The Crowd gathers

7:30 - Welcome to the first night of the Rochester Harvest Crusade with Greg Laurie here at the Blue Cross War Memorial. The evening has already started with the Harvest Crusade Band. The arena continues to fill with people as the band sings "I'm Not Ashamed of the Gospel".

Tonight's musical guests will be The Kry, Jubilant Sykes and Crystal Lewis. We're looking forward to a great evening of music and ministering as Pastor Greg Laurie speaks on the subject of "A Second Chance in Life."

Sing Praises to the Lord!

The applause die down as the Harvest Crusade Band begins to sing "Shout To The Lord". The audience joins in on the chorus: "Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing...power and majesty, praise to the King..."

The host for the evening, Bob Shank, welcomes us and asks how many attended the Harvest Crusade here in Rochester three years ago. Many applause answer. The Kry opens up with "Paradise" to give us a preview of what we will hear tomorrow night at the Harvest Youth Jam.

Bob Shank introduces our next musical guest, opera singer Jubilant Sykes. Jubilant is always a pleasure to hear. He sings "City Called Heaven," finishing to thundering applause.

Rochester Harvest Crusades is locally established and supported by area churches, businesses and the voluntary offering of those attending. Greg Laurie and the Harvest Crusade staff do not receive any compensation for this ministry.

Next up, Dove-award winning Crystal Lewis. Crystal has joined us for the Harvest Crusades for many years and is always a favorite. Accompanied by the Harvest Crusade Band and clapping from the crowd, she sings "God's Been Good To Me". "It's great to be on the East Coast," Crystal says. As the bass pumps into the speakers, Crystal sings "People Get Ready". "People get ready, Jesus is coming, soon we'll be going home..." Crystal tells the crowd that she sings about Jesus coming, and some people may be afraid of that thought. But tonight is an opportunity to get ready to meet Jesus when He comes again. With that, she sings "Lord, I Believe In You".

Bob Shank approaches the podium to re-introduce Jubilant Sykes, who will sing "Were You There" before Pastor Greg comes to speak this evening.

The gospel is preached

Pastor Greg comes to the podium. "Good evening. I've got to forewarn you: tomorrow night, this place is going to seriously rock! Not only will you hear great music, but you will see hundreds and thousands come to Christ."

"It's good to be back here in Rochester," Greg says. "Tonight, we're going to look at second chances. Have you ever wished you could have a second chance in life? Have you ever said something that, the moment you said it, you wished you could take it back? I want you to know that God gives second chances. If you've blown it, made big mistakes in your life, God gives you a second chance." Greg is going to speak tonight about a conversation between a man named Nicodemus, who was a very influential man, and Jesus, who was the son of a carpenter. Nicodemus had reached the top of his profession, yet in spite of all his success, there was still something missing in his life. He heard about Jesus, and so he went out one night to have a conversation with him. "You may ask," Greg says, "what this conversation has to do with me today? It isn't just a conversation between two men, but really is a conversation between God and man." Pastor Greg reads from John 3...

"Nicodemus had everything you could want, but something was missing. As long as you're chasing your dream, you can put up with a lot of life's disappointment. You figure one day, my ship will come in...my prince will come...if I just get that promotion, that perfect woman, a bigger house. But when you get everything you are supposed to have to find fulfillment and you're still empty you begin to search." That's why many people who have "made it" and have lots of fame and money end up turning to drugs and alcohol or therapy, or some "flavor of the month" religion. Greg quotes from a statement that Cher made in People Magazine: "I hate my 50's, they suck. I never felt older until I hit 50. When you turn this age, possibilities have become probabilities...you have to figure out new, creative ways to stay vital, interested, have new dreams..." Here is a woman who has experienced incredible success, wealth, fame, beauty, and yet as time marches on she is miserable. Maybe you feel like this right now. Something is missing and you're just not happy. Some people think that winning the lottery will make them happy. One man who did win said this, "For a while it seemed like I was in a dream world...I came down to earth. I got divorced from my first wife, married my second wife, and spent a whole lot of money on the wedding. Only that didn't last five years."

"Can money buy you happiness?" Greg asks. There are two sources of unhappiness in life: one is not getting what you want. The other is getting it. This was what Nicodemus was facing. He was wealthy, powerful, successful, but something was missing. So he came to Jesus one night.

He was looking for change. We look for change too, and the answer Jesus gave Nicodemus is the same one for us. "You must be born again." You may think "I need new clothes, a new job, a new environment. You can change your environment all you want, but your problems are gong to follow you. You can "repaint the car and it will still be the same old car!" How does one really change? The only way is to be born again. This is the gospel in a nutshell: For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son..." Many people see God as a stern judge waiting to destroy man because of their sins. But Jesus gives us the true perspective. Real love is demonstrated by action and God sent His Son to die for our sin. There is no other way for us to reach God. Some of us think we can reach God by living a good life, doing good to others, but we always fall short. Only Jesus came as a man, and walked this earth as more than a good man. "He was the God-man," Greg says. "He reached out to us and did what we couldn't do for ourselves." You may say that you believe Jesus was a good man. But what does it mean to believe? To "believe" does not merely mean you intellectually accept something to be true. To "believe" is to adhere to, commit to, have faith in, rely on. Greg tells the story of "The Great Blondin" who used to walk across Niagra Falls pushing a wheelbarrow. He asked the crowd who believed he could do this. The crowd cheered, "Yes we believe you!" But when the Great Blondin asked one man to get in the wheelbarrow, no one would do it. They didn't really believe! "Now the choice is yours," Greg says. "You can gladly accept it, or you can reject it. Do you think you will go to heaven?"

Are you empty tonight? Maybe you've been trying to fill your life with something else. Sex won't fill it. Drugs won't fill it. Success and wealth won't fill it. Only Jesus Christ will fill that emptiness. "If you want to get right with God and have a second chance in life, realize you're a sinner, realize that Jesus Christ, the Son of God died on the cross for your sin, repent from your sin. This means to change your direction. Instead of running away from God, run toward Him. And then you must receive Christ into your life. Not just accepting a creed, but acknowledging a Person, Jesus Christ. You can do this now. Tonight is the night, now is the time."

As Greg invites those here at the Blue Cross War Memorial to come forward and receive Jesus Christ, you can receive Him too. The people here will be coming down onto the floor to make this decision. You can make this decision by praying the same prayer that Pastor Greg will be praying in a few minutes with those here. "God can change you," Greg says. "Every man, every woman, every boy and girl needs Jesus. You're not too good to come to Jesus. You're not too bad to come to Jesus. Come, just as you are."

As Crystal Lewis sings, "Come Just As You Are" the floor begins to fill with men and women and children. As Crystal pauses, Greg says, "Sometimes as we get older, we think we can't change. But it's never too late to change. God can change your life wherever you are. You might that you've tried before and failed, but this is not about you trying. This is about God doing!"

There are hundreds of people standing together on the arena floor, coming to take the second chance that God offers to each one of us. As they pray with Greg to ask Jesus to come into their heart, you can do the same. If you want to accept Jesus' offer of a second chance in life, pray this prayer:

"God I'm sorry for my sin tonight. But I thank You for sending Jesus the Son of God to die on the cross and shed His blood for all my sin. Jesus, I come to You now. I believe in You. I want to follow You. I want to be born again. So fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me to be Your disciple from this night forward. I repent of my sin and put my faith in You. Thank You for accepting me and for forgiving me. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen!"

If you prayed this prayer, welcome to the family of God! If you would like to receive the same "New Believer's New Testament" that each person here at the Blue Cross War Memorial will receive, press the feedback button. There are counselors standing with those here who have prayed who will tell each new believer a few things they can do to grow strong and healthy in their faith. These four basic things are: Read the Bible, Pray to God, get involved in a local church where you can grow and learn, and share your experience with others. If you do these four things, you will be on your way to growing strong in this second chance at life!

As the first evening of the Rochester Harvest Crusade comes to a close, we want to invite you to come and join us in person, or again by internet, tomorrow night! Goodnight, and God bless you!

The work of the Holy Spirit