Are the opening chapters of Genesis fine china, kept on a shelf and taken down with great care, or a plastic container you can throw anything into? That question opens a sermon on the end of the flood (Genesis 8-9): the raven and the dove released from the ark, the olive branch, the bow in the sky as the sign of a covenant, and a drunken Noah in his tent. The trouble is that the story ends much as it began, because evil walked out of the ark along with the survivors. Listen and ask whether you keep these chapters on a shelf like china that is better left untouched.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Genesis 8:1 says, "But God remembered Noah." What do these words reveal about God at a moment when everything around the ark seems hopeless?
- After leaving the ark, Noah first offers a sacrifice, and God makes a covenant and sets a bow in the sky as a sign. What does this order tell us about the relationship between God's salvation and our response?
- The story of Noah ends much like it began: Noah's drunkenness and Ham's behavior show that evil is still in the world. What does this teach you about the nature of sin and what judgment alone cannot fix?
- The preacher asked: if God promised never again to destroy the earth, how will He deal with the problem of sin? In what way is Jesus the answer to the story of the flood?
- The speaker stressed that there is nothing we can do to earn God's grace, and that God did not leave us under the water. How does this truth shape the way you see your failures and new beginnings?
- In what situation this week do you want to respond to God, like Noah coming out of the ark, with gratitude and worship for keeping His word?
