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MESSAGE
FROM THE PASTOR
October
2006
Pastor
Jeff Stanfill
“Dear
Covenant Community Church,
Your contribution to the prison ministry at Dixon
Correctional Institute this weekend was an expression
of love that helped touch the hearts of men inside
and outside the institution. The meals and servers
were wonderful and abundant in supplying moral
and physical support for the ministry team.”
This
note arrived immediately after a powerful weekend
of ministry at Dixon (September 22-23). Chris Franklin,
Timothy Jackson, Kevin McGehee, Paul Perry, Don Yarborough
and I spent much of that weekend behind fencing, razor
wire, concrete, and under armed guard as we took the
Gospel to any man interested to hear. (Our “backup
support” was the many that cooked food, served
it Friday night, and prayed for several weeks before
and during the crusade. Special thanks to you all
and especially to Elaine Stringer, who organized the
food.)
We
talked with some men who were hardhearted, others
who were lonely, having received no visits from family
for years, and many who were filled with the joy of
salvation. What became crystal clear was the difference
between the men who had become followers of Jesus
Christ and those who had not. The believers had a
glow on their faces that comes from knowing that one
is right with God. While imprisoned as a consequence
for their crimes and limited in any activity they
would undertake, those who were Christians were still
truly free!
Today
if your situation or past decisions seem to place
limits or restraints in your life, I encourage you
to remember that you are still free in Jesus Christ!
No one need be bound who has everlasting life in Jesus
Christ. Live in your freedom! Rebuke what is not of
God that attempts to confine you. Focus on what you
can do, not what you can’t. And live with a passion
for God and compassion for others.
Pastor
Jeff
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