My appeal today is first to those who have not made Jesus their way to the Father's paradise. Don't wait another day. If 9-11 taught us anything, it is that we are not promised tomorrow. Come to him by faith today.

But my appeal is also to those who have made Christ their Lord but have lost their passion for helping others know him. Those who have accepted a practical universalism, the religion of tolerance, the pluralistic universalism which decides to live and let live, just to all get along. If that position is right, God's word is wrong. It's that simple. Do you want to stake eternal souls on popular opinion, or the word of God?

Helmut Thielicke was a pastor in the city of Stuttgart during World War II. Bombing raids reduced his city to ashes. As the pastor stood before the concrete pit of a cellar which had been shattered by a bomb, a woman came up and introduced herself. Then she said, "My husband died down there. His place was right under the hole. The clean-up squad was unable to find a trace of him; all that was left was his cap. We were there the last time you preached in the cathedral church. And here before this pit I want to thank you for preparing him for eternity."

Who will thank you?