Faith,
Warning: The following might trouble your heart.
Growing up I saw the most violent fights in my middle school. I remember one in particular. A group of girls encircled a targeted girl while two girls jumped in from the circle to beat up the one girl. I’ll never forget the bruised and beaten girl’s plea to all of us watching. With blood pouring down her face, she cried, “Why won’t anyone help me?”
Indeed…why? Why did we stand there and watch? Why did some cheer?
As you read the above, what is your heart doing? Are you grieving, mourning, or angry? Are you hoping justice was served?
This Sunday, as we continue our journey through Genesis, our message will draw us to Noah. While our childhood lessons in the story draw us to images of smiling animals in the ark, the actual text draws us first to God’s mourning over violence:
“The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled….So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them.” Genesis 6:5-6, 13
Is there any hope in this story?
Is there a reason to mourn?
Where is God in this violent world?
These will be some of the questions we answer as we once again seek to find Christ in the Beginning.
In Christ alone!
Pastor Brad
***Message notes can be downloaded here.
And here are some deeper dive videos relevant to Sunday:
The Biblical Story of Noah and the Flood (7:17)
Science and Genesis (11:47)
Were the sons of God in Genesis 6 fallen angels? Who were the Nephilim? (16:31)