And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out
into the highways and hedges, and compel
them to come in, that my house may be filled.
Luke 14:23
Lately, the Lord seems to be doing something marvelous in our chapel...
into the highways and hedges, and compel
them to come in, that my house may be filled.
Luke 14:23
Lately, the Lord seems to be doing something marvelous in our chapel...
Beginning sometime in mid-December, our Sunday services have been especially uplifting and enjoyable. Not that they weren’t good before. But something has changed, and there is a new freedom as well as a spirit of increasing peace that has settled in.
Correspondingly, we have begun to see an increase in attendance. Not that we fuss over how many are in church on a given Sunday. But prison officials do require a count of the number of inmates who are present during a worship service or Bible study. In fact, because I am usually the main greeter by the entry door, it is my task to count the number and write the total on the designated spot on our mandated attendance sheet, which later gets handed to the officer assigned to the chapel, and is then kept on file.
Nevertheless, today we had fifty-seven men. That’s more than our average of around fifty. But aside from the number of chapel attendants, the service itself was beautiful.
It began routinely with the announcements for the week, followed by the opening prayer. Next came the choir with a handful of songs followed by my having to give a brief seven or so minute exhortation from First Peter 5:7 on giving all our cares, concerns and burdens to the Lord, and leaving our problems in His hands.
Then brother Richard, another inmate, gave the sermon. And he was followed by Pastor Philip, who’s also a prisoner. Pastor Philip gave the altar call, and almost in one sudden movement, a majority of the men in the audience got up and walked to the front for prayer, each with his own needs. We prayed for our respective families, too. It was a sacred and blessed time. God indeed had a full house today, and I hope the Lord was happy.
D.B.
Correspondingly, we have begun to see an increase in attendance. Not that we fuss over how many are in church on a given Sunday. But prison officials do require a count of the number of inmates who are present during a worship service or Bible study. In fact, because I am usually the main greeter by the entry door, it is my task to count the number and write the total on the designated spot on our mandated attendance sheet, which later gets handed to the officer assigned to the chapel, and is then kept on file.
Nevertheless, today we had fifty-seven men. That’s more than our average of around fifty. But aside from the number of chapel attendants, the service itself was beautiful.
It began routinely with the announcements for the week, followed by the opening prayer. Next came the choir with a handful of songs followed by my having to give a brief seven or so minute exhortation from First Peter 5:7 on giving all our cares, concerns and burdens to the Lord, and leaving our problems in His hands.
Then brother Richard, another inmate, gave the sermon. And he was followed by Pastor Philip, who’s also a prisoner. Pastor Philip gave the altar call, and almost in one sudden movement, a majority of the men in the audience got up and walked to the front for prayer, each with his own needs. We prayed for our respective families, too. It was a sacred and blessed time. God indeed had a full house today, and I hope the Lord was happy.
D.B.
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