The Flood and a New Future

First UMC - Gainesville, FL

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The Flood and a New Future

“Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, ..."

September 24, 2023 • Dr. Harold Henderson • Genesis 7:1–10

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“Human violence is not dissipating with each successive generation but multiplying and creating the context for the story of Noah and the Great Flood: the earth is full of human violence… A creation that had been integrated is becoming dis-integrated. The order spoken into existence by God is being dis-ordered. The result is the collapse and destruction of human civilization.” pg. 12

“We aren’t left without safe passage, however. In this story, Noah and his family are provided with an ark to guide them through the Flood and into a new future. With that in mind, what might the arks available to us look like?” pg. 16

More from "Wonderful Words of Life" Sermon Series

Slow Cooker Faith

October 29, 2023 • Pastor Beth Snarr • Mark 8:22–26

Repent and Repair

October 22, 2023 • Dr. Harold Henderson • Luke 19:1–10

With the help of the study, “Bible Stories for Grown Ups” by Pastor Josh Scott, this series will invite us to consider new and deeper meanings in Bible characters and events that may be very familiar and yet can also be disturbing and challenging. As people who embrace the scripture as “wonderful words of life”, how do these passages call us into deeper discipleship today? “Yes, Zacchaeus repents, but he also takes another step in the process: repentance leads to repair. Perhaps we could say that repentance and repair are two sides of the same coin. It’s not simple embracing different information in our brains, but it’s also allowing that new information to transform our hearts, which will lead to a different way of being in the world.” pg. 92

Use It or Lose It?

October 15, 2023 • Pastor Beth Snarr • Matthew 25:14–30

With the help of the study, “Bible Stories for Grown Ups” by Pastor Josh Scott, this series will invite us to consider new and deeper meanings in Bible characters and events that may be very familiar and yet can also be disturbing and challenging. As people who embrace the scripture as “wonderful words of life”, how do these passages call us into deeper discipleship today? “Needless to say, I have come to realize that the standard interpretation of this parable - an interpretation I held and preached for many years - is just wrong. It paints a portrait of God as a punisher, as one deepens the suffering and injustice of the world. That is not the God Jesus knew. The more I dig into the context, both culturally and within Matthew’s Gospel, the more I think our interpretive lens for this story has been shaped by American values. It’s all about success, after all. To be faithful means to work hard and reap a reward. I don’t think this story by Jesus is affirming this lens. He’s actually challenging it.” pg. 69