• Christ is the center of all things
  • Romans 11:36 – “From, through, and for Jesus are all things”
  • Colossians 1:15-17
  • Genesis 1 & John 1:1-5 – Christ is the center of creation
  • John 17:1-5 – The cross was for Christ’s glory

What’s in it for God?

• The Condition for the Flood
  • Genesis 6:1-8
  • Genesis 6:11-13
  • Matthew 24:36-39

God is Creation i.e His home

• • God separates Noah from a corrupt generation
    • 3 times Genesis 6 mentions that man “Corrupted” creation
      • Different from Genesis 1 where it was without purpose or direction, here God gave it purpose and direction but we corrupted that purpose
    • To corrupt means to take something in order and bring disorder, in Genesis 1 God brings all from disorder to order
  • God separates in days 1, 2, 3, 6 in Genesis 1
  • Parable of Weeds- Matthew 13:24-29
• God is still building His home
  • Genesis 6-9 gives us 10 dates
    • 5 specific and 5 numeric
      • Dates are God’s appointed times given in Leviticus 23
        • Ark rests in Genesis 8:4 – 7^th month, 17^th day (Feast of First fruits)
        • Ark opens in Genesis 8:13 – 1^st month, 1^st day (Rosh Hashanna) – New year = new creation)
      • Each day corresponds to the days of week according to Lunar/Gregorian calendar
        • Example: Dry ground appears on a Tuesday, flood starts on Monday, doves return with fig leaf on a Wednesday, doves sent out/ark comes to rest/etc. on Sabbath
      • Uses covenant language again…the waters for the flood called a “Mikveh/baptism”
        • 1 Peter 3:19-21

*God is building a home and has a unwavering plan for it; and like any renovation or a “fixer upper,” there come times when its time to take out the trash

*Our value and identity are tied to the purpose to which we were created.

God is our worship for His glory

• • Judgment and Mercy belong to each other
    • Both demonstrate God’s power, just applied differently
    • Why did God destroy the earth in Noah’s day but then sent Christ to save us?
  • How else would we know what we are saved from?
  • The deeper the hell, the deeper the love and grace; and therefore, the deeper our worship

What’s in it for Them?

God is a warning of judgment

• • 2 Peter 2:4-5
  • 2 Peter 2:9-10
  • Parable of Barron Fig tree- Luke 13:1-9
    • We are either actively useful to God or passively useful
  • Romans 9 : Vessels of Mercy and Vessels of judgment
    • Jeremiah 18

God is

• • Genesis 5:25-27
    • Methuselah was oldest man to ever live (969 years)
      • His name means, “His death shall bring/send death”
        • Ideal of an arrow or javelin
      • The year Methuselah dies is the year the flood started
        • God warned creation for 969 years of pending judgment
    • God waited until there was only one left
      • “The wickedness of man was great in the earth” – Genesis 6:5
      • “Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord” –Genesis 6:8
        • Remember Sodom? “If there are 10 righteous, I will not destroy them.”- Genesis 18:26-33

*God demonstrates His patience in His judgment. He ordained that Methuselah’s death will bring the flood…which is the longest man to ever live

• Consider our patience, are we as patient with unbelievers as God?
  • AWANA kid example: Why did their mommies and daddies not make sure they made it on the ark?

*A time is coming when God shuts the door to the ark (Genesis 7:16). Can you say that you did all you could to make sure your family, friends, etc. make it on the ark?

What’s in it for Me?

God an ark

• • Just as He provided Noah with an ark with pitch (Kaf), so too He provided Christ as our ark with pitch (kaf) i.e. covering
  • It is through our ark (Jesus) who covers us at the time of judgment
  • The ark only mattered if there was a flood/ Christ’s 1^st coming only matters if there is a flood of judgment coming
  • God did not remove Noah from the flood, but provided a way to survive THROUGH it

Noah’s full saved his family

• • Genesis 6:22
  • Genesis 7:5
  • Genesis 7:9

*Noah had to believe in the saving nature of the ark, but then had to remain obedient to God’s instruction surrounding it! We must believe in the saving grace of Jesus, but we must remain obedient to His instruction surrounding that salvation!

• Litmus test for authentic faith in 1 John:
  • Faith
  • Hope
  • Love
  • Joy
  • Obedience

Noah’s faith was rooted in God’s

• • Was Noah righteous before God because he knew of a flood and that God would provide an ark?
    • For Noah, God found him righteous because God was big enough to Noah without promises of salvation or judgment

God Noah

• God gave a countdown of 120 years in Genesis 6:3
• God assigns Noah to build the ark in Genesis 6:13-16
  • Based on ages of Noah, Shem, Ham, etc., the time to build the ark was no less than 55 years and no more than 75 years.
  • For 55-75 years Noah built out of faith; and he was ultimately vindicated.

Guided Discussion Questions

1. We discussed “three questions to ask” when studying scripture: What’s in it for me? What’s in it for Them? What’s in it for God? What does it mean to have a narcissistic faith? Has the American church become self-centered in our approach to faith, our teachings, our worship, or our mission as believers?
2. Do you worship and serve God only because there is something in it for you, or because God is simply worthy?
3. We discussed how God has appointed times for His decisive actions and He separates or prunes creation to shape it for His purpose. Where or what is God pruning now? In your life? In our nation? In the American church?
4. Much of the story of Noah intends to complete our worship. Both God’s power and holiness are clearly displayed which create a powerful contrast to Christ’s death and resurrection. How do we live a life that is complete in worship? What elements of God’s character do we ignore or miss that creates an incomplete faith?
5. Our identity and value is directly tied to the purpose to which we were created. If we reject our purpose, we lose our value. Christ restored our purpose, value, and identity because He restored our worship. Does that seem harsh to condemn those who reject their purpose of worship; in a flood or otherwise? Is it fair and just?
6. As a Christian, we often suppress, hide, or wallow in guilt of our sin, but God uses our sin to draw us closer in our purpose of worship. Without a flood, the ark would have no impact, no value, no purpose, no solution. Without sin and its judgement, Jesus similarly would give no impact, no value, no purpose, no solution. It is in the contrast of sin that Jesus commands our heart. In what ways has your sins actually brought you deeper in worship?
7. God did not remove Noah from the flood, but He provided a way to weather it. What storms in your life have you expected God to remove, but instead enabled you to weather it? In what ways has God provided you with an ark in life?
8. How does the story of Noah, the ark, and the flood draw you closer to our ark, Jesus?
9. Are you doing everything possible to make sure your children, friends, family, or enemies make it on the ark that is Jesus?
10. The story of Noah and the flood as well as 1 Peter both demonstrate God’s patience in His judgment. In that, Christ has not returned in order to bring in the full fold of worship to God, and redemption to as many people as possible. Are we that patient with people? In our politics, our work, our children, our spouses, or our family? Do we have God’s worship and their salvation in mind, or are we self-centered in our desires for Christ’s return?
11. Is the God you serve big enough to command your full attention, heart, and worship? Is your worship anchored in your situations, blessings, circumstances, and relationships? Or, is it anchored in eternal character of God?