February 21 2026

Scripture

Once upon a time Peter was a timid man from Galilea. After spending time with Jesus as a disciple, Peter began to change. The metamorphosis wasn’t immediate, but when it was complete. Peter went from being a rough, calloused fisherman to being an eloquent, God-filled evangelist. How can this happen? Why did it happen? What does it look like when someone gives their life completely over to Jesus? Today’s lesson is a great example of what happens when a person turns their life completely over to Jesus.
 

OPENING ACTIVITY: 60 SECOND STORIES

1.  Give each student the opportunity to share, in 60 seconds, a story about something interesting they saw during the past week.

2.  Give each student 60 seconds to share with the group a time when they felt God answered their prayer.

As always, give your students the opportunity to not share if they are uncomfortable, but encourage them each to share.

QUESTIONS

TRANSITION

Peter, in this lesson, discusses what it is like to be born again. He shares with us that following Jesus changes one’s life forever. Peter doesn’t just speak his words, he lives them. Peter isn’t just a ventriloquist for Jesus. Peter is a sold out, all in, Jesus freak and in today’s lesson he invites you to be one too.
 

BIBLE STUDY GUIDE

Read Acts 12:1-19.

1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up.  “Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

QUESTIONS

Read Acts 12:20-23.

20 He had been quarreling with the people of Tyre and Sidon; they now joined together and sought an audience with him. After securing the support of Blastus, a trusted personal servant of the king, they asked for peace, because they depended on the king’s country for their food supply.

21 On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. 22 They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.”

23 Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.

QUESTIONS

Read 1 Peter 1:3-7.

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

QUESTIONS

Read 1 Peter 3:8-12.

8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,

“Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. 11 They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

QUESTIONS

Read 1 Peter 3:19-21.

19 After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ[.]

QUESTIONS

Read 1 Peter 3:14-16.

14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.” 15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Read John 15:10-14.

10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command.

QUESTIONS

Read 2 Peter 3:3-7.

3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 

QUESTIONS

Read 2 Peter 3:11-14.

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

QUESTIONS

APPLICATION

Today’s lesson is about how God changes people’s lives and the plans that God has for those who are faithful to Him. At this point in his life, Peter is a different person than he was at Jesus’ trial. Have you ever wondered what plans God has for your life? Do you think God wants to remake your life so that you can experience a similar metamorphosis? If you haven’t noticed, God is in the people-changing business. He shows up in your life and offers you the chance to be completely changed. He won’t force or coerce you into becoming one of His children, but He also doesn’t make it easy to turn Him down either. The choice is yours, the benefits are yours, and the reward is yours too. God wants you! Doesn’t it feel great to be wanted and loved?

FOLLOW UP

Today’s opening activity was to think about an example of a way that God has worked in your life in the past.

Be ready to share with others what God has done in your life. 

This coming week, pray that God will open your eyes so that you can see how He is working in your life in the present.

Scripture

For a Relational Bible Study (RBS) you’ll want to get into the Scripture passage and encourage the youth to imagine participating in the story while it’s happening. Then you will be able to better apply it to your own situation today.

You will need to ask God for the Holy Spirit to be present as your small group discusses the questions (no more than 3-6 people in a group is recommended). Start with the opening question. It is a personal question and the answer is unique for each individual. There is no right answer and nobody is an expert here, so don’t be surprised when you hear different responses. You are depending on the Holy Spirit to be present and to speak through your group. Say what God prompts you to say, and listen to what others share.

Take turns reading the chapter out loud. Follow that with giving the students some time to individually mark their responses to the questions (a PDF version of the handout is available as a download). This gives each person a starting point for responding when you start to share as a group. Next, begin the discussion by asking the students to share what they marked and why on each question as you work your way through. Feel free to take more time on some questions than others as discussion warrants.

Encourage each person in the group to apply what is discussed to their personal lives and to share with the group what they believe God wants them to do. Then ask them to pray that God will help each of them to follow through in doing so. Remind them to expect that God will show them ways to live out the message of this passage in the coming week, and that they are free to ask others in the group to help hold them accountable.

DOWNLOAD THE HANDOUT

One of the original 12 disciples, many may assume that Peter was always a holy man chosen by Jesus Himself to serve in the ministry. However, this is not completely true, as Peter underwent a transformation from the Holy Spirit to become the courageous and dedicated man that we see in Acts of the Apostles. After he betrayed Jesus three times on the eve of Calvary, and was forgiven, Peter fully dedicated himself to the ministry and became a passionate preacher and the leader of the church the disciples were forming. He worked fervently to spread the holy commission that Jesus had given them right before leaving, and although it was well-received by many and the church grew tremendously, Peter also gained some opposition. King Herod, not very pleased with the message that was being spread, began a persecution in conjunction with the Pharisees and Jewish leaders. He killed the apostle James, and after a positive reaction from the aforementioned Jews, arrested Peter as well. It was no secret to the believers that sooner or later, Herod would have Peter tried and killed, but nevertheless, they prayed earnestly for him.

The night before the trial in which the miraculous prison escape took place, one might assume that Peter was nervously awake, counting the hours until daytime as the soldiers watched him closely. On the contrary, Peter was sleeping peacefully, as he had complete faith that God would act according to what was best not just for him, but also for the church as a whole. God rewarded his faith and the faith of the prayerful believers, by freeing Peter right underneath the noses of the guards and leading him directly into a house full of prayer. The story of Peter’s angelically led prison escape is the culmination of Peter’s transformation and dedication to being a Godly man. It teaches us as modern-day believers the importance of faith and the value of being surrounded by a prayer-fervent community.

Read Acts 12:1-19.

1 It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this met with approval among the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Festival of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up.

“Quick, get up!” he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.

8 Then the angel said to him, “Put on your clothes and sandals.” And Peter did so. “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me,” the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him.

11 Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were hoping would happen.”

12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”

15 “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”

16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers and sisters about this,” he said, and then he left for another place.

18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

Although much of Peter’s prison escape was the fruit of his own faith and dedication, much of it could also be credited to the believers around him. The early members of the church were anointed by the Holy Spirit in prayer, and felt it their mission to continue this, even when times got rough. After Peter’s prison escape, times only got rougher for the church, as persecution continued to spread widely. However, as we will see in further studies, this did not discourage the prayer attitude of the believers. The victory with Peter is a marvelous testimony to the power of prayer and the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:19-20, which reads: “For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them.”

APPLICATIONS

The story of Peter’s prison escape is as important to us as it was to the believers who witnessed it firsthand. It is always a necessary part of studying to sit back and meditate how a story applies to us today as youth. Below you will find three applications that can benefit the youth in your group and help them meditate on the word shared today. These applications work both individually and in a group.

Consider sharing your testimony with someone this week.

Take time to reflect: What is your testimony? How has God changed you or saved you? How can this testimony impact others seeking for the same type of salvation as you?