Second Chances

Introduction

When we talk about Second Chances, we all know that we like getting them.

We certainly want God to give us Second Chances and third and fourth and so on and so on…. In fact, throughout Scripture we see that God demonstrates this patience. The book of Judges is one example of God giving multiple chances to get it right.

Pattern for Israel during the time of Judges “In those days, there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” This happened 7x as recorded in the book.

Pastor Jay

Read Acts 15:36-41

The Players

• Paul
• Saul of Tarsus
• Background (Philippians 3:4-6)
• Task oriented (“Git-r-done”)
• Barnabas
• Joseph of Cyprus
• Background (Acts 4:36-37)
• Relational/People oriented
• John (also called Mark)
• Cousin to Barnabas
• Family Background—Mother was a believer (Acts 12:12)
• Prayer meeting when Peter in was in jail held at their house

The Problem

• John (Mark) deserted the missionary team to return to Jerusalem (Acts 15:38—cf. Acts 13:13)
• Barnabas wants John (Mark) to join them on trip #2, Paul does not
• “Sharp disagreement” results in separation

Truth is, following Christ is not a nice neat package that looks the same for everyone. Our uniqueness and our freedom to choose how we live our lives, makes Christianity a bit messy at times. In his book Messy Spirituality, Mike Yaconelli writes:

Spirituality is not a formula; it is not a test. It is a relationship. Spirituality is not about competency; it is about intimacy. Spirituality is not about perfection; it is about connection. The way of the spiritual life begins where we are now in the mess of our lives. Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives. Spirituality is not about being fixed; it is about God’s being present in the mess of our unfixedness.

The Process

• Recognize the risk
• Betrayal—Disappointment—Loss
• Willing to absorb the cost
• Acknowledge & Affirm
• Acknowledge the past (mistakes, sin, betrayal, etc.)
• Affirm the progress (baby steps)
• Restoration
• We are called to restore a brother/sister (Galatians 6:1) with gentleness
• Forgiveness and acceptance

Rest of the Story

John (Mark) returns to the team

• To be welcomed in Colossae (Colossians 4:10) if he arrives
• Found to be helpful to Paul in ministry (2 Timothy 4:9, 11)

What’s Your Story

• Have you accepted God’s Second Chance?
• 2 Timothy 3:9
• First time salvation
• Repentance from sin
• Do you need to give a Second Chance to someone?
  …or receive a Second Chance from someone?
• Are you willing to commit to the journey from Risk to Restoration?

Loving Jesus Passionately

Luke 7:36-50

Contrasts tend to help us truly appreciate what is good. Stumbling around in the dark can help us appreciate light. Biting into a rotten apple helps us appreciate a tasty apple. Having a car that breaks down often helps us appreciate dependable transportation. When a part of our body quits working, we become more grateful for when it does work. One last one is weather related. When it rains hard and often, like this week, we gain a renewed appreciate for the sun, its warmth and blue sky. As for me, having grown up in Portland where this week’s weather is common place, I actually did not need it to appreciate the sun, blue sky and warmth.

The principle that contrast tends to help us appreciate what is good is seen in the text for this week’s sermon. In this story, recorded in Luke 7:36-50, we see two people in opposite places in life, with radically different perspectives, experiences, past choices and current view of Jesus. One was full of appreciation for Jesus and one was not. One was full of love for Jesus and one was not. I invite you to read the text and ask yourself, which one of these two people best describes me in relationship with Jesus.

Notes

• The Pharisee: Simon. His relationship to Jesus could be described as formal, distant and cool.
• The Prostitute: Unnamed. Her relationship to Jesus could be described as a fervent, demonstrative love for the Lord who had done so much for her.
• Which of these two characters most describes your relationship with Jesus?
• The Prophet: Jesus.
• Who is this man? The One Who has the right and ability to forgive sins

• To love Jesus passionately, you need to realize your great debt. (v. 39) Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10
• To love Jesus passionately, you need to realize your utter inability to repay your debt. (v. 42) Isaiah 64:6; Mark 7:20-23
• To love Jesus passionately, you need to trust in His grace to forgive your un-payable debt of sin. (v. 42) Titus 3:4-5; 1 John 1:9

Questions to ponder

1. Is your relationship with Jesus more like the Pharisee or like the prostitute in the story? What in your life demonstrates this?
2. To what extent should our love for the Lord be emotional? Are feelings important? How do they relate to faith?
3. How can we help people to see their great need before God?

Keeping It Clear

Matthew 28:18-20

This week another disaster struck our world. The people of Haiti are in the midst of deep suffering, pain, fear and worry. Their immediate needs are very clear: water, food, shelter and medical attention. So no one is asking what the mission is, because clearly it is to help provide these basic needs. But everyone is scrambling with how to meet those needs.*

This Sunday we are going to look at what Jesus says very clearly is our greatest mission. He states it most plainly in Matthew 28:19-20. We will explore Jesus’ teaching to gain clarity on our mission. In preparation for Sunday, I invite you to read verses 16-20 and ask yourself in what ways you might be able to fulfill your mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ.

Notes

Matthew 14:22-33 – keep your focus on Jesus

Our Mission:
To introduce people to Jesus and bring them into a community of believers who are helping each other become fully devoted followers of Christ.

• Christ's authority empowers you. (v. 18)
• Christ's plan encourages you. (v. 19, 20)
• You are to make disciples.
• “Disciple” means “a learner” or “to learn.”
• A disciple is one who:
• has surrender to Jesus as their master;
• becomes immersed in Jesus’ teachings and way of living;
• lines up their beliefs and values with Jesus.
• You are to mark disciples.
• Baptism is a public statement identifying yourself with your master.
• Submission – your new master has absolute authority over you.
• Surrender – you will give up all you possess and all your plans to follow your master.
• Identification – you are now known as a follower of your master. Acts 2:41; Acts 8:38; Acts 9:18; Acts 16:30-33; Acts 18:8
• You are to mature disciples.
• Teaching that creates people who live in responsive obedience to God’s will.
• The key meaning of disciple is to line up with the master in belief and behavior. 2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 12:2
• The key method of disciple-making is transformation in community. Acts 2:42-47
• Hindrances to disciple-making:
• Our lecture approach to teaching;
• Our spiritual individualism and privacy approach to community. Galatians 6:1-2
• Christ's presence enables you. (v. 20)

Jesus’ power and presence
will be most strongly felt
wherever disciples are being made.

* Praise God for TFB generosity: in two offerings on Sunday, Jan 17, over $7,000 was given for Haiti relief!

Keeping it Simple

Matthew 22: 34-40

The beginning of a New Year seems like an appropriate time for us to look ahead and set some goals -- to make some New Year resolutions. They say that in America, the two most popular New Year resolutions deal with health and wealth. A very high percentage of Americans are over-weight, so losing pounds is a very popular New Year goal, thus improving one’s health. And everyone would like to have more money, even more so this year with our economy in a recession.

As followers of Christ, health and wealth are secondary goals, not primary goals. I want us to stop, remember and recommit to God’s primary goals for us. After all it is fairly easy to let secondary goals become primary goals. So for the next two Sundays, I want to look at two texts and review what God has said are our primary goals. In preparation for Sunday, I invite you to look at Matthew 22:34-40 and ask yourself: “If this was my primary goal, how might I live life differently than I do now?” If you want to gain more insight from the context, I would suggest you start your reading from Matthew 22:15.

Notes

• Your eternal purpose is to love God and become like Jesus
• Matthew 22:34-38 – The greatest commandment of God Romans 8: 28-29; Galatians 5:22-23; Galatians 5:19-21
• Your earthly mission is to help others love God and become like Jesus Matthew 22:39; Luke 10:29-37
• The six Ps to fulfilling God's purpose
• Live in the presence of God. John 15:5; Acts 4:13; Joshua 1:9
• Trust in the promises of God. Matthew 28:20; 2 Peter 1: 3-4
• Be led by the promptings of God. John 16:13-14; Galatians 5:25-26
• Be driven by the passions of God. Acts 20:24
• Focus on the priorities of God. John 17:4; Matthew 6:25,32,33; Matthew 6:19-21
• Serve in the power of God. John 15:5b; Ephesians 3:20