Prison Ministry Testimony by Sue Cameron

John and I recently had the opportunity to be a part of the GPS (God's People Serving) mission team that went into one of our state's prisons for men. A contemporary Christian music group (Building 429), fellowship and food (in the form of a Chick-Fil-A sandwich, cookie and coke) were all part of our efforts to reach out in Christ's love to the incarcerated men.

We were very touched by" T" the young man who went forward at the end of the first session in response to the salvation invitation. When I asked about his family, tears rolled out of his eyes and his story rolled out too. He graduated from high school as a star wrestler and got a scholarship to Kansas State where he became an All-American. Neither John or I understood the details of what caused him to be imprisoned but we know he was shot in the elbow and made some bad decisions. He was sentenced to 30 months and he'd only been in prison for 2 days! He said he was the first in his family to go to college and the first to go to prison. We were able to pray with him, give him a bible and take him to meet the band as well as a group of Christian inmates that were very supportive/encouraging. We need to pray that the seed planted will grow deep into God's love!

God was clearly at work in such a personal way....in our lives and the lives of the band, staff and inmates. It was such an honor to join Him in His work in this prison. When so many of the inmates said to me: "thanks for coming, it means a lot", I couldn't help but think: "Who am I that I GET to do this?" What a privilege!

Comments

God's Perfect Timing by Janet Myers

How often have you said to someone “your timing is perfect?” In the last 6 weeks, I have experienced God’s perfect timing. During a dinner conversation at a Wednesday Night Fellowship Supper, a church member, who I will call Lydia, shared a touching story about a special gift she received some time back. While Lydia had every good intention of using this gift, time passed, it only collected dust and took up space. Lydia listened that night as I shared about my love for sewing and how I especially enjoyed applique and creative sewing projects. Several weeks later Lydia approached me with a wonderful surprise! She wanted me to have that special gift that she had spoken about at dinner one night. You guessed it! It's a sewing machine! Not just any sewing machine, but a machine that has all the bells and whistles that a seamstress dreams about! Little did I know that this sewing machine would later be the work horse that has enabled me to sew over 400 face masks ...

An Alabaster Jar Matthew 26.6-13

Jesus is about to pay for our sins and restore us to the Father. In the next several weeks there’s a turn towards the cross. Matthew 26 is days before the cross. The setting is Bethany. Jesus and His disciples spent time in Bethany. Several times per year Jerusalem would swell with people because of festivals and events. For example, at Jesus’ birth Jerusalem was full. This is the scene. Jerusalem is packed. Jesus had friends in Bethany, outside of Jerusalem. The home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus was located there. They are in a different house close by for the final preparation for the cross. Luke tells us this is the primary purpose of Jesus’ coming to this world. In Matthew 26 the opening verses are a powerful demonstration of what it means to value Jesus. How do we value Jesus? How do you know what something is worth? We can search online to get a feel for what something is worth. ...

The Great Commandment: Luke 10:25-37

The great commandment is also found in Mark 12 when a question is asked, "How can I have eternal life?' This is also in Matthew 22:34. The parable we'll examine this morning, the parable of the Good Samaritan, probably comes in second place to the parable of the Prodigal Son. It's a close second. This is an important reading for us. When I study the Bible it helps for me to check three boxes: 1) I need to be careful to read the passage in its entirety. I need to observe the text in it's context. Who are the characters? What's the context? This is a familiar story we are examining this morning and because it's familiar we can lose it's meaning. 2) The second box I check when I read Scripture is interpretation. What's it mean? Where is my curiosity stirred? What questions come to me? What does this passage teach me about God? About humanity? About who Jesus is? What does God ...

First Baptist Family of Asheboro, NC

Search This Blog