the prisons of life

My church Pastor is currently on vacation, so we had Jason, who is a member of the church and has served as a guest teacher in the past when our Pastor has been away, give the message today. It was amazing. Jason has spoken to us before and shared God's message, but never like this. Maybe he's getting the hang of it. ;)

Jason kicked off a new series entitled, When God? Today's focus was about the prisons of life we experience, such as job loss, death, divorce.....the hardships in life.

I can often be seen taking notes during our church sermons. This is why I LOVE Gracepoint....it's not boring. The message is always relevant and interesting. You won't see anyone falling asleep at GP. 

Here's a glimpse of my notes from today's message....

Today's message was a good reminder that Jesus went through so much, he sacrificed his life for us. While we all face "prison" experiences, it always serves a purpose. The purpose to grow and become what God wants us to become. 

If you can't make it out in my notes, the two passages we talked about today were 2 Corinthians 11:26-27 and Phil 1:12-18....both stories about Paul. Somehow Paul was able to the find the strength and faith to keep going through everything he faced in his life. Hardship is temporary and a learning opportunity. 

The three points Jason wanted us to take away from today's message....prison experiences:

1. Cause growth in us that otherwise would not happen. 

2. Open opportunities for ourselves and others.

3. Accomplish God's will. 

My favorite quote from Jason today....

"Christianity is not a religion that gets you around the prisons of life, it's the religion that will get you through the prisons of life."