His words, as he pulled his bible out of the bag, were:
"you've already had one sermon, now you're going to catch hell!!"
Now, that's a mean trick! (And, thankfully, an effective one!)
I am involved in a ladies' small-group Bible study that meets in a friend's home; we met for several weeks in the spring/summer, and have started a second, parallel study for the autumn.
This second study has brought in a few new faces, while a few others have not been able to join us this time. The absentees have various reasons that they could not come; but one lady gave us a reminder of how intimately the body of believers must work.
She had joined our last Bible study late, with only a few weeks left in the workbook. We talked with her and included her, but she felt left out.
When it came time for the second study, she missed a few weeks; others had been unable to come, as well, so we didn't think much of it.
I heard about this lady last night from a friend who had happened to talk with her, and during their conversation the study was brought up.
No one had cared to contact this woman when she failed to show up. No one had asked how she was doing, or if she would be coming in the future. No one had bothered to reassure her that she was appreciated and missed.
Nearly all of us have this woman's number and address.
She has decided that this Bible study is not right for her, and will probably not join us in the future, because we did not love enough to reach out to her.