As a result of an emergency in our services (God is working always), I was only able to complete one point of my sermon. The topic was “Second Chances” reminding us all that we have opportunity after opportunity to say Yes to Jesus. He makes it clear that those second chances are His determination and not ours. We are never to stop sharing until our mortality wins out. At the same time, it is when mortality wins out that the second chances cease altogether.

For those who simply must complete all the blanks I am including the completed worksheet for you:

Take Advantage of Second Chances
Jonah 3:1-10

I. God desires for believers to serve him.
1. Who is a believer?
2. How do we serve him?
3. When do we serve him?
4. Why do we serve him?

II. God desires for people to hear the message.
1. The content of the message.
2. The complexity of the message.
3. The core of the message.

III. God desires for people to know him.
1. The reprobate.
2. The good old boy.
3. The saint.

If you want to fill in the spaces, come see me, I’d be glad to finish the sermon.

I love the game of golf. The rule I love best is not really a rule, but a practice. Namely, the practice of being allowed to replay one shot per hole without penalty. The practice is called a Mulligan. It’s a do-over, a second chance to repair damage done by a bad swing. Of course in golf, the Mulligan rule would only be helpful to me if I were allowed to replay one shot per shot without penalty.

We love do-overs, don’t we? Students enter the classroom asking the teacher, “When’s the re-test going to be?” before the original test is even distributed. We are a society that thrives on second chances. So much so, that when we have made an utter mess of things, we proclaim, “Third time’s the charm” and prepare to go again.

God understands this about us, and is patient even beyond our own capacity to be patient. He disciplines His children (whom He loves), then offers another opportunity to get it right. He did it with Jonah, He can do it for us as well. What a great God!

It was truly a blessing to have missionary Darrel Hathcock in our church last Sunday. His words about the on-going work in Belarus as well as his challenge to each of us to be missionaries where we are was inspiring.

In respect to that, we learn the same kinds of lessons from Jonah. Perhaps they are not always the lessons that we desire to learn, nor do they come in the way we desire them. Sometimes it is required for us to find ourselves in the darkness of despair before we are ready to serve God in the capacity that He has envisioned. I would venture to admit that usually it is because we are too busy trying to serve Him in the way WE have envisioned.

Let’s take time before we reach bottom to adjust our vision from ourselves to God that we may serve Him more fully today.

Below are some lyrics to a song that has been a favorite of mine for years. As I prepare sermons on the book of Jonah, I'm reminded that sometimes we forget that God's purpose is not to trip us up, nor to flabbergast us, but instead it is to bring us to Him, and as He does so, to bring others to Him as well.

He Didn't Bring Us This Far to Leave Us
Words and music: Phil Johnson © 1978 BMG MusicLead: Dale Underwood

Chorus 1:
He didn't bring us this far to leave us
He didn't teach us to swim to let us drown
He didn't build His home in us to move away
He didn't lift us up to let us down

There are some promises in a letter
Written a long, long time ago
They're not getting older, they're getting better
Because He still wants us to know

Chorus 2:
He didn't bring us this far to leave us
He didn't teach us to swim to let us drown
He didn't build His home in us to move away
He didn't lift us up to let us down (to let us down, let us down)
He didn't lift us up to let us down

I read those promises in His letter
And now I claim them for my own
Filling my heart and making life better
And I just wanted you to know

Repeat Chorus 2

Never use the word defeat
Claim His promises, every one of them
And every spoken word He'll hear
Because we're everything to Him

Repeat Chorus 2

He didn't lift us up to let us down

What do you think? Are you familiar with this old CCM standby? Is it new to you? Tell me what you think.

Aren't I glad I ain't scary?

You Are Not Scary

Everyone loves you. Isn't that sweet?

If you're a blogger, you want your thoughts to get noticed. One of the great ways to do this is to link up to a blog list. This can sometimes be cumbersome, but I've found the way to get my blog "out there" and it was as easy as pie.

The site is called A Links Blog, and all you have to do to get listed is to request it in a comment. They'd love for you to link them to your blog, too. Another plus -- besides getting your name out there is that it's a way to find other blogs that you might be interested in reading.

Give them a try, just click here or on the link to the side.

Before you cry that I'm getting all mushy on you (and it's not even Valentine's Day), it isn't those three words. We'll start with the easy word:

• Mission -- In this day and age, people, organizations, even families are encouraged to develop a mission statement, define what it is you will do--in your personal as well as professional life. A mission is that which gives you direction. It is an assignment or goal. It is the mission of the church to grow closer to God while introducing others to Him in the process.
• Missionary -- A person with a special assignment, who is "on mission" is known as a missionary. In the life of my church, missionaries have long been placed high on a pedestal as something special. When I served our denomination as a missionary, I discovered that missionaries were typical people with typical feelings and flaws. What I learned though was that along with the special assignment to reach people with the Gospel message came an acute awarness of the task before us. Even as a pastor, I was not nearly as aware of the great need around me until I had seen the world through missionary eyes. Now I strive to remember that since I have a mission to bring people closer to God, I am a missionary whether I move across the national borders into a foreign country or not.
• Missional -- Ah, here is a new word. It has developed over the last several years to combat a complacency that has plagued many Southern Baptist Churches. (I talk about SBC churches because that's where I am. You may want to examine your own church to see if the comments apply.) Over the years, because missions and missionary work were at the core of being of the Southern Baptist Convention and churches cooperating with her, the idea of being "Mission-Minded" became rather popular. What grew out of this desire was the practice of being mission-minded by giving generously to special offerings designed to raise funds for mission activity at home and abroad. It included the active participation of the ladies of the church in missions education (for all ages). These things are good, but often keep churches from moving out of mission-mindedness into becoming missional. So what is this, "missional," about which I am speaking? It is the deliberate application of the mission to the life of the missionary (locally as well as abroad) in the arena of the church with the express purpose of moving closer to completing the mission. Do we give to the special offerings? Yes! Do we learn about missions? Yes! Do we pray for the missionaries? By all means! But the missional church moves beyond this, the missional believer makes the mission his life, not his hobby.

Harmony Baptist Church is located outside Palestine, Texas. My father, Thomas Potter is the pastor, and now they are located on the worldwide web. Check them out here.

Today is the anniversary of Texas (my home state) independence. On this date (March 2) in 1836, Texas became an independent republic. History records the battles that started, inflamed and finished the road to independence and the subsequent politics that moved her to statehood. Happy Birthday, Texas!