Category: Our God of Second Chances

Hebrews 11:13,16 (NIV) – “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁶ … they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”

These were the heroes of God’s second chances that surround us, and who have gone before us living by faith in the grace that God would provide in the second chances.

How did they live forward and make the turn from failure into God’s blessing and calling? They didn’t get tied down to how this world deals with first failures. They didn’t settle for re-runs; instead, they chose to run this race in God’s grace by faith no matter the outcome.

God is not ashamed of his people, despite the failures because his second chances are always rooted not in our ability to get it right, but in the divine power of what his perfect Son Jesus Christ made right for us on the cross. 

God’s second chances are momentous moments in our lives, but not just for us. They are to overflow through us so that others can see God’s amazing grace.

Prayer: Lord, may the gracious moments I receive from you impact those close to me, that they will know your grace and love for them. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship and sing to “Gracefully Broken” by Matt Redman (click here).

– TR

Romans 5:8 (NIV) – “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 Peter 1:3-5 (NIV) – “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.”

God’s second chances reveal that our God is the God who notices, the God who is actively and intimately involved, who sees the seriousness of our sin and failure, and at the same time acts in his grace and goodness through it all. He takes sin and failure so seriously that he made a way by his grace through Jesus to save us from sin and all its first failures.

In his death, Jesus took our guilt, he carried our sin, he took our regrets, and he walked in the shame of our failure and he saved us. And in his resurrection, we now have the Spirit’s power to freely embrace God’s second chance. God never leaves us in our first failures.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for demonstrating your love for us through Jesus. May we live in view of this mercy, honoring you in all that we do. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship singing to “Great are you Lord” by Sinach (click here)

– TR

Let’s read aloud together the following scriptures, Apostles’ Creed and prayer:

Titus 3:4-7 (NLT) – When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, ⁵ he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. ⁶ He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. ⁷ Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit,
And born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried.
He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again.
He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your kindness, mercy, and love toward us. Thank you for saving us and giving us new birth and new life through the Spirit. Be gracious toward our churches for your namesake. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s sing and declare “This I Believe (The Creed)” by Hillsong (click here).

– TR

Jonah 1:1-3 (NIV) – The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: ² “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come before me.” ³ But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish…”

Jonah 3:1-3 (NIV) – Then the LORD spoke to Jonah a second time: ² “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh, and deliver the message I have given you.” ³ This time Jonah obeyed the LORD’s command and went to Nineveh…

The Bible is full of some pretty messed up people that God loved and worked with to accomplish his wonderful plan of salvation, including Jonah.

What is your story? What is your first failure that seems difficult to move beyond or work through? It is not beyond God’s second chances. It is not outside of his scope of grace.

What God’s grace provides in these ‘second’ chances is a greater understanding of who he is so that out of his compassion and unfailing love we can be changed and move forward unashamed, humbled and grateful, and moving with God through it all. God won’t change for us, but he can change us and outcomes as he chooses.

Pray for someone(s) in your MG, Campus, or family asking God to bless them and be gracious to them this week.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your compassion and unfailing love. May your grace abound through me today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship and sing to “Mercies (New Every Morning)” by Matt Redman (click here).

– TR

1 John 1:9 (NIV) – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Our God is the God of second chances. But with God, his second chances are not re-dos, let’s try again, or getting it right the second time, that is not the end goal. God’s second chances are new invitations into God’s grace and goodness that will lead us deeper into his calling and ultimately his joy for our lives. Yes, even through failure and sin.

God’s second chances write through our failures, mistakes, and sinful choices by redeeming and redirecting our lives into more faithful obedience and greater purpose for his glory, and thus our joy and good.

God moves the situation toward himself and who he is, rather than making it all about failure. And he can and will move anything to bring us fully into his second chances.

What will be you story today? How will you approach this week?

Walk into God’s grace with renewed faith today, knowing that he can and will bring you into the second chances that will change your life and open new opportunities in ways that only God’s can do.

Let’s worship with the song “I Belong to You” by Jesus Culture. (Click Here)

Prayer: Lord, thank you for your faithfulness and unfailing love. I turn to you today for the grace I need to follow you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

– TR