Singing Together in Hope

Have you ever been in a room so dark that you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face?

Yeah?

Maybe you were camping and the fire went out, or you were at home when the power went out and you had to look around everywhere for candles. In the dark, everything feels a little bit scarier. The shadows look like monsters, and every little snap or crack Greek sounds like a giant. In our story today, Paul and Silas were in a place just like that. But they weren't camping or in a bedroom at home. They were in a prison dungeon in a city called Philippi. Paul and Silas hadn't done anything wrong. They were just traveling around telling people that Jesus loves you. But some bossy people did not like that message. The leaders of the city got angry. They beat up Paul and Silas, and they put them in that prison. Then they told the jailer, "Lock them up tight. Make sure they don't escape." The jailer took them into the deepest, smelliest, coldest part of the prison. He put their feet in heavy, heavy wooden blocks called stocks, so they couldn't move. Then he slammed the iron door—

clang!—

and left the prison. Can you imagine how that felt? Their backs were sore, their feet were stuck, and it was so cold. Oh! When the other prisoners were asleep, Paul and Silas were too cold and too sore to sleep. Silas was hugging himself, trying to stop the shivering. Paul's teeth were ch-ch-ch-chattering. It was dark outside, but it was even darker inside. It was cold. It was wet. It was the kind of place where you're supposed to give up hope. In this place, any hope you have left is supposed You're supposed to die. But not Paul and Silas. They were not afraid of the dark because they had Jesus. And they had each other. They were together in hope. Paul tried to see Silas through the darkness, but he couldn't. It was too dark. He couldn't see him. But he could hear him breathing. Silas. Yeah, Paul. Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Silas? I think I am, Paul. Now, if I were Paul and Silas, I'd be thinking about how much I wanted a pizza and a hot bed— well, a warm bed anyway. But that's not what they were thinking. Quietly, in the middle of that dark, cold prison, a sound began to fill the air.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Paul started to hum, and then Silas joined in.

Mm-hmm.

And then they started to sing. Talk about a child who's been forgiven. Talk about a child who do love Jesus. Here's one. They sang a song about how much they loved Jesus. Then they sang another song. This one was about how awesome God is.

Oh God is an awesome God. He raised from heaven above with wings Awesome power and love, our God is an awesome God.

Then they sang about how God made all the stars in the universe, and they sang about Jesus was the King of that universe. You know what the Bible told us, or tells us then? The other prisoners were not asleep anymore. They were listening now. All the people in all the other cells were, you know, Even the grumpy ones and the ones who were scared, the ones who had done bad things, they all woke up and they listened. And they wondered what kind of men could sing in a cold, dark prison. And they wondered about Paul and Silas' God. How could these men be singing with such hope and happiness? As they sang, the ground started to shake. Rumble, rumble. And it wasn't a little shake. It was an earthquake. And the walls of the prison began to sway. And the ground heaved. And then pop, snap, crash. The iron doors flew open. The wooden stocks fell off of their feet. And the most miraculous thing, The chains fell off every prisoner's ankles and wrists. Not just Paul and Silas, but everyone in the whole prison was now free. Unchained. Their doors were open. The prison was open. Anyone could leave that wanted to. The jailer woke up in his house and was shaking. The shaking woke him up. He jumped out of bed in a panic. He grabbed a torch and he ran to the prison next door. He saw the gates gates wide open. Then as he got closer, he saw the doors to the prison were open too, and he thought, "Oh no, everyone has escaped! I'm going to be in so much trouble!" He was so hopeless that he thought he would die. But out of the darkness, Paul's voice rang out, "Stop! Don't be afraid! We're all here!" By now, the jailer's family had arrived with more torches. As they lit the torch outside each cell, they saw each cell door wide open, and inside, empty chains on the floor. And deeper in each cell, sitting quietly, every prisoner waiting to be locked back up. The jailer could not believe his eyes. He trembled with fear. What had happened here? Paul and Silas were not in their cell like the other prisoners. They had walked out of the dungeon in the earthquake, and they walked past each cell and told every prisoner, "Our God did this. Stay in your cell." The prisoners were as shocked as the jailer, and they did what Paul and Silas told them to do. The jailer fell to his knees in front of Paul and Silas and asked them the most important question anyone can ever ask: What What must I do to be saved? Paul and Silas told him, believe in Jesus and you will be saved. You and your whole family. That night the prison didn't feel like a prison anymore. The jailer took Paul and Silas to his house. He washed their wounds. He fed them pizza. Well, the Bible says he gave them a meal. And Paul and Silas took the jailer and told them the whole story about Jesus, his whole family, how much God loves them. Then Paul and Silas bapt— baptized every single person in that family. That must have been some Bible study. Sometimes you might feel you're in a dark dungeon. Maybe you're scared about school, or you're worried about a friend, or things at home are a bit shaky. Just remember Paul and Silas. They weren't alone. They were together. They had hope. And because they were together, they had Jesus as well. They could sing. When we choose to be together in hope and worship God, even when the world is dark and unfair, God hears our song and he starts to shake things up. Prison doors open, chains fall off, and lives are changed. Not just for us, but for the people who hear us singing, the people who are listening to us, the people who see our joy and want to have that too. You can help other people see God and be set free just by praising Jesus. Let's bow our heads in prayer. Dear Lord, we thank you so much for the beautiful story that Paul and Silas gave us by believing enough in you to sing in the dark. And that you gifted them that amazing miracle of freedom so that we can all understand that you're offering us the same gift. No matter how deep and dark our life or what prison we're stuck in or what hell we're experiencing, you've made it possible that we can be saved if we believe in you. Help us to be like that jailer and to recognize that something truly amazing has happened here at camp this year. And to want to be together in hope with you forever and ever. Amen.