Preparing a place
5-12-2005 "I go to prepare a place for you"
About 14 male inmates came down from the blocks for the program tonight. While it is tempting to be discouraged when a small number of people come to the session, a group can get too large to operate well as a small group. Counting the 3 volunteers, we had 17 people in the group last night. The leader should take care with a larger group, allowing each person room to talk. If a group gets too large, consider breaking it into half if possible, with each group on one side of the room, and a different volunteer leading separate discussion groups after the beginning prayer, introductions and singing.
I asked for an inmate to offer the opening prayer, one offered up a very nice prayer. In my opinion, an inmate’s prayer is much better to have start the session, than a volunteer. Remember, we are there to serve the inmates.
Then, we went around the circle, each person giving their first name and saying how they were doing. Some men were talkative, some not. This is normal.
We read Psalm 88, each person taking a verse and reading from their own bible.
We talked about how much comfort the Psalms can give us, reminding us that people have needed and called out to God in times of loneliness and trouble for thousands of years.
I then told a story. I often use stories to illustrate a bible verse or principle. It’s amazing how talkative people can be, often giving “helpful” advice, if they think we are talking about a story in our lives from today.
I told a story about a person preparing a room for a guest. Cleaning the room, buying bedding, sheets and the like. Setting everything up just so. Then the person not coming to visit. Just forgetting the whole thing. Not acknowledging the effort put in to getting the room ready for them to visit. Then I asked the guys if it reminded anyone of a bible verse. Nope. So we read John 14 - about Jesus preparing a place for us.
Do we believe this? Do we act like it is true?
We talked about how parents can make a child feel welcome or not feel welcome. We then went around the circle, sharing brief descriptions of our childhood.
Many variations were heard. It reminded me that we come from many different backgrounds. It's important not to judge people on things they had no control over (like what parents then got, and what type of family they were born into).
God welcomes us into a room in his house, based on the redeeming work of Jesus. Let us rejoice in this invitation and remember it daily.
About 14 male inmates came down from the blocks for the program tonight. While it is tempting to be discouraged when a small number of people come to the session, a group can get too large to operate well as a small group. Counting the 3 volunteers, we had 17 people in the group last night. The leader should take care with a larger group, allowing each person room to talk. If a group gets too large, consider breaking it into half if possible, with each group on one side of the room, and a different volunteer leading separate discussion groups after the beginning prayer, introductions and singing.
I asked for an inmate to offer the opening prayer, one offered up a very nice prayer. In my opinion, an inmate’s prayer is much better to have start the session, than a volunteer. Remember, we are there to serve the inmates.
Then, we went around the circle, each person giving their first name and saying how they were doing. Some men were talkative, some not. This is normal.
We read Psalm 88, each person taking a verse and reading from their own bible.
We talked about how much comfort the Psalms can give us, reminding us that people have needed and called out to God in times of loneliness and trouble for thousands of years.
I then told a story. I often use stories to illustrate a bible verse or principle. It’s amazing how talkative people can be, often giving “helpful” advice, if they think we are talking about a story in our lives from today.
I told a story about a person preparing a room for a guest. Cleaning the room, buying bedding, sheets and the like. Setting everything up just so. Then the person not coming to visit. Just forgetting the whole thing. Not acknowledging the effort put in to getting the room ready for them to visit. Then I asked the guys if it reminded anyone of a bible verse. Nope. So we read John 14 - about Jesus preparing a place for us.
Do we believe this? Do we act like it is true?
We talked about how parents can make a child feel welcome or not feel welcome. We then went around the circle, sharing brief descriptions of our childhood.
Many variations were heard. It reminded me that we come from many different backgrounds. It's important not to judge people on things they had no control over (like what parents then got, and what type of family they were born into).
God welcomes us into a room in his house, based on the redeeming work of Jesus. Let us rejoice in this invitation and remember it daily.
posted by Kathy Kolb | 7:21 PM
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