Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Last night was our first attempt in returning to different volunteer teams for the 7:00PM and 8:30PM services, and it was mostly successful with a few improvement opportunities (as expected). Each service also showcased a new element – In the first service, Jose debuted his musical talents leading us through worship time with his guitar, and the second service got to hear from our newest volunteer Bill as he delivered his first-ever message. The men in both services were blessed as a result.
I appreciate Erwin stepping in to cover 1st service prayer time since it was my week to give the message. In 2nd service, we kicked off prayer time praising God through Psalm 106:
Praise the Lord!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His faithful love endures forever.
Who can list the glorious miracles of the Lord?
Who can ever praise him enough?
Happy are those who deal justly with others
and always do what is right.
Remember me, too, Lord, when you show favor to your people;
come to me with your salvation.
Let me share in the prosperity of your chosen ones.
Let me rejoice in the joy of your people;
let me praise you with those who are your heritage. (Psalm 106:1-5)
My message in 1st service centered on how one gets to heaven. Most people hold an unsure hope of heaven by being a good person. Jesus Himself told us in John14, and several other Bible passages we reviewed all concur it is by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. But what exactly does it mean to ‘believe in the Lord Jesus’? It means we believe in His Lordship (He is God), believe who He claimed to be, believe all He said is true, believe in His promises, and show we believe by doing what He said to do – namely, to love one another and to spread the Good News by making disciples wherever we go.
Bill used numerous Bible passages in the 2nd service to give us the Good News. We studied John 3 where Jesus explained to Nicodemus how we must be born again to see the Kingdom of God, eventually landing on the ultimate verse on salvation – John 3:16. Bill supplied visual aids as he taught about taking on Jesus’ easy yoke and finding rest for our souls in Mathew 11. Then he drove it home by walking through Psalm 23 verse-by-verse, illustrating it’s richness through the underlying Greek.
It’s such a blessing to serve alongside these men each week. We all learn from one another, and the inmates usually remark to us each week how they are blessed by what we do out there. We are thankful that God gives us these opportunities and supplies all our needs. And we remain thankful for each of you and how you bless the inmates at Chester County Prison each and every week through your prayers. The men covet your prayers and are so appreciative that brothers and sisters they don’t even know care enough to pray for them. God bless you for your servant hearts!
Grace and Peace,
Rick
Inmate Prayer Requests from Medium Security (7:00pm service):
- Nathan– for my court date, and other court dates coming up, and pray for those going through trials.
- Isaac– my son (Isaac) has his 16th birthday this week and I’m not there for him.
- Phil T– for Kim Rose, whose 8 year old daughter just died. And for the new split-team approach to Monday night services that all goes well, and for the newer volunteers in the 2nd service.
- Jose G– for the salvation of Benjamin and Johannes, children of Kim and Annette.
- Phil– my daughter Brooke and her kids, that they would believe and walk with the Lord.
- Andy L– for my neighbor who is a single Mom, her husband abandoned her and the kids, praying for wisdom and that she can make wise decisions.
- Rick– for inmate John’s eyes, that he can get proper care before losing his sight.
Inmate/volunteer Prayer Requests from Minimum Security (8:30pm service)
- Craig– for my wife Kay in Georgia, my daughters Brianna (will turn 11 on Friday) and Brielle, all my children and my family at large, and the whole wide world. Thankful for volunteers who freely give up their evenings to come serve us in prison. Also for Jeremiah, give him strength as he’s been in here 38 months and they keep pushing back his court dates over and over for silly reasons.
- Martin– my family, and praise God I’m in recovery house next month, praying for a successful recovery plan. It’s my father’s birthday today, also pray for my grandmother turning 98 next week, and for my girlfriend and her kids.
- Harry– for my fiancé Sonya, and for her to make right decisions, and for all of us in here to make right decisions, and that we can all rely on God as a crutch (we talked before the service how a crutch actually helps when something broken).
- Mark– praise, honor, and glory to God! Pray for my family, I really miss them, and for upcoming court date. Thankful for my public defender Mariah who seems like she really wants to help. Pray for my situation, incarceration is not going to help me. Pray I can get a new job in the kitchen to keep me occupied, and that I can see my counselor soon. Also want to lift up all the men and women in prison and pray we can all leave the prison mindset alone and just be real with one another.
- Rick C– for my friend Scott’s son (Justin) hospitalized with a serious brain virus. Also for inmate Logan and his 21-year-old daughter (Raina) fighting stage 4 cancer.
Prayers from Onesimus Ministries
- For quick healing/recovery of our brother Dan who normally leads the 1st service. He stayed home as not to spread his ‘killer’ cold among the prison population.
- We ask God’s continued blessing and provision upon Chaplains Rhonda and Heinrich serving the inmates, staff, and families connected to Chester County Prison. May they truly feel the presence and power of the Holy Spirit of God as they minister and encourage people throughout each day. And may their personal lives also be blessed.
- For those in prison suffering from illness or infirmities, may they receive a healing touch from our great God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.
- We continue to lift up before the throne of grace our friend and co-laborer for the sake of the Gospel Pastor Jack Crans. May almighty God restore his strength and bring healing to his body.
- Lord please grant your peace within the prisons, between inmates and between corrections staff and inmates. May every interaction be filled with mutual respect and empathy for what the other may be going through.
- God bless the aftercare ministries that serve released inmates as they seek to change primary identity from ex-convict to child of the King. May each client build upon the firm foundation of Christ and experience life change through the ongoing presence of the Holy Spirit. And Lord please bless all those serving in this ministry area, that they would have all they need to be effective.
If you’d like to find out more about mentoring and discipling a man or woman coming out of prison, drop us a note at outreach@onesimusministries.org.
These weekly prayer requests are also posted on our website – https://onesimusministries.org/category/weekly-prayer-requests/
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