Mercy and Grace Ministries

Pastor Chris’ Message: Rejoicing Angels

Thu, 05 Apr 2018 22:11:00 GMT

Mercy and Grace Ministries hit a milestone last weekend! God did 21 services through us at five different prisons! Whewww, God is moving and His hand is upon us!!! Thank you sooo much for all of your prayers and financial support. We could not do it without you, so YOU are a part of everything that we do!

I do two church services every month at Tehama County Jail. I actually spend the night before at the house of a Sheriff Sergeant and her retired Sheriff husband. Yes, praise God: I really have police friends in Christ now!

Pastoral visits have grown at Tehama County Jail–tripling from two men to six. These are men that I connected with or God put on my heart to see from the services the night before. They also include men whom the sergeant suggests.

While delivering a sermon, I called out a man by name to read the scriptures. He asked, “How did you know my name?” I told him that I asked someone else what his name was during the prior service as he was leaving.

He told me about an inmate he knew who was just sentenced to 18 years and was very depressed. He told me that the man does not go to church and might refuse a visit from a pastor but suggested I try.

I had never done this before but asked the Sheriff’s Deputy to add him to my list. Oh, praise God, he came to the visit!

This man had tattoos on his face and devil horns on his head. It was around a thirty-minute visit and then I began to leave for the service.

As I was walking away, he said, “God works all things out for good.” I said, “No, He doesn’t. He works all things out for good for those who love Him. And the first step to loving Him is accepting His Son.”

So I asked him if he was ready to accept Jesus Christ. He said, “Yes.”
Whewww, the Angels in Heaven are rejoicing!!!

PASTOR CHRIS

Guest Message: The Book of Life

Thu, 05 Apr 2018 22:09:00 GMT

It was Friday afternoon and we were visiting the men in Pelican Bay State Prison’s Special Housing Unit (SHU). I approached a cell with a young man in it and began to make small talk with him. He was only about 20 years old, and the conversation quickly turned to to the Bible.
The Lord put it on my heart to ask him if he had ever heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He said, “no.” So I began to speak to him about sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come as well as the cross of Jesus, his resurrection, and his call to repentance.
Half-way through my message, this man–Eddie–asked if he could share something. I replied, “of course.” Then he said, “Last night, I asked God to send me a sign and then you guys came today.” I continued with the Gospel message and then quoted John 1:12, which says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.”
After this, Pastor Chris said, ”We’ve got to go.” Our time in the SHU had come to an end. So I asked Eddie, “Do you want to receive Christ as your Savior right now?”. He said, “Yes” and he did.
On the way out I said, “Eddie, read Revelation about the Book of Life because your name is in it.”

SERVANT CHRIS C.

Claiming the Yard for Christ

Wed, 04 Apr 2018 13:57:00 GMT

Greetings brother and Sisters,

Resurrection Sunday was nothing short of an amazing day. The air crisp with excitement, as joy filled my heart. I walked onto B yard at Avenal State Prison outside of Coalinga, Ca, as the days normal church service was the Easter service on the yard.

The men greeted me with excitement as they showed me the flyers they passed out for the service. Do you know what C.D.C.R. means?, the flyer boldly asked. Come to Easter service on the yard to find out. “CDCR,” is the governing agency of the State of California and stands for California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Of course as Christians, this has a different meaning to us.

The service went on, guys surrounded the large speaker stack as worship music permeated the yard. Men were playing soccer, walking the track, and conversing in various spots on the yard. The church was gathered on metal bleachers surrounding the pulpit, ready to receive the Word. The music ended and I went to the pulpit with my interpreter with me. We had a Spanish interpreter, as the yard has a Spanish congregation who joined our service for the day.

I asked the question, Are you a silent Saturday Christian? What does that even mean? Silent Saturday is the day between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. A silent Saturday Christian is a Christian who claims Christ for the forgiveness of Sin, but doesn’t live in this newness of life we see in Romans 6:4 (NASB). ⁴ Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. A silent Saturday Christian is one who claims the name of Christ, but doesn’t live in the newness of life they are called to live into. They haven’t moved into the resurrected life. They are stuck as a prisoner to sin and mediocrity claiming the name, but not getting in the game. Passivity, fear, doubt, and not letting go of selfish desires all live in this place. We must be resurrected with Christ, from who we were into who God wants us to be.

The end of the message pointed to the reality of the clothes they were all wearing. CDCR, prisoner. C hrist D ied, C hrist R ose, so we can be set free from our prison is the Christian reality for those who live and claim the resurrected Christ. Let’s not be silent Saturday Christians! Let’s live into ALL that God has for us and be willing to be lead by Him and deal with perpetual sin in our lives.

The final prayer of the service, we gathered into a circle, took off our shoes and raised them above our head. We claimed the yard for Christ, as Holy ground. We claimed that everyone who walked into that area, would be somehow interrupted by God. The area we blessed, was right on the walking path every inmate will walk over on the yard. We believe God can move and change the hearts of men and women everywhere.

Let’s live in this resurrected life together!

God Bless,

Pastor Eric Mueller

Experiencing God

Mon, 12 Feb 2018 21:44:00 GMT

Chris and I were in the Special Housing Unit at Pelican Bay State prison. We were moving from cell block to cell block. I approached one man who was very excited about the Word. He had a Bible and even had a Greek and Hebrew concordance. I was amazed by how much he knew about the Word.
Yet I felt the Holy Spirit nudge me to ask: “You know a lot of things about God, you have knowledge about God, but have you experienced Him personally? Do you know if you have eternal life?”
He said, “How can anybody really know for sure?”
I said, “In the book of John it says ‘These things were written so that you could know you have eternal life.’ That phrase ‘to know’ means more than just an intellectual knowledge. It is like a man knows a woman with real intimacy, like you might have in a marriage relationship.”
I then asked him: “Would you like to encounter him and receive him as your Lord and Savior?”
He said, “Yes, yes, I would really like that. How can that happen? How can that happen? Yes!”
I said, “The Bible says ‘whoever calls on the Lord, if you call on him he will in no ways cast you out.’” I continued: “Do you repent? Are you willing to no longer live your life for yourself but live your life for God?” And he said “Yes.”
Then I asked, “Where’s God right now?” And he started yelling, “He’s in my heart! He’s in my heart! He’s in my heart!” He sounded so excited, like a little kid!
He said, “Something happened to me – I know he’s in my heart. I feel him right here!” And he pounded on his chest.

Pastor George

Miracles in the midst of ministry suffering

Tue, 09 Jan 2018 20:20:00 GMT

Miracles in the midst of ministry suffering

“ And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ–if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him .” Romans 8:17

We were going to Pelican Bay State Prison, which is quite a long trip for us. We drive all day on Thursday and then spend Friday in the SHU (Security Housing Unit). We do up to seven services on Saturday and Sunday and then drive home on Monday. Pastor George had surgery to remove Melanoma Cancer. A normal person would stay home and heal, but Pastor George is not normal.

The Holy Spirit put it on his heart to go, so he went. He still had bandages on his head and back, which were changed daily by Pastor Christopher. God is still in the miracle business. We were going cell to cell in the SHU. An inmate told Pastor George that he had been praying that day for someone to come to his cell and talk to him about God. Praise Him.

In Christ,

Pastor Chris

Pleasing Sacrifices to God

Sun, 15 Oct 2017 12:36:00 GMT

Pleasing sacrifices to God
By Pastor Chris

1 John 4:10-12 “This is love: not that we loved God, but He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us.”

A man had someone drive close to him in a threatening manner, so he shot him. He ended up accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior in the county jail. He could have claimed self-defense and gone home and been free. He knew that being freed by a lie yet claiming that God had delivered him would not have been true.
Instead, he admitted that the shooting did not have to happen and was given a sentence of 30 years to life in prison. He left a daughter and sacrificed his freedom.

Pastor Eric is moving to Fresno this month to start our Fresno Region. He grew up in Pleasanton and is willing to sacrifice everything that he knows and is comfortable with to obey God and make a major life move.

I remember Edwyn Lee saying, “Give until it hurts” and that has always stuck with me. Mercy is Grace is unable to receive any contributions from God’s kids that we share the Gospel with in prisons, county, and juvenile facilities. So we need your help. God was willing to sacrifice His own Son for us. What is each of us willing to sacrifice?

Love, Pastor Chris

Pelican Bay SHU

Mon, 04 Sep 2017 20:30:00 GMT

Psalm 145:3 “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”

Recently in the SHU (Security Housing Unit) at Pelican Bay State Prison, a man told me that it was his 24th Birthday today. I sang Happy Birthday to him. It was amazing because I had never sung to anyone in the SHU before. He ended up accepting Jesus Christ, whewww!!! This was his best birthday ever! I have found that people do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
I met another man in the SHU where he had lived for seven years. He is now the leader of the church. This does not make any sense, but God’s ways and thoughts are higher than our ways and thoughts. As I have been going to Pelican Bay for around five years now, I have built relationships with many of our Christian Brothers in blue. One man whom I have known for several years told me how he was raised by his mother: he used to use drugs with her, she was in a gang, and had gone to prison. I am not saying that whatever he did was OK. However, I wonder what I might be doing if I were raised up like he was.

Thanks for all of your prayers; they are making a huge difference! Pastor George told me about the prayers of one of Mercy & Grace’s intercessors. This person prayed that we would have favor with the guards. We did not know about this prayer yet it was answered with incredible favor with many of the guards. One guard, stationed at the gate, smiled and waved at us. At another time, she said, “If you have any more joy, you are going to have to be drug tested.” Pastor Christopher replied, “It is the joy of the Lord!”
Please pray for us, as God is stretching us, Big Time! We want to make it financially until donations at the Banquet on November 5th. Please pray that God will continue to provide for us and direct our steps.

Mercy and Grace Ministries appreciates you and we thank God for you!
In Christ, Chris

A Day in the Life of a Pastor to Prisoners

Wed, 31 May 2017 16:54:00 GMT

I awake at 4 a.m. to a piercing alarm that jars me from my warm bed. Excited for what the day will bring, I start my day with coffee to get the senses going and move into scripture and prayer for the day’s feeding. I know this day is special and my journey will bring me to a place where God is already at work and I am just a sojourner in this place many call home. I am on the empty road at 5a.m. and start the two and a half hour drive to Avenal State Prison.

I arrive and get checked in at the main gate to be given an ID card (Brown Card) that allows access to the whole facility. The gated sally port slides open as I move through the break in the electric fence area, as warning signs of “do not touch” greet me along the way. The prison is over 2 miles all around and I need to be in various places at different times. The temperature is already rising and I know today is going to be around 108 degrees of forehead burning sun. As soon as I walk in, there is a 6 seater golf cart with an officer and an inmate driver to escort us to our destination.

We are headed to B yard, which is a complex of 3 housing units and one yard that serves these units. There is one entry facility where you go in that gives you access to two connected yards. The man working the control booth hands out my keys and alarm I have to where in case of emergency. He opens the heavy Steel Barred door that allows me to head down a long hallway that has two heavy steel doors that go right or left that leads you to the yards. I get to my yard and the officer let’s me in. I scan the yard to see the activity that is going on.

This day, there is no one out on the yard. The officer tells me that they have a Chicken sale and training that might delay my services. I head into the chapel and open up my Bible and start reading. Next thing I know, an inmate I know well comes in and greets me with a smile. This was a God ordained moment, as we were delayed in our service starting for 1.5 hours. This brother and I got to sit and he shared his whole life story with me. It was an amazing time. He shared, cried and walked through every part of his life, even sharing his crime, which I don’t ever ask about. I prayed for him and he sang a song which he wrote as he strummed his guitar. It was a very special moment.

Guys started to pour out of their cells and we kicked off a quick and short service. I preached for 25 minutes and said my goodbyes as I embraced my brother who shared his story. God rescued this man from some pretty dark places and now he is leading other inmates to Christ. I scurried off the yard in a quick fashion to reach the 2nd yard. I hadn’t been on this yard before. This was a Spanish only service and they were going to translate my message as we went. Men started to come into the chapel and they started to sing songs in Spanish worshipping the Lord. I felt the Lord as they sang to him in Spanish, there is something powerful about men in prison singing to the Lord.

The inmates introduced me and I preached for 40 minutes. The men were loving the teaching on the S.E.E.D. Model that we use to train volunteers for Mercy and Grace. When I was done, I got to say good bye’s and they asked when can I come back. I felt greatly appreciated and I was appreciative as well! The 3rd service is our normal service we do monthly. This is an SNY yard, special needs for gang drop outs, amongst other groups such as child molesters, rapists or other sex crimes. I taught on Forgiveness and an inmate I asked to speak shared his story of forgiveness in his life. I used part of a sermon my wife, Renee wrote on forgiveness. The men came up after and said it really helped them and I was able to have a great conversation with one of our brothers on questions he had. Overall three men accepted Christ and it was an amazing day! By the time I left it was well over 108 degrees and I set sail for home! What a blessing this ministry is and men’s hearts are being changed!