Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.
– 1 Timothy 1:15
On Monday this week, I went to the Brooks prison in Muskegon and gave a sermon for the first time in my life. Why? Because Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. Because I have been forgiven greatly, I’ve been drawn to spend time with the Saints who have no where else to go in our prisons, and to spread the word of God there.
“Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
– Luke 7:47
It is clear that Satan does not want Christians in prisons. The first time I went about a month ago, the group I was with got into a bad car accident on our way out. This would be very discouraging to someone who has been forgiven little, but not for us.
On Monday this week, we were searched more aggressively than usual, with each page in our Bibles searched for contraband, and my sermon notes confiscated. Thankfully, if I’m supposed to be there, God would help me speak and provide some organization. So I was allowed to write some quick scribblings on my ID card and carry on.
The Brooks prison is unique in our area because it’s one of the only ones that has a dedicated Chapel building. Other prisons borrow classrooms or other facilities. After being processed, we walk into the prison grounds and are escorted across the yard to the Chapel, where inmates run their own service with or without us.
Inside, it’s an experience you will never get in any Church you can freely go to. It is filled with men who have no where else to go but to worship God. They sing and play instruments beautifully, and they’re trusted to setup and teardown after the service. Ordinary Churches have many people who go because they feel obligated, because it’s social, because they get something out of it, or because their family goes. And I’m not saying that the Churches on the outside have no Saints. But in this Church at Brooks, ALL of these men are there because God saved them from death, and has given them a second chance at life.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common.“
– Acts 2:42-44
So for my first sermon ever, I spoke from Exodus:
Do not commit adultery.
– Exodus 20:14
My guiding principal on sermons is that a preacher must do three things:
- Equip the Saints
- Draw out sin
- Speak from the Word of God
Our Sunday school teaching on adultery is that we shouldn’t cheat on our spouse, or to think about someone lustfully. But for children, this has no meaning, and we grow up discounting that commandment as though it would never affect us.
But the root of adultery is keeping your promises. I heard an amazing story from Colin Smith, a pastor in Chicago, which I’ll paraphrase quickly here:
Johnny promises his best friend Sam that he’ll come to his birthday party (and they’ll go fishing after). Then Johnny gets invited to a party at Chuck E. Cheese’s with lots of kids, but it’s on the same day. He’d really rather go to the larger party. There’ll be lots more kids, and it sounds like it’ll be a lot more fun than just spending time with Sam.
Johnny asks his dad what to do. His dad says, “What if I got a better offer for a wife?” and Johnny replies, “You can’t do that! You promised to stay married to mom!”
Using this as the basis, I covered many passages such as Jesus’ warnings about making promises at all:
But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
– Matthew 5:34-37
And that keeping our oaths is a righteous thing:
Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?The one whose walk is blameless,
who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from their heart;
whose tongue utters no slander,
who does no wrong to a neighbor,
and casts no slur on others;
who despises a vile person
but honors those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
and does not change their mind;– Psalm 15:1-4
And that we’re encouraged to make vows to God, and fulfill them:
Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them; let all the neighboring lands bring gifts to the One to be feared.
Psalm 76:11
And tying this back directly to adultery:
I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman. For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high? Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong? Does he not see my ways and count my every step?
– Job 31:1-4
I could go on and on and recount the entire message, but the point is that God has blessed me to be able to spend time in prison with these men, to equip the Saints, to draw out our sin of not keeping our promises, and to speak from the Word of God.
I have no qualifications to preach, I never went to seminary, I’ve never taken a class on the Bible. But the prison needs Christians to spend time there, because there is a great need here and very few volunteers. And what I’ve seen is that the ones who are highly qualified on paper are simply not going. So here I am. My grandfather, in the main picture of this post, spoke in churches. My father had a preacher’s license and spoke in many churches. With these examples before me, this is why I went to prison this week:
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”
– 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Dave Aldon 