing
Pastor Scott applies the water-walking story to everyday risk: reading and obeying scripture, sharing your faith, and giving generously all feel scary, but he argues a risk-averse life that never requires God to show up is the truly dangerous place to be.
“suggest that staying in the boat is the most dangerous place to be”
— Pastor Scott Rodgers
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 5 of 7
Don't waste a failure — learn from it, because it's not final
Pastor Scott urges believers to ask God what they missed and what to do differently rather than just feeling bad, calling failure painful but a great education if we let it teach us.
“Failure is often painful, right? So why waste it”
— Pastor Scott Rodgers
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 6 of 7
Peter's three denials show how failure becomes dangerous only when it becomes our identity
Walking through Matthew 26:69-75, Pastor Scott recounts Peter denying Jesus three times despite vowing he'd die first, then weeping bitterly. He explains the real danger isn't saying "I have failed" but starting to believe "I am a failure," which causes people to sabotage blessings, relationships, and promotions because they feel unworthy of them.
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Point 7 of 7
God loves to redeem our failure — He used the very Peter who denied Him to birth the church
Turning to Acts 2, Pastor Scott shows Peter, only weeks after denying Jesus, preaching the first gospel sermon in the power of the Holy Spirit and seeing 3,000 people believe and be baptized, becoming the catalyst for the New Testament church. He adds that after the resurrection Jesus specifically asked that Peter be told the news, arguing none of us think we deserve more grace than Peter got.
“Tell me God doesn't love to retain our failure”
— Pastor Scott Rodgers
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI
Take it into your week
Pastor Scott frames the choice as deciding whether failure will define you, or whether you'll learn from it and keep stepping out in faith.
Application
Stop letting failure become your identity
If regret has been haunting you, decide today that you have failed but you are not a failure, and move forward without carrying that label.
Learn from your failure instead of wasting it
Ask God and close friends what you missed and what to do differently next time, treating failure as a painful but valuable education.
Step out of the boat and trust God with something
If nothing in your life currently requires God to come through, take the risk He's been nudging you toward, whether that's obeying scripture, sharing your faith, or giving generously.
Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI