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/M-cover/without%20spine/9780802432827.jpg "Moving Forward After Messing Up: A New Future with the God of Second Chances")
Is something from your past impacting your future?
No one wakes up and says, "I think I'll make a mess of my life." But many people find themselves in places that feel beyond repair. If you've made decisions that have left you and others hurt—that have brought you to a place that feels dark or desperate—you're not alone. Professor and pastor Chris Rappazini looks to real life biblical characters who've made messes of their lives and shows how God delights in forgiveness and redemption.
Do you need God to do something that feels impossible? Freedom from an addiction or the haunting consequences of bad choices? A second chance at marriage, family, or a career? Maybe you love someone whose devastating path of poor decisions is inflicting heartache upon heartache.
Through sharing the personal journey he's been on with his brother—who is in the process of moving forward after messing up—Rappazini uncovers the true heart of the Father and the dramatic ends He goes to bring restoration.
What happens when we honestly face our mess and seek God? Can beauty, love, or hope follow? Failure and regret can create humility and deepen our character. Those who seem permanently wrecked can experience joy, freedom, and a newfound dream. In Moving Forward After Messing Up, Rappazini takes us beyond despair to biblically based forgiveness and a faithful future.
"I began ministry as a teenager, preaching to inmates in prisons in South Carolina. Three decades later, I find myself as a pastor helping people daily overcome trauma, addiction, and shame. Also, my own family members have wrestled with the pattern of addiction, recovery, relapse, and repeat. I know firsthand how important this book is for the church, our culture, and every individual who's ever messed up and wants to start over (but wonders where to begin). God offers us grace to start over, and the mistakes we've made actually benefit us by making us wiser, stronger, and more resilient. Chris has laid out a simple, biblical, doable approach to embracing our mess as the pathway to God's miracle of new beginnings."
—Clayton King, Pastor, evangelist, and author of 18 books, including Reborn, Stronger, and Overcome
"Perfect people won't need this book . . . but the rest of us are deeply thankful that our God gives second chances! Chris Rappazini has a heart for people and a passion for teaching God's Word. If you are struggling to find the next step forward or trying to understand how God is at work in your story, this book is for you."
—Jamie Janosz, Managing Editor, Today in the Word, Moody Bible Institute
"Biblical, practical, insightful, and wonderfully written! Moving Forward After Messing Up will stir your emotions, inspire your heart, and restore your hope. Moreover, you will be motivated by a holy compulsion to comfort, encourage, and strengthen those who need Christ's forgive-ness and restoration."
—Keith R. Krell, Senior Pastor, Crossroads Bible Church Bellevue, WA
"Chris Rappazini offers a contemporary, fresh, readable, and applicable approach for those who messed up, which is every human on this planet at some time. His treatment is illustrated, biblical, merciful, and hopeful. The chapters themselves are just the length needed in this distracted time while sufficiently covering the subject. Chris strikes the right balance between Christian discipline and redemption. He does not excuse the biblical or contemporary characters, but he does offer the hope of a way out and up. You either know someone or know yourself well enough to hand this book to them—not with a patronizing hand from above but with a friendly touch from alongside."
—Joel C. Gregory, Professor of Preaching, George W. Truett Endowed Chair of Preaching and Evangelism, Baylor's George W. Truett Theological Seminary
"The God of the Bible is a God of grace, and He creates an ecosystem of grace and restoration while simultaneously being the essence of truth. We need this kind of restoration in our world today. In this book, Dr. Rappazini shows us how we might cultivate it."
—Brad Cooper, Lead Pastor of Culture & Direction, NewSpring Church
"Some of us can hide our painful mistakes. Others must grapple with the shame of failures laid bare for the world to see. Whatever your circumstance, Chris Rappazini invites you to walk with Him toward a hopeful future. Moving Forward After Messing Up is a deeply personal, accessible, and practical guide for those seeking a way out of brokenness."
—Brian Dahlen, Host, Mornings with Brian on WCRF, Moody Radio Cleveland; creator and host of The Grandfather Effect podcast
