It came up in some things today. Hell. No, it didn't rise up and burn up my neighborhood. Rather, the question of why I don't preach and teach about it very much (ok, pretty much never) was at hand.
I hadn't spent a lot of time contemplating why I didn't/don't. It's not that I shy away from difficult topics. It's not like I only preach once in a while (I've preached well over 800 sermons) and don't ever get to it. Why not this topic?
I answered by saying that I don't spend much time teaching about it for the same reason I don't study travel guidebooks to Louisiana; I know it's miserably hot and don't plan on going there. (No offense for my LA friends --- it's just someplace I really don't want to go and even you die-hard Atchafalaya dwellers have to confess that sometimes the only thing you can honestly say is, "It's hot as Hell today.")
So, I guess that it would be fair to say that I don't preach on Hell because I don't know of people who are interested in going there. I mean, imagine if you went to a travel agent and asked for brochures for destinations they would recommend not going to. Though I'm sure they could relay some great stories from trips from Hell they've been on, that's not what they're selling or what they're hoping for you.
As for me, I'm interested in God's Kingdom and will teach about finding the Path to get there from where we are. If you're interested in going there, come listen to some "travel brochures" next Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m.
Thanks for reading,
Jeff
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