Prison Break

Matthew Eyerman

April 11, 2004

Easter

I. Introduction

Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus!

Steal away, steal away home, I ain’t got long to stay here.

1. when the slaves working in the fields heard this song

2. sure it was about Jesus and church

3. but it had another meaning

4. it was time to run to freedom

5. it was time to break out of prison

II. bridge

1. all of us are in prison or will be in prison someday

2. listen to this because if you get it wrong you will be lost for the next 10 min

3. 1 out of 4 Black men are caught up in the justice system

4. good news this that 3 out of 4 are not

5. but I am not talking about legal status only

6. not preaching this because Blacks know more or less about the justice system

7. making a spiritual point here

8. all of us are in prison or will be in prison someday

9. one day all of us will look like this

III. prison of peer pressure

1. let me introduce you to some prisons

2. prison of peer pressure

a. so called friends tell you that if you want to be with them

b. you have to look or think or act a certain way

3. sometimes we think that is just for teens

4. does not apply to older folk

5. really

6. those with jobs, at the next staff meeting ask to start the meeting with a prayer

7. find out how fast peer pressure works

a. we don’t do that here

b. that is unacceptable in the work place

8. story

a. giving ashes on Ash Wednesday

b. called a friend of mine to see if she wanted Ashes

c. had to meet me outside

d. boss did not want any religion on the job

IV. prison of race

1. alright let’s get right to it

2. Black people ought to act like ….

3. White people ought to act like …

4. here we are in a Black Catholic Church

5. except we have Whites, Black, Asian, Hispanic

a. members

b. some of us have all that in our DNA

6. someone else tells us what our race means

7. put us in race prison

V. other prisons

1. captive to a clock and a calendar:

a. that is Timelock prison

b. or perhaps Work-all-the-time prison

2. still hanging on to old hurts? That is Wounded Heart Prison

a. I can’t believe he did me like that

b. I can’t believe that she does not love me

3. afraid to go out after dark? That is Fear Prison

a. how many locks do you have on your door

b. know someone with 6 locks on the front door

c. with 6 different keys

4. or is it Angerville State Penitary

5. or is it Addictions Jail

6. or is it Gossip County Lock Up

7. or is it Debtors Prison

a. living paycheck to paycheck

b. have to go to work even if you are sick because can’t miss even a day

c. pay a little on this bill, pay a little on that bill

d. then buy some more shoes or clothes or cds

7. or is it the Sacred Penitentiary of Religion

a. we have never that before in this church

b. the rules tell us that we must ..

8. or is it the Lost Love Prison

a. my one true love

b. when I was XX years old

c. gone and still thinking about it

VI. summary

1. the prisons are bursting

2. some of us are in prison for a while

3. some of us are doing life

a. class X felonies

b. no parole

4. only a few got legal status

5. but all of us in prison

VII. prison break

Steal away, steal away, steal away to Jesus!

Steal away, steal away home, I ain’t got long to stay here.

1. today, this morning

2. not just

a. April 11th

b. Easter Sunday

3. this is Prison Break Sunday

4. sound the alarm

5. we are escaping

6. who better to lead us than the one who breaks out of prison again and again

7. who better to lead us than Jesus

VIII. peer pressure break out

1. early in His life the disciples tried to put Jesus in prison

2. the prison of peer pressure

3. on the mountain of transfiguration

a. having seen Jesus transfigured

b. Peter told Jesus: I want to build a booth for you

c. in other words

d. I want you to be who I think you should be

e. I want to contain you here

4. what did Jesus do

5. broke out of that prison and walked down the mountain