SERMON: “O Ye Doubters”
John 20:19-31
April 17, 2009 Dr. Dennis Ginoza
The first thing I want to say to you this
morning is:
Trust everybody, ….but cut the cards.
Once there was a man who went to the Grand Canyon.
He was enjoying the view, then went too close to the
edge; and he slipped and fell. As he was
falling, he grabbed hold of a bush and he hung on.
He looked up to heaven and he yelled out, “Is there
anyone up there?” A voice said, “Yes, there is.”
The man called out, “Can you help me?”
That voice said, “Yes, I probably can. What’s your problem?”
The man said, “I fell over the cliff and I’m hanging on to this bush.”
The voice said, “Do you believe?”
“Yes, yes I believe.”
The voice said, “Do you have faith?”
“Yes, yes, I have faith.”
The calm voice said, “Well, if you believe, let go of the bush
and everything will be all right.”
And the man called out, “Is there anyone else up there?”
So I ask you: Do you believe? Do you have faith?
This morning I have entitled my sermon,
“O Ye Doubters.”
Webster defines the word doubt as distrust,
lack of confidence, inclination not to believe.
In 1930 a Communist leader by the name of Bukharin went
from Moscow to Kiev to give a speech at a huge
assembly. His subject was “Atheism.” For a full
hour he discredited Christianity and how ridiculous
it is. After he finished, he asked, “Are there any
questions?’ A man got up and asked for permission
to speak. He went up to the platform, he looked at
at the crowd, to the left and then to the right. Then he
gave the Orthodox greet, “Christ is risen!” And the whole
assembly shouted, “HE IS RISEN INDEED!”
Today the Soviet Union is gone….
The Easter lilies are still blooming.
2
In his book, Sing With the Wind, Winston Abbott writes:
Faith
does not come in one great flash
as lightning of a summer night
but
from a thousand tiny lamps
that
pierce the darkness with their light.
If you believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ,
a door will open for you.
It’s a door to your heart.
You will feel things that you never felt before.
The word peace will have a totally different meaning.
It will lift your soul and you’ll say,
Wow! My burdens are gone. (I know because it
happened to me.)
When Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many
mansions, you will know what it means.
When Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world,”
you will also have a new understanding.
When Jesus said, “Be ye perfect as your Father in
heaven is perfect.” That will also make a lot more sense.
O Ye Doubters!
Thomas said, “Unless I put my finger in his hands
and in his side, I will not believe.”
When the disciples were gathered in the Upper Room, this
time, Thomas was there.
Imagine the scene.
Jesus looks at Thomas and says, “Thomas, put your
finger here and see my side.” And Thomas says, “My
God and my Lord!” …And he believed!
Thomas was also known as Didymus, meaning twin, and he no longer
had any doubts. Tradition says that Thomas took the
gospel to India. He formed seven and a half churches
--Korungallur, Kollam, Niranam, Nilackal (or Chayal),
Kottakayal, Palayoor, and Thiruvithamcode which was
the half church. Thomas was killed by a lance and he
is buried in Edessa (Urhai is the ancient name of Edessa)
in India.
3
For Thomas and all the other disciples, they learned the
importance of building their lives on the life
and teachings of Jesus. The book of Acts says,
they were of “one heart and one soul.” They worshipped, they
prayed, they broke bread together, and they proclaimed
to the world that Jesus is the Messiah, the resurrected Christ.
Studies have shown that our faith is the life line to good
health.
In a study of 21,000 people from 1987 to 1995, they
found that people who attend religious services every
week live seven years longer than those who never
attend at all. Faith brings longer life.
Jeff Levin, an epidemiologist, author of God, Faith, and
Health, found that people who considered themselves
Religious had fewer health problems and functioned better
than those who were non-religious. Faith helps increase
your overall well-being.
In 1995, in the Dartmouth Medical School study showed those
with faith had three times the chance of being alive six
months after an open heart-surgery than those who
had no faith. Faith helps your medical recovery.
In 1997, in a study of Hindus in India, those who prayed
regularly, they had 70 times less of chance of having
coronary heart disease. Faith gives you tougher tickers.
In 1989, in Evans County, Georgia, in a study of 400
Caucasion men, Duke University researchers found that
those who consider religion important and attended
church regularly developed a significant protection against
high blood pressure. Faith helps lower your blood pressure.
In 1999, in a study of 400 older adults, Duke University
found that attendance in worship helps lower the rate of
depression and anxiety. Faith gives you good mental health.
4
Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School, states that
people with psychological stress experienced raised blood
pressure, higher heart and breathing rates, and lower immunity
in their systems. However, Dr. Benson cites that repeating a
prayer, word, sound and phrase movement help disregard other
thoughts. He also cites, meditation, prayer, tai chi, and yoga
provoke healthful state. Faith helps reduce your stress.
Reader’s Digest May 200
The upshot is:
Those who worship, those who pray, those who live their faith,
they live longer and they are healthier.
Many years ago, a young boy was given a very precious gift:
the gold watch of his grandfather.
One day he was playing with his watch in his
father’s ice plant and he lost it in the saw dust.
He searched for it, he scratched, he scraped and he
still couldn’t find it. He got a bit panicky.
Then he realized what he had to do. He stopped
Scurrying and he listened. He heard the watched
ticking.
God gave all of us a priceless gift. The precious gift
is the gift of life. So let us stop in the madness of
this world and listen, listen to the voice of God,
and the movement of the Spirit.
Jesus said, “Lo, I will be with you always,
till the end of the age.”
Monday, April 20, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Easter: Turning Points
Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009
“Easter: Turning Points”
Mark 16:1-8, 9-12
One day a chicken was eating its lunch under
a tree and an acorn fell on its head. The
chicken concludes, “The sky is falling.” She
decides to tell the king. On the way the chicken
meets other animals and they all join in the hysteria:
“The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”
Kinda describes our time, doesn’t it?
This world is a mess.
This world is filled with goodness.
This world is falling apart at its seams.
This world is in the hands of God, it cannot fail.
The earth is a sentient earth, it will somehow
correct itself.
So which is it?
It just depends where you stand.
It just depends on how you look at things.
Let me give you an example.
There was this wife who always tried her best
to give her husband a good welcome after he
came home after a hard day at the office. She
also gave her time to her five children. One day,
however, things didn’t go so well. When her husband came
home, she said, “Guess what dear? Of our five
children, four of them didn’t break an arm today.”
If something goes wrong, it is our job to find a way
to fix it. One week before Easter, our church
had painted the children’s chairs in the classroom.
On Easter morning, after the church service, I found
out that one of the girls came to church in her new
Easter dress and sat on the newly painted chair. She
got paint on her dress and her mother was not happy,
no, not all. Guess where I went that afternoon? To
visit that mother. After that visit, things were okay.
Thanks be to God.
There are a lot of things wrong with this world.
But…look at it this way. There are a lot of things
right with this world. This is the Easter story.
Jesus chose just twelve guys, a motley crew—fishermen, 2
a tax collector, a zealot, a doubter, two ambitious
brothers, and one with no deceit. Let me turn to
Matthew chapter 10, verses 1-4.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first
Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the
tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
With only twelve disciples, Jesus laid the foundation to
change the world. That was 2,000 years ago. This tells me
that God is a patient God. God’s plan is to save every soul
and change every heart. And there are 7 billion of us and more
to come. How do we change the world? One soul at a time.
According to Mark, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of
James, and Salome went at early dawn to anoint the body
of Jesus with their spices. While the women were walking
to the tomb, they were saying to each other, “Who will roll away
the stone for us? When they arrived at the tomb, they were amazed.
The stone had been rolled away. When the entered the tomb, they
met a young man sitting at the right side and they were afraid..
The young man said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are
looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, he is
not here. He is risen!” That is the good news of Easter. Jesus
is now alive. The women were told, tells the disciples that
that they will see him in Galilee.
For the women and the disciples, this was a Turning Point.
How do we change the world? One soul at a time.
Dr. Paul Gentuso was a brilliant student in medical school.
He believed in evolution more than he did in God.
In fact, he doubted the existence of God. When he
was studying the anatomy of the hand, he first removed
the skin, he isolated the tendons and muscles and he
worked his way to the bones. The tendons were
aligned in tendon sheaths, like lubricating pulleys,
allowing the hand to work in a tireless, effortless
fashion. The hand was perfectly designed to carry out the
work it was called to do from lifting a small object
or lugging a tree trunk.
3
This experience was the turning point for Paul Gentuso. Each
tendon was perfectly aligned along the axis of each
finger and each finger moved in coordinated fashion
when tugged by individual tendons. Gentuso says,
“It became obvious to me that there was a Creator who
had intelligently designed and created the human hand.”
This was the first time in his adult life he could say
he believed in a Creator Dr. Paul Gentuso became a
Christian and a missionary physican in Cote d Ivoire,
Africa, formerly Ivory Coast, and a resident doctor in
Nashville, Tennessee.
Is Herb Specker here? Herb will you stand for a moment
please?
Over a year ago, around November, Herb was a very
sick man. It looked like we were going to loose him.
I got word that he was giving up. I shared with the
Administrative Board that no one in our church should
feel that way. We prayed for him and we decided to
help him hold the line. We surrounded him with our love.
Herb has a strong will and he didn’t give up. He got
better. In January 2008, he came to church and he said
to me, “I plan to make it through the year.” This is an
Easter story. This is April 12, 2009. Hallelujah!
Today in this world, there is a lot of waste:
The waste of time, the waste of value,
and the waste of materials, and the waste of spirit.
The Easter message is clear.
Life is a precious gift.
All the suffering, all the imperfections, and all
the wrongs were taken to the grave. Everything is made New!
So think about your life.
The Dash by Linda Ellis, 1996 4
I read of a reverend who stood to speak
at a funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we can own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard,
are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.
So when our eulogy is being read
with your life’s actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent your dash?
“Easter: Turning Points”
Mark 16:1-8, 9-12
One day a chicken was eating its lunch under
a tree and an acorn fell on its head. The
chicken concludes, “The sky is falling.” She
decides to tell the king. On the way the chicken
meets other animals and they all join in the hysteria:
“The sky is falling! The sky is falling!”
Kinda describes our time, doesn’t it?
This world is a mess.
This world is filled with goodness.
This world is falling apart at its seams.
This world is in the hands of God, it cannot fail.
The earth is a sentient earth, it will somehow
correct itself.
So which is it?
It just depends where you stand.
It just depends on how you look at things.
Let me give you an example.
There was this wife who always tried her best
to give her husband a good welcome after he
came home after a hard day at the office. She
also gave her time to her five children. One day,
however, things didn’t go so well. When her husband came
home, she said, “Guess what dear? Of our five
children, four of them didn’t break an arm today.”
If something goes wrong, it is our job to find a way
to fix it. One week before Easter, our church
had painted the children’s chairs in the classroom.
On Easter morning, after the church service, I found
out that one of the girls came to church in her new
Easter dress and sat on the newly painted chair. She
got paint on her dress and her mother was not happy,
no, not all. Guess where I went that afternoon? To
visit that mother. After that visit, things were okay.
Thanks be to God.
There are a lot of things wrong with this world.
But…look at it this way. There are a lot of things
right with this world. This is the Easter story.
Jesus chose just twelve guys, a motley crew—fishermen, 2
a tax collector, a zealot, a doubter, two ambitious
brothers, and one with no deceit. Let me turn to
Matthew chapter 10, verses 1-4.
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first
Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the
tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.
With only twelve disciples, Jesus laid the foundation to
change the world. That was 2,000 years ago. This tells me
that God is a patient God. God’s plan is to save every soul
and change every heart. And there are 7 billion of us and more
to come. How do we change the world? One soul at a time.
According to Mark, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of
James, and Salome went at early dawn to anoint the body
of Jesus with their spices. While the women were walking
to the tomb, they were saying to each other, “Who will roll away
the stone for us? When they arrived at the tomb, they were amazed.
The stone had been rolled away. When the entered the tomb, they
met a young man sitting at the right side and they were afraid..
The young man said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are
looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified, he is
not here. He is risen!” That is the good news of Easter. Jesus
is now alive. The women were told, tells the disciples that
that they will see him in Galilee.
For the women and the disciples, this was a Turning Point.
How do we change the world? One soul at a time.
Dr. Paul Gentuso was a brilliant student in medical school.
He believed in evolution more than he did in God.
In fact, he doubted the existence of God. When he
was studying the anatomy of the hand, he first removed
the skin, he isolated the tendons and muscles and he
worked his way to the bones. The tendons were
aligned in tendon sheaths, like lubricating pulleys,
allowing the hand to work in a tireless, effortless
fashion. The hand was perfectly designed to carry out the
work it was called to do from lifting a small object
or lugging a tree trunk.
3
This experience was the turning point for Paul Gentuso. Each
tendon was perfectly aligned along the axis of each
finger and each finger moved in coordinated fashion
when tugged by individual tendons. Gentuso says,
“It became obvious to me that there was a Creator who
had intelligently designed and created the human hand.”
This was the first time in his adult life he could say
he believed in a Creator Dr. Paul Gentuso became a
Christian and a missionary physican in Cote d Ivoire,
Africa, formerly Ivory Coast, and a resident doctor in
Nashville, Tennessee.
Is Herb Specker here? Herb will you stand for a moment
please?
Over a year ago, around November, Herb was a very
sick man. It looked like we were going to loose him.
I got word that he was giving up. I shared with the
Administrative Board that no one in our church should
feel that way. We prayed for him and we decided to
help him hold the line. We surrounded him with our love.
Herb has a strong will and he didn’t give up. He got
better. In January 2008, he came to church and he said
to me, “I plan to make it through the year.” This is an
Easter story. This is April 12, 2009. Hallelujah!
Today in this world, there is a lot of waste:
The waste of time, the waste of value,
and the waste of materials, and the waste of spirit.
The Easter message is clear.
Life is a precious gift.
All the suffering, all the imperfections, and all
the wrongs were taken to the grave. Everything is made New!
So think about your life.
The Dash by Linda Ellis, 1996 4
I read of a reverend who stood to speak
at a funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we can own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard,
are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.
So when our eulogy is being read
with your life’s actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent your dash?
Unbelief Turns to Joy
Easter Sunrise Service
“Unbelief Turns to Joy”
Matthew 28:1-10
April 12, 2009 7:15 a.m.
For nine whole years, Diana Wiggins who lived just
up the hill, passed by this church, but she never
stopped. She never stopped to say hello, she
never came to worship. …She just went sailing
by in her car.
Today, she is on staff here. She works with our youth,
she visits our sick and shut-ins, she welcomes new members,
she helps develop new ministries, she is a certified
lay speaker, and she has a key to every door. She just about
lives here. The first Sunday she came here was on Easter
Sunday and that’s how it all began. That was a turning point.
(Thanks Diana for our Witness this morning).
If you don’t believe in Easter,
You came to the right place.
If you believe in Easter,
You came to the right place.
If you are still wondering about Easter,
You came to the right place.
When Dr. Lincoln Ralphs was a very young child, he thought the
world was flat. When he went to school, he was told
that the world was round. Later in school, he was told
that it was spherical. In the upper grades, he was told it
was an oblate spheroid. When he got to the university, he
got closer to the truth. He learned it was a geoid. He looked
up the word in the Greek dictionary and found it means
“earth shaped.”
So here is the truth.
The earth is not flat. It is round, well, not exactly.
It’s a geiod. It’s shape is more like a pumpkin than a basketball.
For hundreds of years people believed that the world was
flat and travelers thought, if they got to the edge of
the world, they would fall off.
Doubters, eat your heart out!
Remember the disciples, Jesus asked them to stay awake and
they fellow asleep. And there was Peter. He denied Jesus
not once, not twice, but three times.
When the disciples gathered together, Jesus appeared
to them, but Thomas was not there. Thomas said, “Unless 2
I put my finger in his hands and in his side, I will not
believe.” Hello! Good morning.
It’s Easter!
When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb,
they were totally surprised. Suddenly there was an
earthquake, the ground shook. (Drums) An angel descended
and rolled the rock away. Then there was lightening. The
guards were so scared, they became like dead men. Then
the angel spoke to the women, “Do not be afraid.” “He is
not here, for he has been raised.” So the women hurried
away to tell the others and on the way they met Jesus.
“Greetings!” he said and they fell to his feet to worship him.
Hello! Good morning! It’s Easter!
I have here an egg. This egg is the symbol of new life. When
a mother hen takes care of an egg, eventually the egg will
crack open. But before the baby chick can come out,
it has to work, It has to break the shell by itself. By
doing this the chick gains strength and it becomes strong.
If someone helps the chick to break the shell, it will die.
The struggle and the hard work, make life possible.
The same it is with all of us.
In difficulty,
In pain,
In suffering,
We are made strong.
This is Good News!
When Margaret Fishback was young, the man she dearly loved
left her. She was broken hearted. Then she became
seriously ill with meningitis. She was bedridden for
months. She felt she had fallen into the lowest pit in life.
One day her brother introduced her to a charming man
named Paul Powers . He treated her with kindness and
she almost forgot the hurt she was carrying for a long time.
Paul Powers asked her to marry him. She said no. She
still wasn’t ready to trust anyone. She had a pain that
would not go away.
3
That night Margaret Fishback prayed that God would take
away her pain and her confusion. She wrote down her thoughts
in her diary and the words just started to flow. Something had
had changed. Finally, she told Paul Powers, “I accept.” …And
they were married. Margaret Fishback is the author of “Footprints
in the Sand.” From her dream she wrote these thoughts,
“I noticed two footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and
One to the Lord.”
She noticed, however, in the saddest moments
In her life, there was only one set of footprints. She
felt in those times God abandoned her.
Then the words flowed. The Lord whispered,
“My precious child,
I love you and will never leave,
Never, never, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then I carried you.” We never walk alone.
Every Easter it is the old story, it is the same story.
But every Easter it is a new story. Peter Marshall says it
the best:
“….Suddenly, at a given time between sunset and dawn…
there is rustling as of the breath of God moving
through the garden.
A man rises from the cold stone slab where he had been
laid. We must see Him as He walks to the threshold
of the tomb, stands swaying for a moment of wounded
feet and walks out into the dewy garden, alive
forevermore.
We must be able to see in mind’s eye the discarded grave clothes
Lying there, like a glove from which the hand has
been removed, the fingers of which still retain the
shape of the hand—lying there,
collapsed a little, slightly deflated, because
there was between the rolls of bandages a considerable
weight of spices…
We must be able to hear it—catch a whiff of the strange scents
that must have drifted back to the Man from the tomb
of linen and bandages, of spices—myrrh and aloes—
And close air and blood.
Good morning! It is Easter! The Lord is risen! Let us share joy.
“Unbelief Turns to Joy”
Matthew 28:1-10
April 12, 2009 7:15 a.m.
For nine whole years, Diana Wiggins who lived just
up the hill, passed by this church, but she never
stopped. She never stopped to say hello, she
never came to worship. …She just went sailing
by in her car.
Today, she is on staff here. She works with our youth,
she visits our sick and shut-ins, she welcomes new members,
she helps develop new ministries, she is a certified
lay speaker, and she has a key to every door. She just about
lives here. The first Sunday she came here was on Easter
Sunday and that’s how it all began. That was a turning point.
(Thanks Diana for our Witness this morning).
If you don’t believe in Easter,
You came to the right place.
If you believe in Easter,
You came to the right place.
If you are still wondering about Easter,
You came to the right place.
When Dr. Lincoln Ralphs was a very young child, he thought the
world was flat. When he went to school, he was told
that the world was round. Later in school, he was told
that it was spherical. In the upper grades, he was told it
was an oblate spheroid. When he got to the university, he
got closer to the truth. He learned it was a geoid. He looked
up the word in the Greek dictionary and found it means
“earth shaped.”
So here is the truth.
The earth is not flat. It is round, well, not exactly.
It’s a geiod. It’s shape is more like a pumpkin than a basketball.
For hundreds of years people believed that the world was
flat and travelers thought, if they got to the edge of
the world, they would fall off.
Doubters, eat your heart out!
Remember the disciples, Jesus asked them to stay awake and
they fellow asleep. And there was Peter. He denied Jesus
not once, not twice, but three times.
When the disciples gathered together, Jesus appeared
to them, but Thomas was not there. Thomas said, “Unless 2
I put my finger in his hands and in his side, I will not
believe.” Hello! Good morning.
It’s Easter!
When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb,
they were totally surprised. Suddenly there was an
earthquake, the ground shook. (Drums) An angel descended
and rolled the rock away. Then there was lightening. The
guards were so scared, they became like dead men. Then
the angel spoke to the women, “Do not be afraid.” “He is
not here, for he has been raised.” So the women hurried
away to tell the others and on the way they met Jesus.
“Greetings!” he said and they fell to his feet to worship him.
Hello! Good morning! It’s Easter!
I have here an egg. This egg is the symbol of new life. When
a mother hen takes care of an egg, eventually the egg will
crack open. But before the baby chick can come out,
it has to work, It has to break the shell by itself. By
doing this the chick gains strength and it becomes strong.
If someone helps the chick to break the shell, it will die.
The struggle and the hard work, make life possible.
The same it is with all of us.
In difficulty,
In pain,
In suffering,
We are made strong.
This is Good News!
When Margaret Fishback was young, the man she dearly loved
left her. She was broken hearted. Then she became
seriously ill with meningitis. She was bedridden for
months. She felt she had fallen into the lowest pit in life.
One day her brother introduced her to a charming man
named Paul Powers . He treated her with kindness and
she almost forgot the hurt she was carrying for a long time.
Paul Powers asked her to marry him. She said no. She
still wasn’t ready to trust anyone. She had a pain that
would not go away.
3
That night Margaret Fishback prayed that God would take
away her pain and her confusion. She wrote down her thoughts
in her diary and the words just started to flow. Something had
had changed. Finally, she told Paul Powers, “I accept.” …And
they were married. Margaret Fishback is the author of “Footprints
in the Sand.” From her dream she wrote these thoughts,
“I noticed two footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and
One to the Lord.”
She noticed, however, in the saddest moments
In her life, there was only one set of footprints. She
felt in those times God abandoned her.
Then the words flowed. The Lord whispered,
“My precious child,
I love you and will never leave,
Never, never, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then I carried you.” We never walk alone.
Every Easter it is the old story, it is the same story.
But every Easter it is a new story. Peter Marshall says it
the best:
“….Suddenly, at a given time between sunset and dawn…
there is rustling as of the breath of God moving
through the garden.
A man rises from the cold stone slab where he had been
laid. We must see Him as He walks to the threshold
of the tomb, stands swaying for a moment of wounded
feet and walks out into the dewy garden, alive
forevermore.
We must be able to see in mind’s eye the discarded grave clothes
Lying there, like a glove from which the hand has
been removed, the fingers of which still retain the
shape of the hand—lying there,
collapsed a little, slightly deflated, because
there was between the rolls of bandages a considerable
weight of spices…
We must be able to hear it—catch a whiff of the strange scents
that must have drifted back to the Man from the tomb
of linen and bandages, of spices—myrrh and aloes—
And close air and blood.
Good morning! It is Easter! The Lord is risen! Let us share joy.
Stations of the Cross
SERMON: “Stations of the Cross”
Palm Sunday Mark 11:1-11
April 12, 2009 Dr. Dennis Ginoza
Station One Jesus in agony on the Mount of Olives
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray. He took with him Peter, James, and John. He asked them to stay up and pray with him, but they fell asleep. Jesus was in agony and he knew what lay ahead. He prayed to God saying: “Abba (Father), everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me (yet not what I will, but what You will.)”
Station Two: Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested.
Now the chief priests and scribes and elders came with a number of men with swords and clubs. Judas had arranged it so that the man he kissed was the man they knew as Jesus. Judas betrayed his master with a kiss and Jesus was arrested.
Station Three: Jesus is abandoned by his disciples.
The scriptures have said: “I shall strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.” The disciples were filled with fear and they left Jesus to be on his own. Their words of faith and courage crumbled that very night.
Station Four: Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin.
Before the Sanhedrin were those who stood up and submitted false evidence against him. The high priest then put the question before Jesus: “Have you no answer to that?” Jesus remained silent. They all gave their verdict. He deserved to die.
Station Five: Jesus is Denied by Peter
Peter was a strong character and he was a fisherman. He followed Jesus and lived with him for three years. We know Peter as the Rock, but Peter was also human. When a servant girl saw him, she said: “You too were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.” But Peter denied it. Peter denied Jesus three times and remembered what Jesus said: “Before the cock crows twice, you will have denied me three times.” Peter broke down and wept.”
#288 “Were You There” (First stanza)
Station Six: Jesus judged by Pilate.
The first thing in the morning, the chief priests, the scribes and the elders gathered to complete their plan. They bound Jesus and took him before Pilate to be judged. Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus answered: “You say so.” Then the chief priests made many accusations and Jesus said nothing and Pilate was amazed.
Station Seven: Jesus is condemned to death.
Now the chief priest had stirred the crowd. Pilate asked, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” Now it was customary at the festival that one prisoner be released. So Pilate asked: “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call King of the Jews?” And the crowds shouted, “Crucify him!” To satisfy the crowd Pilate released Barabas and Jesus was condemned to death.
Station Eight: Jesus is mocked and crowned with a crown of thorns.
The Roman soldiers dressed Jesus in purple and placed on his head a crown of thorns. When they finished making fun of him, they took off the purple cloth, dressed him in his clothes and they led him to crucify him.”
Palm Sunday Mark 11:1-11
April 12, 2009 Dr. Dennis Ginoza
Station One Jesus in agony on the Mount of Olives
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray. He took with him Peter, James, and John. He asked them to stay up and pray with him, but they fell asleep. Jesus was in agony and he knew what lay ahead. He prayed to God saying: “Abba (Father), everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me (yet not what I will, but what You will.)”
Station Two: Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested.
Now the chief priests and scribes and elders came with a number of men with swords and clubs. Judas had arranged it so that the man he kissed was the man they knew as Jesus. Judas betrayed his master with a kiss and Jesus was arrested.
Station Three: Jesus is abandoned by his disciples.
The scriptures have said: “I shall strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.” The disciples were filled with fear and they left Jesus to be on his own. Their words of faith and courage crumbled that very night.
Station Four: Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin.
Before the Sanhedrin were those who stood up and submitted false evidence against him. The high priest then put the question before Jesus: “Have you no answer to that?” Jesus remained silent. They all gave their verdict. He deserved to die.
Station Five: Jesus is Denied by Peter
Peter was a strong character and he was a fisherman. He followed Jesus and lived with him for three years. We know Peter as the Rock, but Peter was also human. When a servant girl saw him, she said: “You too were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.” But Peter denied it. Peter denied Jesus three times and remembered what Jesus said: “Before the cock crows twice, you will have denied me three times.” Peter broke down and wept.”
#288 “Were You There” (First stanza)
Station Six: Jesus judged by Pilate.
The first thing in the morning, the chief priests, the scribes and the elders gathered to complete their plan. They bound Jesus and took him before Pilate to be judged. Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus answered: “You say so.” Then the chief priests made many accusations and Jesus said nothing and Pilate was amazed.
Station Seven: Jesus is condemned to death.
Now the chief priest had stirred the crowd. Pilate asked, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” Now it was customary at the festival that one prisoner be released. So Pilate asked: “Then what do you wish me to do with the man you call King of the Jews?” And the crowds shouted, “Crucify him!” To satisfy the crowd Pilate released Barabas and Jesus was condemned to death.
Station Eight: Jesus is mocked and crowned with a crown of thorns.
The Roman soldiers dressed Jesus in purple and placed on his head a crown of thorns. When they finished making fun of him, they took off the purple cloth, dressed him in his clothes and they led him to crucify him.”
What Tomorrow May Bring
SERMON: “What Tomorrow May Bring”
Romans 8:18-30
March 29, 2009 Dr. Dennis Ginoza
Once a new pastor went out to visit an old farmer
down the road. The pastor asked the
farmer: “Do you belong to a Christian family?”
“No,” said the farmer, “they live two farms down.”
“No, no, I mean, are you lost?” asked the pastor.
“Lost, why I’ve lived here thirty years,” said the
old farmer. “I mean, are you ready for judgment
day?” asked the pastor.” “When is it?” asked
the farmer. “Well, it could be today or tomorrow.”
“Well,” said the farmer, “when you find out for
sure when it is, you let me know. My wife will
probably go both days.”
Hello, everybody! How’re you doing?
Do you belong to a Christian family?
I mean, are you lost?
What I really want to know is, does any one
know where you’re going to be tomorrow?
Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men,
Couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.
Do you ever feel like Humpty Dumpty?
You lose someone you love, it’s like the
end of the road.
One day I was having lunch with a member who
lost her husband and she was having a hard time.
He died from a heart attack at the age of 49. She
a business, she had a loving family, but her grief
was difficult to cope with. I asked her, “Have you
been back to the cemetery?” She said, “No.” I
asked her, “Why not?” She said, “It’s too hard.”
I said to you, “After we finish with lunch, you and
I are going to the cemetery. We’ll drive to the lot
but if you don’t want to get out, that’s okay.”
We finished our lunch and I drove her to the cemetery.
I parked the car and we sat there for just a moment.
She said, “I want to get out.” So we walked on the
grass to her husband’s plot. We stood there for a moment
2
in total silence. Then she said, “We shouldn’t have
bought some flowers.” I knew at that moment that
she was going to be okay. A rabbi once said, “Grief
is love not wanting to let go.”
In Romans chapter 8, the apostle Paul teaches, The suffering
of this age cannot compare to the glory about to
be revealed to us. Creation he says was subjected to
futility—to uselessness and hopelessness. The whole
creation has been groaning and moaning in labor pains
like a child being born. All are waiting for the redemption
of our bodies, to be adopted as sons and daughters of God.
Pauls says, hope for what we can see is not hope. But we
hope for what we cannot see, that is hope. So—wait in patience.
Then Paul brings light to our life of circumstances. Sometimes
we cry out, “Lord, why me?” “I can’t take this any
longer.” “This world is not fair!” “Why do some people
have all the luck?” When I was in a store in Flagstaff
right after a heavy storm, lightning struck a golf course;
the cashier told me, her mother
had been hit by lightning not once, but twice. And she
lived. Some people have all the luck.
Paul says, “We know that all things work for good for
those who love God, who are called according to his
purpose.” And Paul also says, “If God is for us, who can
be against us?’
All of us have a choice. We can see the world as essentially
good or we can see the world as essentially bad. The
cup is either half full or half empty. God placed in all
of us a divine will. We can let sit in the corner and let it
waste away or we can take it and run with it.
Do you remember Maxcy Filer of Compton, California. You
should, I told you about him three years ago. There is an
the adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
In 1960 Maxcy began taking the California Bar Exam.
He didn’t pass it the first time and not the second time.
After 25 tries, he failed. After 40 tries he failed. Finally
On the 48th try, he succeeded. The apostle Paul said,
“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we
shall reap if we do not grow weary.” (Gal. 6:9)
3
I have learned working in churches that there are all kinds of
people we have to work with everyone. In every church
there are a hand full of people you can all on almost
any time. In the 1906, Wlfredo Pareto, an Italian
economist and sociologist developed the 80/20 Rule.
He observed that in Switzerland, 80% of the wealth
was held by 20% of the people.
In this application,
80% of the roads are used by 20% of the people,
20% of the people do 80% of the work,
80% of the people are honest, 20% not so honest,
20% of the products will generate 80% of the gain,
80% of the complaints and problems come from 20% of the people.
So which one are you? Are you the 20% or are you the
80%. Each of us is a part of the team. Each of us
is a part of the church. Jesus teaches us: each of us has
a talent if we don’t use it, it will be taken away. Each of us
is meant to become sons and daughters of God.
In each of us there is a mustard seed. That seed is a
good seed. Don’t change that into a stubborn seed
or an angry seed, or a lazy seed, or a “not me” seed.
Did you hear about the basketball team from Milwaukee
Madison High School. One of their players, Johntell
Franklin lost his mother from cancer on February 7
so he decided he would not play that night. So Coach
Aaron Womack did not put him on the roster. Well,
He showed up so Coach Womack decided he wanted
Johntell to play. The Rule Book says, if he is not on
the roster and he plays, that’s a technical foul. The
opposing team knew the situation and they did not
agree with that call. The referees said, the rule is the rule.
What happened next was dramatic. Dave Rohlman, the coach
from DeKalb, Illinois called his players together. On a
technical, that means his teams get to shoot two free throws.
The Dekalb coach said to his player shooting the free throw,
“You realize you’re going to miss right!” “Right!” The player
got to the free throw line and he shot the ball only three
feet and it rolled on the floor. Now the crowd caught on.
The he shot the second free throw and did the same thing.
The crowd stood up and cheered. The player said, “We did this
for the kid who lost his mother.
That night all the players on both teams learned: they play as a team.
The true spirit of the game is not just to win, it is to learn good
sportsmanship. That night all the players learned the meaning
of goodwill and what it means to have sympathy.
So I ask you again,
Are you a Christian?
I mean, are you lost?
Do you have any idea what tomorrow will bring?
Jesus didn’t come to build a city of
Stone and steel. That was a surprise wasn’t it?
Jesus did not say, gather all your spoil, whatever you can
get and take it home. That would have been to easy.
The Assyrians did. The Romans did.
Jesus knew better. The only way this world would change
is if all of us came to our senses:
To know that we are part of we are a part of
God and God is a part of us.
As a pastor, I learned that until we suffer we have no understanding.
One day I thought, when will this end. I had a terrible pain
in my back on the right side. I went to the chiropractor
twice. I went to Urgent not twice but three times.
It was so painful, I couldn’t use the mouse. Every
time I did, it ran a pain down my arm to my finger.
Is there anyone here with pain?
Now I understand more than ever.
When Jesus died on the cross, he took with him
all our pain,
all our suffering,
all our sins and all our imperfections.
Jesus teachers us, suffering is the road to understanding
and understanding will bind the world into one—
yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”
Romans 8:18-30
March 29, 2009 Dr. Dennis Ginoza
Once a new pastor went out to visit an old farmer
down the road. The pastor asked the
farmer: “Do you belong to a Christian family?”
“No,” said the farmer, “they live two farms down.”
“No, no, I mean, are you lost?” asked the pastor.
“Lost, why I’ve lived here thirty years,” said the
old farmer. “I mean, are you ready for judgment
day?” asked the pastor.” “When is it?” asked
the farmer. “Well, it could be today or tomorrow.”
“Well,” said the farmer, “when you find out for
sure when it is, you let me know. My wife will
probably go both days.”
Hello, everybody! How’re you doing?
Do you belong to a Christian family?
I mean, are you lost?
What I really want to know is, does any one
know where you’re going to be tomorrow?
Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men,
Couldn’t put Humpty Dumpty together again.
Do you ever feel like Humpty Dumpty?
You lose someone you love, it’s like the
end of the road.
One day I was having lunch with a member who
lost her husband and she was having a hard time.
He died from a heart attack at the age of 49. She
a business, she had a loving family, but her grief
was difficult to cope with. I asked her, “Have you
been back to the cemetery?” She said, “No.” I
asked her, “Why not?” She said, “It’s too hard.”
I said to you, “After we finish with lunch, you and
I are going to the cemetery. We’ll drive to the lot
but if you don’t want to get out, that’s okay.”
We finished our lunch and I drove her to the cemetery.
I parked the car and we sat there for just a moment.
She said, “I want to get out.” So we walked on the
grass to her husband’s plot. We stood there for a moment
2
in total silence. Then she said, “We shouldn’t have
bought some flowers.” I knew at that moment that
she was going to be okay. A rabbi once said, “Grief
is love not wanting to let go.”
In Romans chapter 8, the apostle Paul teaches, The suffering
of this age cannot compare to the glory about to
be revealed to us. Creation he says was subjected to
futility—to uselessness and hopelessness. The whole
creation has been groaning and moaning in labor pains
like a child being born. All are waiting for the redemption
of our bodies, to be adopted as sons and daughters of God.
Pauls says, hope for what we can see is not hope. But we
hope for what we cannot see, that is hope. So—wait in patience.
Then Paul brings light to our life of circumstances. Sometimes
we cry out, “Lord, why me?” “I can’t take this any
longer.” “This world is not fair!” “Why do some people
have all the luck?” When I was in a store in Flagstaff
right after a heavy storm, lightning struck a golf course;
the cashier told me, her mother
had been hit by lightning not once, but twice. And she
lived. Some people have all the luck.
Paul says, “We know that all things work for good for
those who love God, who are called according to his
purpose.” And Paul also says, “If God is for us, who can
be against us?’
All of us have a choice. We can see the world as essentially
good or we can see the world as essentially bad. The
cup is either half full or half empty. God placed in all
of us a divine will. We can let sit in the corner and let it
waste away or we can take it and run with it.
Do you remember Maxcy Filer of Compton, California. You
should, I told you about him three years ago. There is an
the adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
In 1960 Maxcy began taking the California Bar Exam.
He didn’t pass it the first time and not the second time.
After 25 tries, he failed. After 40 tries he failed. Finally
On the 48th try, he succeeded. The apostle Paul said,
“Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we
shall reap if we do not grow weary.” (Gal. 6:9)
3
I have learned working in churches that there are all kinds of
people we have to work with everyone. In every church
there are a hand full of people you can all on almost
any time. In the 1906, Wlfredo Pareto, an Italian
economist and sociologist developed the 80/20 Rule.
He observed that in Switzerland, 80% of the wealth
was held by 20% of the people.
In this application,
80% of the roads are used by 20% of the people,
20% of the people do 80% of the work,
80% of the people are honest, 20% not so honest,
20% of the products will generate 80% of the gain,
80% of the complaints and problems come from 20% of the people.
So which one are you? Are you the 20% or are you the
80%. Each of us is a part of the team. Each of us
is a part of the church. Jesus teaches us: each of us has
a talent if we don’t use it, it will be taken away. Each of us
is meant to become sons and daughters of God.
In each of us there is a mustard seed. That seed is a
good seed. Don’t change that into a stubborn seed
or an angry seed, or a lazy seed, or a “not me” seed.
Did you hear about the basketball team from Milwaukee
Madison High School. One of their players, Johntell
Franklin lost his mother from cancer on February 7
so he decided he would not play that night. So Coach
Aaron Womack did not put him on the roster. Well,
He showed up so Coach Womack decided he wanted
Johntell to play. The Rule Book says, if he is not on
the roster and he plays, that’s a technical foul. The
opposing team knew the situation and they did not
agree with that call. The referees said, the rule is the rule.
What happened next was dramatic. Dave Rohlman, the coach
from DeKalb, Illinois called his players together. On a
technical, that means his teams get to shoot two free throws.
The Dekalb coach said to his player shooting the free throw,
“You realize you’re going to miss right!” “Right!” The player
got to the free throw line and he shot the ball only three
feet and it rolled on the floor. Now the crowd caught on.
The he shot the second free throw and did the same thing.
The crowd stood up and cheered. The player said, “We did this
for the kid who lost his mother.
That night all the players on both teams learned: they play as a team.
The true spirit of the game is not just to win, it is to learn good
sportsmanship. That night all the players learned the meaning
of goodwill and what it means to have sympathy.
So I ask you again,
Are you a Christian?
I mean, are you lost?
Do you have any idea what tomorrow will bring?
Jesus didn’t come to build a city of
Stone and steel. That was a surprise wasn’t it?
Jesus did not say, gather all your spoil, whatever you can
get and take it home. That would have been to easy.
The Assyrians did. The Romans did.
Jesus knew better. The only way this world would change
is if all of us came to our senses:
To know that we are part of we are a part of
God and God is a part of us.
As a pastor, I learned that until we suffer we have no understanding.
One day I thought, when will this end. I had a terrible pain
in my back on the right side. I went to the chiropractor
twice. I went to Urgent not twice but three times.
It was so painful, I couldn’t use the mouse. Every
time I did, it ran a pain down my arm to my finger.
Is there anyone here with pain?
Now I understand more than ever.
When Jesus died on the cross, he took with him
all our pain,
all our suffering,
all our sins and all our imperfections.
Jesus teachers us, suffering is the road to understanding
and understanding will bind the world into one—
yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”
Time, What Is Time
SERMON: “Time, What Is Time?”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
March 22, 2009 Dr. Dennis Ginoza
What is time?
Time is made up of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks,
months, and years. Time is the movement of the
earth, the suns, and the planets.
Time is a gift. It’s a fair gift, because
Everyone is given the same.
It’s a gift of life.
It’s a gift of learning.
It’s a gift of opportunity.
What is time?
It depends, doesn’t it?
It’s a matter of perspective.
“For everything there is a season and a time for every
matter under heaven.”
There is a time to be born
And a time to die.
The Preacher of Ecclesiastes says, everything has
Its time and its purpose.
Might we conclude then that each of us has an
appointed time on the earth? Think about that!
Time: It’s a matter of perspective. Listen to these
Thoughts—
As lousy as things are now, tomorrow they will
be somebody’s good old days. –Gerald Barzon
The best thing about the future is that it only comes
one day at a time. –Abraham Lincoln
Slow down and everything you are chasing will
come around and catch you. –John DePaola
When planning for a year, plant corn.
When planning for a decade, plant trees.
When planning for life, train and educate people.
--Chinese Proverb
Time is about life, about choices, about what to live for,
About what’s important, and about destiny.
2
In Today’s economic down turn, every day our eyes
are on the economy, on jobs and job losses, on housing
foreclosures. How is it that in our American conscience
we can have so much greed and so much selfishness in
the field of finance?
In the book of Ecclesiastes, the Preacher says, I saw under the
Sun, in place of justice, wickedness. He goes on to say,
“I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the
wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter and
for every work.”
There is a time to seek and a time to lose.
There is a time to keep and a time to throw away.
When we were young children, we were taught—
If you borrow something, return it.
Work hard, apply yourself and you’ll get ahead.
Always show respect to your elders, your parents, your
teachers and respect other people’s property.
Stealing, cussing, and lying are no-nos.
Wash your hands. Where I grew up barefoot; wash your feet!
Wait your turn.
Be kind and courteous.
When I was in the 7th and 8th grade I was given a responsibility. I
was in charge of the PA system. That’s the sound system.
I was also in charge of the Bell and Howe eight millimeter
movie projector. Whenever we had an assembly it was my
job to set up the sound system and when we had a movie I
was the projectionist. I’m still doing it today, not it’s called
Power Point. The lessons we learn today will help us in the
lessons of tomorrow.
Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and
steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where
neither moth nor rust consume nor where thieves do not
break in and steal.”
“Where your treasure is, there is your heart also.”
(Matthew 6:19-21)
3
Money, everybody needs money. We all need a roof over our
heads, food on the plate, wheels to take us one place to
another especially in California, we need at least two
pairs of shoes, one for easy walking and one for formal
wear, tuition for our college kids; be sure to have a
washer and dryer cause kids come home to do their
laundry…and the list goes on.
But let us not lose our perspective of time and money. Jesus
made it very clear. Where your treasure is, there is
you heart also. Listen to these thoughts—
Money will buy…
A bed, but not sleep
Books but not brains
Food but not appetite
Finery but not beauty
A house but not a home
Medicine but not health
Luxuries but not culture
Amusement but not happiness
A crucifix but not a Savior
Religion but not salvation
A good life but not eternal life
A passport to everywhere but not to heaven.
When the chips are down, what will you choose?
Charles Swindoll tells this story. This is a true story
about a woman who was on the Titanic. As the
Titanic was sinking, they got people on the life boats
and before they lowered the lifeboat, this woman
realized she forgot something important. She asked
permission if she could go back to her stateroom. They
said, you have three minutes. She got out of the lifeboat,
ran to her room; she went through the gambling and
money had tilted off the tables and the floor was filled
with cash ankle high. She kept running. When she got
to her stateroom, she pushes aside her diamond bracelets
and diamond necklaces. She reached over her bed and
grabbed three oranges and she ran back to the life boat.
Just 30 minutes earlier, aboard the Titanic, the woman would
Never, never had chosen three oranges over all her
Diamonds. But….in 30 minutes, the value of her diamonds
Came down to nothing.
4
To realize the value of one year, ask a student who failed
a final exam.
To realize the value of three minutes, ask a survivor of the
The sinking Titanic.
To realize the value of one minute, ask a businessman who
missed his plane.
To realize the value of a millisecond, ask the swimmer who
won the Silver medal in the Olympics.
Adam was 830 years old when he died. Enoch lived for
365 years. The Bible says, “Enoch walked with God
and he was not. God took him.”
Methuselah lived the longest – 969 years.
So what is time?
Time is seconds and minutes.
Time is a deadline—April 15 your taxes are due.
Time is memory. One day Don Pepe and I drive up the
a mountain village in Costa Rica to meet with some
leaders. We went there to see if there any way we could
help them with some self-help projects. We have helped
some communities build a water system, impact roads,
and a health community center. On the way back the
mountain, as I was driving, I could see that the brakes
were failing. We had not brakes. I didn’t tell Don Pepe
what was going on. I knew what I had to do. I had to
throw the gear shift into the lowest gear. I got ready,
I double clutched, and dropped the gear. Got it! The
Jeep came to a crawl. When we got to the bottom, I
told Don Pepe, “Perdimos los frenos.” We lost our
brakes. …But Gracias a Dios! Thank God we made it!
Folks! Prayer actually works!
When I was in seminary, I was studying as my theologian, Paul
Tillich. Tillich defined God as the “Ground of Being.”
God is the foundation of everything that is. Everything
We have we received from God. Tillich went on saying,
“Christ is the center of history.” Now, that didn’t make
sense to me at first. Then Tillich says, “Christ is the center
of history because he gives meaning to history. Now that
makes sense! I have a lot close calls in my life, and one
thing I believe, God is with us at all times. In Christ we
live and move and have our being. In Christ we live!
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
March 22, 2009 Dr. Dennis Ginoza
What is time?
Time is made up of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks,
months, and years. Time is the movement of the
earth, the suns, and the planets.
Time is a gift. It’s a fair gift, because
Everyone is given the same.
It’s a gift of life.
It’s a gift of learning.
It’s a gift of opportunity.
What is time?
It depends, doesn’t it?
It’s a matter of perspective.
“For everything there is a season and a time for every
matter under heaven.”
There is a time to be born
And a time to die.
The Preacher of Ecclesiastes says, everything has
Its time and its purpose.
Might we conclude then that each of us has an
appointed time on the earth? Think about that!
Time: It’s a matter of perspective. Listen to these
Thoughts—
As lousy as things are now, tomorrow they will
be somebody’s good old days. –Gerald Barzon
The best thing about the future is that it only comes
one day at a time. –Abraham Lincoln
Slow down and everything you are chasing will
come around and catch you. –John DePaola
When planning for a year, plant corn.
When planning for a decade, plant trees.
When planning for life, train and educate people.
--Chinese Proverb
Time is about life, about choices, about what to live for,
About what’s important, and about destiny.
2
In Today’s economic down turn, every day our eyes
are on the economy, on jobs and job losses, on housing
foreclosures. How is it that in our American conscience
we can have so much greed and so much selfishness in
the field of finance?
In the book of Ecclesiastes, the Preacher says, I saw under the
Sun, in place of justice, wickedness. He goes on to say,
“I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the
wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter and
for every work.”
There is a time to seek and a time to lose.
There is a time to keep and a time to throw away.
When we were young children, we were taught—
If you borrow something, return it.
Work hard, apply yourself and you’ll get ahead.
Always show respect to your elders, your parents, your
teachers and respect other people’s property.
Stealing, cussing, and lying are no-nos.
Wash your hands. Where I grew up barefoot; wash your feet!
Wait your turn.
Be kind and courteous.
When I was in the 7th and 8th grade I was given a responsibility. I
was in charge of the PA system. That’s the sound system.
I was also in charge of the Bell and Howe eight millimeter
movie projector. Whenever we had an assembly it was my
job to set up the sound system and when we had a movie I
was the projectionist. I’m still doing it today, not it’s called
Power Point. The lessons we learn today will help us in the
lessons of tomorrow.
Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and
steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where
neither moth nor rust consume nor where thieves do not
break in and steal.”
“Where your treasure is, there is your heart also.”
(Matthew 6:19-21)
3
Money, everybody needs money. We all need a roof over our
heads, food on the plate, wheels to take us one place to
another especially in California, we need at least two
pairs of shoes, one for easy walking and one for formal
wear, tuition for our college kids; be sure to have a
washer and dryer cause kids come home to do their
laundry…and the list goes on.
But let us not lose our perspective of time and money. Jesus
made it very clear. Where your treasure is, there is
you heart also. Listen to these thoughts—
Money will buy…
A bed, but not sleep
Books but not brains
Food but not appetite
Finery but not beauty
A house but not a home
Medicine but not health
Luxuries but not culture
Amusement but not happiness
A crucifix but not a Savior
Religion but not salvation
A good life but not eternal life
A passport to everywhere but not to heaven.
When the chips are down, what will you choose?
Charles Swindoll tells this story. This is a true story
about a woman who was on the Titanic. As the
Titanic was sinking, they got people on the life boats
and before they lowered the lifeboat, this woman
realized she forgot something important. She asked
permission if she could go back to her stateroom. They
said, you have three minutes. She got out of the lifeboat,
ran to her room; she went through the gambling and
money had tilted off the tables and the floor was filled
with cash ankle high. She kept running. When she got
to her stateroom, she pushes aside her diamond bracelets
and diamond necklaces. She reached over her bed and
grabbed three oranges and she ran back to the life boat.
Just 30 minutes earlier, aboard the Titanic, the woman would
Never, never had chosen three oranges over all her
Diamonds. But….in 30 minutes, the value of her diamonds
Came down to nothing.
4
To realize the value of one year, ask a student who failed
a final exam.
To realize the value of three minutes, ask a survivor of the
The sinking Titanic.
To realize the value of one minute, ask a businessman who
missed his plane.
To realize the value of a millisecond, ask the swimmer who
won the Silver medal in the Olympics.
Adam was 830 years old when he died. Enoch lived for
365 years. The Bible says, “Enoch walked with God
and he was not. God took him.”
Methuselah lived the longest – 969 years.
So what is time?
Time is seconds and minutes.
Time is a deadline—April 15 your taxes are due.
Time is memory. One day Don Pepe and I drive up the
a mountain village in Costa Rica to meet with some
leaders. We went there to see if there any way we could
help them with some self-help projects. We have helped
some communities build a water system, impact roads,
and a health community center. On the way back the
mountain, as I was driving, I could see that the brakes
were failing. We had not brakes. I didn’t tell Don Pepe
what was going on. I knew what I had to do. I had to
throw the gear shift into the lowest gear. I got ready,
I double clutched, and dropped the gear. Got it! The
Jeep came to a crawl. When we got to the bottom, I
told Don Pepe, “Perdimos los frenos.” We lost our
brakes. …But Gracias a Dios! Thank God we made it!
Folks! Prayer actually works!
When I was in seminary, I was studying as my theologian, Paul
Tillich. Tillich defined God as the “Ground of Being.”
God is the foundation of everything that is. Everything
We have we received from God. Tillich went on saying,
“Christ is the center of history.” Now, that didn’t make
sense to me at first. Then Tillich says, “Christ is the center
of history because he gives meaning to history. Now that
makes sense! I have a lot close calls in my life, and one
thing I believe, God is with us at all times. In Christ we
live and move and have our being. In Christ we live!
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