The Flood Day 1

You will need your Bible today

I think pretty much everyone has at least heard of Noah and the Ark. They may not have actually read it, they might not even know that it's in the Bible, but they've heard about it. Fisher Price makes the most adorable little play set for toddlers featuring a plastic ark that opens up so you can put Noah and all the sweet little creatures in it. Melissa and Doug (the children's toy company) have a wooden shape sorting toy in the shape of the ark. "Camels and kangaroos, monkeys and alligators are among the charming chunky animal pieces to sort into this wooden ark. The two-story ark features flip-open doors, twenty-six animal blocks, plus Noah and his wife!"* In 2007 Universal Studios released Evan Almighty, staring Steve Carell as a modern day Noah, learning to trust God in the face of persecution.** The story of Noah and the Flood is a great children's story.
Unfortunately it seem even many Christians think it is nothing more than a children's story. Once you are out of Sunday School you don't often hear the story anymore. Preachers and teachers might mention Noah or the Flood within a study, but rarely are they the focus.
As a student of the Bible one of my most favorite things is to go back over all the wonderful Sunday School stories with a fresh and grown up eye. The Bible is both utterly simple and incredibly complex at the same time, which make a story like Noah's perfect for Sunday School children and yet multifaceted and deep enough for mature Christians to not grow bored.
I am going to break my preferred pattern of completing a study in 3 lessons, I could never do justice to God's Word about Noah and the Flood that way. So this week we will read the complete story and focus on the plain text, then next week we will take an additional 2 days to look at many of the ways this story points to Jesus.
Please take the time to read the Genesis Chapters 6, 7 & 8 in one setting. Try to read it with fresh eyes and an open heart. No matter how familiar you maybe with parts of God's Word, there is always something new that God wants to reveal to you.
" I meditate on your precepts and consider you ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word." Psalm 119:15, 16



* description from: http://www.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=426558&cm_mmc=Google_Feed-_-9-_-53-_-%7Bkeyword%7D&kw=%7Bkeyword%7D (accessed 5-2-10)
** IMDB.com (accessed 5-2-10) for a Christian movie review of the the film check out http://www.pluggedin.com/videos/2007/Q2/EvanAlmighty.aspx