4/11/2007
<br>Author: Devin Pickard
<br>Title: Viewpoint - April 11, 2007
<br><br>“Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying:  ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.  He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.  Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner:  My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’ But they paid no attention and went off...” (Matthew 22:1-5) <br><br>We had such a great Sunday this past week.  As expected, we were one person short of having to put out folding chairs in the aisles.  I dare say most congregations could probably say the same thing.  It is quite the interesting phenomenon the we find ourselves in.  Most church buildings are full to overflowing on Christmas and Easter, which to a great degree can be attributed to token members and visitors.  The other 50 weeks out of the year most folks settle back into their normal routine of using Sunday for everything else other than what it is meant to be used for.  Please don’t get me wrong.  I am so very appreciative for all the folks who grace our presence on Easter and any other Sunday for that matter. It is always my hope that just maybe something might be done, said, or seen that will sink deep within the waywards’ heart and at least make them think about or consider the fact that this life is just a rest-stop on the way to either heaven or hell.  There are only two possible choices of destinations.  And remember, they ARE choices, and the choices are not Gods, they are OURS.  We will all consciously choose heaven or hell in much the same way we directly choose where we live and what we do.  In the end, the only finger that can point back at us is our own.<br><br>The above parable, as Ms. Carolyn says, is so apropos. (that is a funny French word that means appropriate; I love working with smart people!)  If  President Bush personally invited any of us to a banquet, there would be nothing short of death that would keep us from attending the gathering with the leader of the free world.  Chances are, most of us will never get an invite from “W” to attend anything besides maybe a fund-raiser.  But....the CREATOR of the free world has extended an invitation to us ALL, and he doesn’t want our money.  He just wants us.  Remember, you will only have one chance to accept the invitation to the great feast.  Once Bro. McDonald puts dirt on the box you are laid in, it will be too late.  Contrary to the belief of some, no one can pray you out of hell into heaven (Luke 16:19-31).  Once you toss the invitation into file 13, you’ll not recieve another.  Jesus said above that those who were invited to the banquet CHOSE to pay no attention to the invitation.  They decided there were other matters more pressing than dining with the King.       <br><br><b><i>Please, please...it’s time to stop playing church.</b></i>  Let us get serious about our relationship with God and our fellow-man.  Let us prove to both that we are sincere, not by word but by deed.  Let us not offer that proof once or twice a year, let us prove it daily.  Have you RSVP’d your Lord yet?<br>Go the extra mile - Devin