Michael Blackstone opens with Peter's post-resurrection return to fishing — a picture of a man retreating after failure — and uses John 21 to argue that spiritual failure is not final with God. The message traces Christ's restoration of Peter as a pattern for anyone who has wondered whether God can still use them after what they have done.

Scripture Text

John 21:1-19

Main Points or Ideas

• Failure wants us to go back - After his denial, Peter retreated to fishing — back to old habits and old identity. Failure convinces us that because we are damaged, we are useless. But Galatians 6:1 uses the word "restore" — to mend completely, not discard. God is in the restoration business, and his grace compels us forward, not backward.
• Jesus meets us in the place of our failure - Jesus appeared on the shore and filled Peter's nets — a deliberate echo of the call in Luke 5. The message to Peter was clear: I haven't forgotten where I found you or what I called you to do. Jesus does not reopen wounds to shame; he reopens them to heal. The place we are most ashamed to bring to Jesus may be the very place he wants to meet us.
• Jesus sees our failure, but he sees more than our failure - Jesus asked Peter three times, "Lovest thou me?" — once for each denial. He was not humiliating Peter but restoring him. Each time Peter answered, Jesus gave him an assignment: feed my lambs, feed my sheep. Failure is an event, not an identity. Like a cracked violin carefully restored, the damage became part of the story without silencing the instrument.
• Restoration leads to responsibility - Grace is not "I forgive you — now sit down." Every time Peter affirmed his love, Jesus gave him work to do. Peter, who failed publicly by a fire, later stood publicly on the day of Pentecost and proclaimed Christ. Grace restores us so that we can serve again.
• Your failure is part of your story - WD-40 took forty attempts to get its formula right — and carried its failures in its name. The righteous man is not the one who never falls but the one who rises again (Proverbs 24:16). Peter's failure shaped the way he ministered; those who have known grace most desperately often extend it most freely. The place where you failed may someday be the place from which you help someone else stand again.

Conclusion

Jesus met Peter at a second fire, fed him, restored him, and simply said, "Follow me." Failure is not final with God — he wants to restore broken tools, mend cracked instruments, and set his people back on their feet. The call is simply to get up and follow him.

Bob Vander Plaats, president of The Family Leader, opens by introducing his organization's mission and its four-part framework for engaging government. Drawing from Deuteronomy 30, he challenges students to choose life — to go "all in" for God's principles in every sphere of influence, including politics.

Scripture Texts

Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Matthew 16:18; Romans 13; Hebrews 2:1

Main Points or Ideas

• The Family Leader's mission: four "I"s - The Family Leader exists to inspire the church, impact elections, influence policy, and ignite biblical partnership between church and government. The ministry logo uses a lowercase "i" — a reminder that it is not about us. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18 that he would build his church on this rock, and the gates of hell would not prevail — the church is God's Plan A with no Plan B.
• Government is God's institution - Romans 13 calls government ministers God. Political leaders — like missionaries sent to the field — are called to carry God's light into a dark place. When a culture drifts from God's order and principles, the result is chaos and division. Hebrews 2:1 warns against drifting; Vander Plaats argues the country is not drifting but sprinting away from God.
• Deuteronomy 30: Choose life - Before Israel entered the promised land, God set before them life and prosperity or death and adversity — and told them it was not too difficult or beyond their reach. The same choice faces believers today: love the Lord, walk in his ways, and be blessed — or turn away and perish. God calls his people to choose well, choose life.
• Look higher, think bigger, expect more - The Family Leader's operating posture: look higher (help comes from the Lord, not from political parties — Psalm 121); think bigger (Peter wanted to conquer Rome, but Jesus called him to eternal concerns); expect more (John 10:10 — Jesus came to give life abundantly). Regardless of election outcomes, believers should not be downcast, because they know who wins.
• Go all in — sacrifice what pulls you from God - Using Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22, Vander Plaats asks what each student needs to sacrifice — whatever is pulling them from God's call. Ministry itself can become about self rather than God. The call is to be all in, lukewarm believers are those Jesus said he would spit out (Revelation 3, Laodicea). The challenge: be like Michael Jordan — go all in with a competitive spirit for the things of God.

Conclusion

Bob Vander Plaats closes with a call to choose well in every arena — at the voting booth, in the classroom, in the workplace, and in the church — and to go all in for God's principles.

Using Hebrews 12:1-2 as his text, Dr. Will Senn challenges students to identify and discard the ten categories of baggage that couples bring into marriage before they reach the altar.

Scripture Text

Hebrews 12-13

Main Points or Ideas

Hebrews 12:1-2 presents two participles alongside the main verb "run": an aorist participle (lay aside — definitively, immediately discard sin and weight) and a present participle (look unto Jesus — a continuous, ongoing focus). Both are required to run victoriously; addressing baggage without looking to Jesus misses the solution.

• Bag 1 — Communication - The number one cause of relational breakdown. Vagueness, silent treatment, interrupting, and blame-shifting all erode relationships. Look unto Jesus, the perfect communicator — the Word who speaks and listens.
• Bag 2 — Commitment - Hardened hearts and emotional disengagement lead to contempt and divorce. Christ's commitment modeled in Hebrews 13:5 — five negative particles: "I will never, never, never forsake you" — is the standard.
• Bag 3 — Sexual Baggage - Past immorality, pornography, or abortion brought into marriage creates serious damage. Physical reminders of past relationships must be burned. God forgives and restores, but these issues must be addressed before marriage.
• Bag 4 — Financial Baggage - Debt and financial irresponsibility are real baggage. Dr. Senn urges students — especially those considering ministry — to graduate debt-free, noting mission agencies have turned away applicants over unresolved debt.
• Bag 5 — Incompatibility - Many differences can be overcome, but showstoppers — church, finances, children, education — must be discussed. Amos 3:3: "How can two walk together except they be agreed?"
• Bag 6 — Conflict Resolution - Do you have a track record of solving problems biblically? Bullying, avoidance, and blame-shifting destroy marriages. Hebrews 12:14 calls believers to pursue peace.
• Bag 7 — Abuse Baggage - Past abuse is real baggage, often not the victim's fault. Hebrews 12:3 — "Consider him who endured such hostility" — points to Christ as the one who understands and gives grace to move forward without bitterness.
• Bag 8 — Addiction - Alcohol, drugs, gambling, and pornography are non-negotiables. Victory must come before marriage, not be hoped for after.
• Bag 9 — Emotional Baggage - Anxiety, panic attacks, and chronic emotional instability carry into marriage. Look unto Jesus, "the same yesterday, today, and forever" — immutable and stabilizing.
• Bag 10 — Immaturity - Unrealistic expectations and selfishness signal someone is not ready for marriage. The call is simply to grow up before bringing someone else into unresolved immaturity.

Conclusion

Dr. Senn closes with a practical homework assignment: identify your baggage, deal with it before marriage using Scripture and recommended resources, and put it in the dumpster — no dumpster diving. The call is to lay aside every weight and sin and run the race looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith.