How to Share Your Faith Using Prison Break
The Fox TV series Prison Break provides a window into a desperate world most of us will never glimpse firsthand. Prison life is disturbingly raw, routinely violent and frequently life-threatening. So who would voluntarily, sacrificially choose imprisonment in an effort to help a brother escape the death penalty he is facing?
Michael Scofield is a man with a plan. Michael is convinced that his brother Lincoln is innocent of the sensational murder that landed Lincoln in Fox River State Penitentiary with a death sentence hanging over his head. So with premeditated deliberation and extensive planning, Michael holds up a bank with the specific intention of getting himself thrown into the same prison where his brother Lincoln is awaiting execution. With the execution clock ticking down, Michael, a structural engineer, uses the prison blueprints tattooed on his body, to mastermind an inside plan of escape.
Now that's brotherly love and commitment - can you imagine willingly subjecting yourself to prison and risking your own life in order to help your brother escape his death penalty sentence? That's amazing love - and that's the kind of love and commitment God showed humanity when he sent his son Jesus to die for us! Jesus left the glory and power of heaven and sacrificed Himself in our fallen human world, so that those who trust in him would escape the spiritual death sentence hanging over their heads. Romans 6:23 puts it this way: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life." God masterminded the plan to break us out of the prison of our sin and let us escape our spiritual death penalty.
Do you know people living their life inside a spiritual prison? God has already provided the prison escape route to all who are willing to trust in Him. Anyone can make the decision to walk away from their spiritual prison, but they may need someone to tell them about the escape plan.
Here are some conversation starters to help you dialogue with your friends about spiritual things.
- Ask your friends if there's anyone they would be willing to go to prison for just for a shot at rescuing them from certain death? What makes people willing to sacrifice? Talk about Jesus' willingness to sacrifice himself in order to allow us to have a restored relationship with God.
- Do you ever feel like your living in a prison of some sort? Emotional, relational, spiritual? Share the Good News that God has a 'prison break' plan for those who want to be in relationship with Him.
- Find out what your friends think about there being a price to be paid for sin - in both this world and the next. Explain how God's holiness requires a penalty be paid for sin. For help with this see the 'Paying the price for sin' section of the GOSPEL Journey.
Michael Scofield was willing to sacrifice for his brother Lincoln, because he believed he was innocent. Jesus sacrificed his life for us 'while we were still sinners' (Rom 5:8). So go tell everyone you know about God's escape plan for them!
