Hey friends, welcome back to Carpooling with Jesus. I'm Pastor Justin, and I'm so glad you're here. As we wrap up this week, we're going to talk about an encouraging story about Jonah that I think is going to help us all. It's all about second chances. If you remember from Monday, God asked Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh. Instead, he boarded a boat going in the opposite direction. A big storm came, and they ended up throwing him overboard. God sent a big fish to swallow him up and save him. And Jonah spent time in prayer telling God he is sorry. God heard Jonah's prayer from the belly of that fish, and God gave Jonah a second chance to go. And today's scripture shows us what happens next in Jonah chapter three, verses one through three. The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. Get up, go to the great city of Nineveh and preach the message that I tell you. Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord's command. Now Nineveh was an extremely large city, a three day walk. Man oh man, I couldn't imagine walking for three days. But did you catch what happened? God gave Jonah a second chance. After everything that had happened, running away, the storm, the big fish, God didn't say, that's it Jonah, you're done. Instead, he said, here's your second chance. I still want you to go to Nineveh. Now let's think about this for a second. Jonah messed up, right? We can all agree to that. He ran away from God and tried to do things on his own. Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever felt like you were running from God, trying to do things the way you wanted, not the way God wanted? And even though Jonah made a big mistake, God didn't give up on him. Instead, he gave Jonah a fresh start. He gave him a chance to go back to Nineveh and do exactly what God asked him to do in the first place. Isn't that amazing? That is the God that we follow. When you're singing songs about God, or you are praying to God, you know that you are praying to a God that loves you, forgives you, would give you a second chance. He does the same for us that he did for Jonah, because we all make mistakes. Sometimes we might not listen to our parents. Maybe we argue with a friend or our siblings. Or we don't follow through on something we promised to do. But God doesn't say, you're done for, no more. He instead offers us a second chance. He gives us new opportunities to do the right thing, just like he gave Jonah a fresh start. Just like Jonah, you can ask God for forgiveness, and you can ask your brother or sister or mom or dad or your teacher or any of your classmates for forgiveness too. And just like God gives you a fresh start, they will give you a fresh start too. Every day is a chance to start over. When Jonah got his second chance, he didn't waste any time at all. God told him to get up and go to Nineveh and preach the message I gave you. Jonah didn't hesitate. He knew God had forgiven him, and now he was ready to do what God asked him to do. And because Jonah obeyed, something amazing happened. The people of Nineveh turned to God and changed their ways. That's what can happen when we take advantage of the second chances God gives us. When we make things right with others and do our best to follow God, amazing things can happen. Just like Jonah, we can bring about good things when we decide to try again and follow God's plan. Let's wrap up with our short Friday prayer. God, thank you for this week. Help us finish strong today and bless our weekend with joy and rest. Amen. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. Parents, if you love this podcast, share it with your parent friends this weekend so they can start off next week having faith filled moments in their car rides too. Here's a question to answer together before you get out of the car. Is there someone you know who needs forgiveness and a fresh start, just like God gives us forgiveness and fresh starts? See you next week.
