“Flood and Promise” – Genesis 6 & 9

Sunday, September 9 was our first Sunday of the new church year. We began a new Sunday School schedule and curriculum, we held a fantastic Rally Day/Kickoff Sunday Breakfast thanks to wonderful volunteers, our Youth Group began their year, our choir was back in full form, and we began a new sermon series.

This new sermon series is a little different than past series. We’ll be surveying the Old Testament until Christmas, looking at God’s faithfulness to God’s people and to all creation. This is part of a larger four-year track called the Narrative Lectionary, which seeks to tell the story of Scripture throughout the year.

This year, we begin with Noah and the flood. The story spans Genesis 6-9.

The story is famous. It’s perhaps the most popular children’s story the church has. Cute animals entering the ark two-by-two, a beautiful rainbow, and a nice, neat story with a happy ending. At least, the ending is happy for those on the ark. What about those outside the ark? Take a look at the Noah story. We often skip over details like Genesis 7:21-23:

And all flesh died that moved on the earth, birds, domestic animals, wild animals, all swarming creatures that swarm on the earth, and all human beings; everything on dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. He blotted out every living thing that was on the face of the ground, human beings and animals and creeping things and birds of the air; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those that were with him in the ark.

This week, we took a stark look at the story, and especially at the hope that God provides in the new covenant between God, humanity, and all creation.

Read the sermon here: “Flood and Promise” Noah Sermon

Discussion/Reflection Questions:

1. God provides a sliver of hope in the ark among destruction. Where has God done that for you?
2. What kind of floods do we deal with? How do you remember to have hope?
3. We focused on the more difficult details in this story – including the casualties of the flood – in the sermon. Why do we ignore difficult details like this one when we tell the story of Scripture?
4. Jesus told a parable of the wise man who built his house on the rock (the Word) and the foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain and flood comes to both men. Metaphorically, we deal with rain and floods, and Jesus teaches us that if our foundation is on the rock of Scripture we will not be moved. How do you maintain this foundation in your life?