Yesterday I was a part of a concert/worship service with my band JoyousNoiz. We took a trip up to Fox Lake Federal Corrections Facility to host a worship service for the inmates that were gathered there. We played our songs and a friend of ours, Jeff, got up and gave a sermon. We then closed out with a couple more songs. Afterward, we gathered up our gear and headed out. Our next stop was Redgranite Federal Correctional Institution, an hour and a half away, for another worship service!
I thought that the music was great at both shows. It was also the debut performance for me off a song that Geno rewrote for me. Geno rewrote the lyric to Guns & Roses' "Sweet Child Of Mine" to be "Sweet Lord Of Mine." This gave me the chance to channel my inner Axel Rose and rock out. The guys loved it! It really got them jumping!
Jeff's message, as always, was very good. He took the story of Esau and Jacob from Genesis and related to modern life. He was able to make all the inmates take a look at themselves and contemplate who they are in relation to the perfect "God designed ideal." He conveyed the message that no matter what any of us have done in the past, or what we have been through, Christ has paved the way for us to live with him and be exactly what God has planned us to be, not what WE planned to be for God.
God was definitely in the Big House last night. It really drives home that if God was present inside a prison, he must certainly be present everywhere else. Every time I have done a prison ministry before, I've felt it, and it has gotten more intense as my personal walk with Jesus has brought me closer to God then ever before. I pray that all the men at the services last night felt the same way!
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