LBW #35, "Hark, the Glad Sound"
Devotion
I was pastor for the Community of St. Dysmas, a prison congregation in Jessup, Maryland. The year was 1986. At MCI-W (the women's prison) every Saturday night, we rolled a mobile altar into the cafeteria and the ladies set up chairs for worship. This particular night was Easter Saturday.
We had relived the last supper, the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, the crucifixion, and now I was sermonizing on the Resurrection, and the new life that it offers each of us.
One of our members was sitting in the front row, perhaps 5 feet from where I was preaching. She leaned forward in her chair and the look on her face was saying, "Tell me that again! Convince me that there really are second chances and the possibility of new life for the likes of me."
I was able to speak convincingly, "He comes the prisoners to release, in Satan's bondage held."
Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for coming to mend broken hearts and cure bleeding souls. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.