The Today devotional booklet featured prison congregations on Nov. 20th. Here are some key paragraphs.
- We know of several new churches that have begun in prisons. As they quietly gather for worship and bring people into the presence of Jesus, positive influences spread out through the prison system, transforming behaviors, systems, and the culture of the entire place.
That's right! May God transform the entire prison. The Kingdom of God is at hand.
Read the entire article here: Today - The Kingdom is like Yeast
I hope you will pray for New Life Prison Community.
We have a big week.
Thursday - Praise & Thanksgiving service in the prison gym.
Saturday - Re-entry Workshop at Calvary CRC in Pella
Sunday - Worship service at the minimum security prison in Newton.
Pray that the Holy Spirit will make His presence known, moving men to follow Jesus Christ!
We had prayer group yesterday at the prison. Our Tuesday group is called New Life in Prayer. Desmond says it was the best group meeting he's ever attended. Those are lofty words and we give all the credit to God. We prayed together, sang worship songs and studied the Word.
The day's topic was our Hope for Heaven & how that inspires us to live each day for Christ. Here are the key verses ~ "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." (Philippians 3:20-21)
These verses are a great encouragement for the prisoner and also for us. (They're also favorites of Pastor Art)
Hope energizes us to walk
each step for Jesus!
Today at the prison the topic of the day was Love: God's love for us, self-love, our love for others. It is difficult for many of the guys to consider themselves worthy of God's love because they carry a lot of shame. We talked about having our true identity wrapped up in the fact that we are loved by God as a father loves his children. Many Bible verses came to mind in our group discussion including the two greatest commandments given to us by Jesus. Other Bible passages mentioned were: Romans 5:8, Psalm 136 and the entire book of I John.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Rick
