Ginter Park United Methodist Church

Job 1:1-3, 13-21  At 8:45 am on September 11, 2011 our world changed. Our nation would never be the same. So many questions confronted us; so few answers were available. How can people be so evil? Where was God? Questions are hard to answer in tragic times. Yet, we keep asking questions, because on this 10th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks, we relive the horror.         If you take a tour of The Bible you will find that one book has more questions than any other, the book of Job. Job has over 330 questions; Genesis, only 160; Matthew around 180. Job has more questions because the book deals with tragedy.         Job is a righteous man, blameless and upright, ... read more

  What A SummerFire in the Dismal swamp! So many acres burning that we have a smoke advisory. Earthquake and aftershocks! Though living on an ancient fault line, we thought we were safe.         Hurricane Irene! Not as bad as some we’ve experienced, but bad enough to inconvenience us all.         Through it all, the one thing people talk about is electricity, or rather the lack, thereof.                 No air conditioning in the midst of high humidity. No refrigeration for our sweet ice tea.No gas pumping so we can’t go.No stop lights.No news bulletins.  No Starbucks, no ... read more

  Luke 7 11-17   6.6.10  “Overcoming Life’s Defeats”     The Palestinian village of Nain is a short distrance from Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth and a day’s walk from Capernaum, Jesus’ center of ministry. The pallbearers are carrrying the body of a young man in a long wicker basket, covered by a shroud, for burial outside the city. Except for very important people, ancient Jews buried their dead outside the city, usually on the day of death, for embalming was not practiced.       The dead man was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. This means she was without any economic support or security. Jesus saw this defeated mother and had compassion for... read more

Acts 2:1-21 Pentecost  5.23.10   “Dare to live the Dream” A friend, who holds a sweet place in my heart, called me from Barnes and Noble one afternoon to ask for my help in selecting a book. He wanted a long book, to get his money’s worth. He also wanted a challenge, so it didn’t matter if the book was a difficult read. I promised him, that if he read the whole book, I would treat him to lunch at his favorite restaurant. I bought his lunch last fall and he handed me 900 pages ofDon Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes It is the story of Don Quixote, a gentleman, who sits around the hacienda all day reading about knights, chivalry and gallantry. Since he has nothing better to do, he decides to become a knight. The only problem is, as ... read more

Luke 24:44-53, Acts 1:1-11   “Happy Ending/Happy Beginning”   Can there be any more powerful experience in life than leaving someone you love? We have all seen the pictures of our soldiers and sailors preparing to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan. You can see the agony they feel all over their faces. With tears in their eyes, they embrace and give a parting farewell.         Today is Ascension Sunday. The day we remember Jesus’ return to heaven. But what does the Ascension mean for us?   First, the Ascension means we can learn to depend upon God without being dependent upon God. Many people in our society are raised to be dependent; dependent upon parents; dependent upon spouses. ... read more

John 13.31-35  “The Hardest Commandment”    In a Peanuts cartoon, Lucy stands with her arms folded and a resolute expression on her face while Charlie Brown pleads with her. "Lucy, you must be more loving. The world needs love. Make this world a better place, Lucy, by loving someone  else." At that Lucy whirls around angrily and Charlie goes flipping over backwards. "Look, you blockhead," Lucy screams. "The world I love. It's people I can't stand!"   It's easy to love in the abstract; the world and people in general. It's the people around us that drive us crazy. Yet it is precisely the people around... read more