If Christ is a Sweathog Part Two

Deryl says............OK. So I feel the need to explain the title of my previous post for those of you who are under forty. There was a TV show from the 70's with the title Welcome Back Kotter. Mr. Kotter was part of a gang called the Sweathogs as a high school student and came back to the school as a teacher. So he was welcomed back by the Sweathogs hence the title If Christ is a Sweathog Call me Mr. Kotter as I was welcomed back just as Mr. Kotter was. If you have never seen it I highly recommend it and it was John Travolta's first show.
But that is the thing about Christ he always welcomes us back no matter how far away we have gone. I want to share the love of God with everyone. Because God loves EVERYONE! It doesn't matter what you have done in the past or even what you are doing now. The church has hurt many people. It has offered judgment and spite when love and compassion were needed. Did you know that God loves gay people? But many in the church act like it is THE unforgivable sin. When the AIDS crisis took place the church said it was God's judgment. What? When Katrina hit New Orleans many in the church said the same thing. Fortunately there were many churches that offered love and help during that crisis which gives me hope.
Jesus said the world will know his disciples by their love for one another. He also said you can sum up the entire bible in the following statement "Love God with all you mind, soul, and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself." The word love is used 649 times in the bible. It is mentioned more than money, sin, faith, judgment, and obey are used in the bible. Rick Warren had one of the greatest quotes I have ever heard about the church he said "The church is supposed to be the body of Christ. In the last 50 years the body has had it's hands and feet amputated and the church has become one big mouth." We are a society of sound bites but God cannot be conveyed in a sound bite and many times is misrepresented. There are many good churches out there. Unfortunately they are not getting as much press.