Coffee Creek Baptist Church

Every Saturday night, about a dozen servants of God from Timberline Baptist Church hold a Bible preaching service at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, a women's prison in Wilsonville, OR. We affectionately refer to the weekly service as Coffee Creek Baptist Church. Of course, it's not an independent church. The Lord's Supper and baptisms take place under the authority of TBC. The ladies like having their own "church."

I got involved with this ministry the first Saturday after my family moved to Oregon. We like to warn prospective volunteers before they come to the service for the first time. The warning isn't about the danger of a riot or the possibility of a hostage situation. The warning is this: if you come, you'll be hooked. One visit to the service and you'll want to attend again and again.

I've heard of many churches that have prison ministries. I've never heard of one like this. A handful of volunteers started this ministry about 5 years ago. I think they started with less than 15 ladies in the first service. We now have over 100 ladies in attendance every week. The service is very exciting. The ladies are tremendously responsive to God's Word. Souls are saved every week. Many spend time in prayer during the invitation. The ladies greatly appreciate our willingness to come and hold the service. They love us and it's impossible not to love them back. There are people from every walk of life attending the services. The ages range from 18 to over 80. Pick a nationality and we have it.

When Saturday night comes around, I'm usually tired. The rest of the volunteers are as well. However, when we're done with the service, our hearts are always lifted. Please pray for the ladies at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. God is doing an unusual and powerful work in that place. It's awesome to be a part of it.

Suing God

This is very interesting. I don't even really know what to say. At least the man believes in God. Of course, my belief in God would make suing Him the last thing I'd ever do.

Bitterness

Bitterness is something that can destroy our lives very quickly. The Bible gives a warning about bitterness in Hebrews 12:15, "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled..."

The analogy of the root God uses here is a great one (all of God's analogy's are great ones). He describes bitterness as a root that springs up in our life. Bitterness starts on the inside. Like a seed in the ground, you can't see bitterness in its early stages. At first, it's possible nobody around you will be able to tell what's going on in your heart. However, that seed begins to grow and it breaks through the ground and everybody sees it.

When we think of bitterness, we almost always think of a time in our lives when someone hurt us. Bitterness is certainly a possibility when someone hurts us. I've heard Hebrews 12:5 quoted many times in a message when the preacher was warning us about the dangers of bitterness.

Just like any other powerful verse of Scripture, it's wise to take the verse in context. Like I said, bitterness can easily creep into our hearts when another person hurts us. However, that is not the context of Hebrews 12:5.

Notice these other verses in Hebrews 12...

Vs. 5, "And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him..."

Vs. 11, "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."

The true context of Hebrews 12:5 is the chastening of the Lord. The author of Hebrews is warning us of the greatest kind of bitterness...bitterness towards God Himself. When we sin, God loves us enough to punish us. Hebrews 12:6, "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." Through His chastening in our lives, He is trying to show us the dangers of our sin and how badly He wants a close fellowship with us. Bitterness towards other people is obviously very dangerous. However, bitterness towards God is even more dangerous. When God chastens you, make sure you don't get bitter about whatever consequences you are facing. Remember that God is simply proving His love towards you with His actions.