THE Second Chance

I woke up this morning thinking about the birth of our country after celebrating our collective national birthday last night with friends at the riverfront.

All those people came to this new land looking for a place to start over. They all wanted a second chance to eke out a life for themselves and their families. And they needed a new opportunity to do that.

This is the nation of Second Chances. And that works out great for those of us who are Christ-followers. Why? Because we are the people of THE Second Chance. Not “a” second chance — THE Second Chance.

Think for a moment about what God has done for you. For some of you, you remember THE Second Chance was the most profound moment in your life. For others, your experience of THE Second Chance is still being worked out; you’re still being saved from yourself, your suffering, and your sin.

But what about our community? There are people all around us who are failing in their efforts to create a life for themselves. There are people who are oppressed because of what they believe. People across our city are hurting and suffering because of their own decisions.

There’s no Mayflower for these people. There’s not a better country anywhere in the world that will provide a better opportunity to live free.

But there’s a better Kingdom. There’s a better life, and it is available NOW.

All these people are looking for their shot at THE Second Chance. They need to be reached. They need to be connected. They need to be equipped. And then they need to be sent.

The first step is the hardest. How can we reach our and offer our friends and neighbors THE Second Chance?

It isn’t complicated — but that doesn’t mean that it is easy to do. The step is to share your experience of THE Second Chance. How did God help you to start over? How did the love of Christ transform your obstacles into opportunities? How did the Holy Spirit empower your comeback? How does your relationship to the Community of Faith at Trinity sustain your experience of THE Second Chance?

When you have the answers to these questions, you have your Godstory! Your Godstory is simply the story of your life — after you’ve revised it to make God the main character instead of you! With your Godstory, you have the thing you need to REACH the people around you. You have the opportunity to invite others to find what you found, to discover what you discovered, to enter into relationship with the God who wants nothing more than to finally get things right with each of us.

Now that you have read all this once, go back and read it again. The reason is simple: This time, read it with the purpose of creating a plan. Answer the questions, and get ready to share your Godstory with the people around you. It’s time for you to help someone find their own experience of THE Second Chance!!