Free Indeed (from Kim Hjelm)

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed - John 8:36

My friend, Krisann had a specific prayer request this week. It was that the Holy Spirit would “be in me in an extra powerful way”. She asked for this as she was leaving on a trip that was “way, way out of [her] comfort zone”. Where was she going? To Angola, Louisiana…to the Louisiana State Penitentiary. She was going with a ministry team from the Evangelical Covenant Church and they would be participating in worship and chapel services, presenting a seminar, and meeting and praying with inmates—including men in solitary confinement and on death row. I understand why she would be “quite anxious about this trip”!

Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) is the largest maximum security prison in the United States. It has an inmate population of 5,108 men, of which 86% are violent offenders and 52% are serving a life sentence. Eighty-four men are on death row. At one time, LSP was labeled America’s worst prison, a dangerous place without hope. To get a glimpse of what Louisiana State Prison is like today, watch this 12 minute video (You have to watch both Part 1 and 2...to the end...to get the full effect!). I guarantee you will be amazed.

“Life” Angola – Part 1
and
“Life” Angola - Part 2

Now for some questions to provoke some thoughts…please share your answers/ponderings on the Creekside Facebook Page

• What was your initial reaction to the video?

• Some of the men that spoke on the video are murderers…they actually have killed someone. They have broken the 6th Commandment, “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13). They will be in prison for the rest of their lives. Now think of Jesus’ message in Matthew 5 that says that we have also broken the 6th commandment if we are angry with our brother. Whoa…are we guilty of murder and should we be on death row?

• The men talk about their community, what it means and how important it is. Can you compare that with our Creekside community? What can we learn so as to improve our community?

• What are your thoughts about the idea of God being at work in the prison…is it possible for God to work in a place like a maximum security prison and with men that have been told they are of no worth or value? How is God at work at Creekside? In Redmond? In your heart?

• A lot of credit for the transformation in the prison was given to Warden Cain, mainly because he showed God’s love and that he has love and passion for people. Sound familiar? It should! It has been our “Memory Verse” for the last 10 weeks: LOVE GOD-LOVE PEOPLE. How can this story of one man, making such amazing changes for the Kingdom, help you to show God’s Love and have more love and passion for people in your daily life?

• An inmate has been reported as saying, “If I was given the choice of freedom from prison without God or life in prison with God, I would choose God.”

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Corinthians 3:17)

And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32)

These are only a few of the verses about freedom within Scripture. Has your idea about what freedom actually means been altered not only with this glimpse into prison but through the messages from our study of the Rules of Life (The 10 Commandments)? Remember…

If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)