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CALLED TO GO WHERE?

17And He came down with them and stood on a level place with acrowd of His disciples and a great mltitde of people from all !dea

and !ersalem" and from the seacoast of T#re and $idon" who came tohear Him and %e healed of their diseases"1&as well as those who weretormented with nclean spirits' And the# were healed'1(And the wholemltitde soght to toch Him" for power went ot from Him andhealed them all' )*Then He lifted p His e#es toward Hisdisciples" and said+

,-lessed are #o poor".or #ors is the /ingdom of God'

)1-lessed are #o who hnger now".or #o shall %e 0lled'

-lessed are #o who weep now".or #o shall lagh'

))-lessed are #o when men hate #o"And when the# eclde #o"And revile #o" and cast ot #or name as evil".or the $on of 2an3s sa/e'

)45e6oice in that da# and leap for 6o#.or indeed #or reward is great in heaven".or in li/e manner their fathers did to the prophets'

)8,-t woe to #o who are rich".or #o have received #or consolation'

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:oe to #o who are fll".or #o shall hnger'

:oe to #o who lagh now".or #o shall morn and weep'

);:oe to #o when all men spea/ well of #o".or so did their fathers to the false prophets' come here" and %efore the service starts we havethe annoncements" then in %etween there and or Call to :orship" >as/ #o to go throgh a fellowship rital each wee/ %# sa#ing" Greet

someone" and tell them #o@re happ# to see them here toda#' This isa practice that is ver# common" particlarl# in or denomination"/nown as passing the peace' :e had the same practice while > wasat m# last appointment in $eneca" and it was a continal headache"and a :orship Committee nightmare' At $eneca" we had the ritallocated in the middle of the service' 2ost people seemed to en6o# it"%t some considered it a disrption" complaining that it@s too long" orthat it gets me ot of a worship spirit'

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At one of or meetings" a committee mem%er" who had alread#epressed her dissatisfaction with it" sggested" Let@s pt it at the endof the service" and it can %e the last thing we do' $omeone as/ed"-t woldn@t that in essence eliminate it? After all" those who willstic/ arond for it will not %e man# in nm%er" a lot of them want to go

get a place in line at the restarant' !st on a hnch > as/ed thewoman who had sggested it" That@s what #o@re hoping toaccomplish" isn@t it? And with that direct Bestion" she fran/l#admitted that was her intention" and eplained her feelings once more'The practice was eventall# resced %# what > referred to thogh notopenl# to them as the %ladder %nch' >t trns ot that three or forpeople in the chrch had fond a fnctional se for that time slot'These people had pro%lems with overactive %ladder" and whileever#one else was en6o#ing fellowship" the# were elsewhere gettingmch=needed relief' .or them" with the strategic timing of thefellowship rital" it had come to serve a fnctional prpose' One of

those mem%ers was or la# leader" and a mem%er of the committee"who wond p %eing the one whose opinion held swa# with man# ofthe mem%ers'

> gess pastors never /now Bite what to epect from one settingto another' -t > wonder what the# wold have done if the# had heardme do the same as one pastor > recentl# read a%ot? :hen the# hadthe cstomar# assing the eace" the pastor said" > want #o tostand and greet someone" and tell them" F>n the name of !ess Christ"#o shold go to hell' ow" as #o ma# gess" that pastor had a pointto ma/e in epressing it that wa#' > had serios thoghts a%otannoncing it that wa# after annoncements this morning' -t once >

stood at the plpit" the esh got wea/ and > %ac/ed ot'> wold gess all of #o are familiar with the phrase ::!D' :ell"

when it comes to telling people a%ot !ess" what wold He do to reachthem? :here wold He go to 0nd them? :e have one cle in thewritten form of the original Apostles@ Creed" which some chrches stillretain" %t > thin/ most have moved awa# from' !st after it states thatHe was crci0ed" dead" and %ried" this version states Hedescended into hell' Tradition has it" %ased on 1 eter 4+1(" that Hewent and preached to the sols in hell" saving those who wold %elievein Him' $o what that pastor was actall# sa#ing was+ if !ess waswilling to go to hell for others" then so shold we %e willing to follow

Him there'Along that line" > can trthfll# sa#" > wold not %e standing here

toda# had it not %een for eth eeIorts of those who were willing to gointo m# personal self=created hell and pll me ot' One was a pastorwho was there for me at the retrn was a lifeline for me in a lot ofwa#s' > have a %rother a%ot a #ear older than me" who was arond" itseemed" at all the right times with all the right words to sa#'

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Chances are that there is not a single person here toda# whodoes not /no/w at least one famil# mem%er or friend who is trapped ina personal hell on earth' And the sad companion trth to that one is"that most of s are either too %s#" or too complacent" to care enoghto do something a%ot it'

There" now >@ve gone and done it@ve made the pastor@s J1plpit error@ve started something

this #ear that > reall# have not done" and reall# shold have done a LOTsooner told L#nn a%ot it and it msthave strc/ a chord in her to discover > was going" and she decided toma/e sre to get oI wor/ that da# and come along'

:e had a great time" of corse" %t it was an nepected event"as sal" that will sta# with me' :e were 6st en6o#ing the da#" havinga good time with these /ids" all of whom are in the class for %ehavioral

pro%lems of one /ind or another

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6st simpl# as/ed him" :h# do #o sa# that? He replied" -ecase#o go places and do things with s'

ow" that ma# have %een no %ig deal for someone else" %t itwas for me" and > had to hide m# face from him for a %it so he didn@tsee the tears' > have no idea what -randon@s home environment is"

what isses this little g# has had to face" or what /ind of personal hellhis #ong life ma# have %een' -t there@s no %etter feeling in theworld than /nowing that for that da#" for that moment" no matter whatelse happened" > had" withot even realiNing it" made a hge diIerencein a little %o#@s world' -t what 5EALLK strc/ me a%ot it was+ that0eld trip that da# was all we had done' And that was all it too/ for-randon to decide that we were his favorite parents'

And -randon doesn@t /now it either" %t he has had atremendos eIect with his words' > told L#nn later that we wold haveto go on 0eld trips with $tephanie and 5o%ert as well" %ecase" as > toldher" it@s onl# fair' -t > was l#ing a%ot %eing motivated %# the

fairness isse can point to insimilar sitations" when > did not respond' And most of the time" whenthat door opens and we hesitate" and watch it close again thin/ it is 6st as valid to get from these words" that #o are also

%lessed when #o respond to similar circmstances Kes" it@s annsal wa# of ptting it" to sa# that we are called to go to hell