Bible, Faith, Genesis, Jesus, Flood, Noah

God's Plan for New Beginnings

Sometimes, the challenges of life and the brokenness around us leave us craving a fresh start—to leave the past behind and embrace renewed hope and purpose. The Bible reveals that God once faced a similar situation with the world. Confronted with pervasive evil and suffering, He chose to hit the reset button through a catastrophic flood. The story of Noah and the Flood is more than a tale for children; it’s a narrative of divine resets and second chances—a story where God offers a fresh start amidst despair, no matter how badly we’ve messed up. From this ancient account, we will gain insights into how, even when things seem at their worst, God has a plan for new beginnings that can transform our lives forever.

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MESSAGE NOTES

[Genesis 6:1-4 NLT]
Then the people began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them. 2 The sons of God saw the beautiful women and took any they wanted as their wives. 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.” 4 In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times.
[Genesis 6:5-7 NLT]
The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the LORD was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. 7 And the LORD said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing–all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.”
[Genesis 6:8-14 NLT]
8 But Noah found favor with the LORD. 9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. 10 Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11 Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. 12 God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. 13 So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth! 14 Build a large boat…
GOD PASSES JUDGMENT ON SIN AND EVIL
[Genesis 7:1-5 NLT]
1 When everything was ready, the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the boat with all your family, for among all the people of the earth, I can see that you alone are righteous. 2 Take with you seven pairs–male and female–of each animal I have approved for eating and for sacrifice, and take one pair of each of the others. 3 Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood. 4 Seven days from now I will make the rains pour down on the earth. And it will rain for forty days and forty nights, until I have wiped from the earth all the living things I have created.” 5 So Noah did everything as the LORD commanded him. …
[Genesis 7:11-12 NLT]
11 When Noah was 600 years old, on the seventeenth day of the second month, all the underground waters erupted from the earth, and the rain fell in mighty torrents from the sky. 12 The rain continued to fall for forty days and forty nights. …

[Genesis 7:17-24 NLT]

17 For forty days the floodwaters grew deeper, covering the ground and lifting the boat high above the earth. 18 As the waters rose higher and higher above the ground, the boat floated safely on the surface. 19 Finally, the water covered even the highest mountains on the earth, 20 rising more than twenty-two feet above the highest peaks. 21 All the living things on earth died–birds, domestic animals, wild animals, small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the people. 22 Everything that breathed and lived on dry land died. 23 God wiped out every living thing on the earth–people, livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and the birds of the sky. All were destroyed. The only people who survived were Noah and those with him in the boat. 24 And the floodwaters covered the earth for 150 days.

 

[Genesis 8:1-4 NLT]

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede. 2 The underground waters stopped flowing, and the torrential rains from the sky were stopped. 3 So the floodwaters gradually receded from the earth. After 150 days, 4 exactly five months from the time the flood began, the boat came to rest on the mountains of Ararat.

 

[Genesis 9:1-13 NLT]

Then God blessed Noah and his sons and told them, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth. 2 All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear and terror. I have placed them in your power.

 

The PATTERN – God is good, We rebel, God initiates reconciliation with Us.

 

[1 Peter 3:21 NLT]

21 And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

 

[Romans 6:1-6 NLT]

Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. 5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.

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Application Questions

  1. What stood out to you from this message and why?
  2. What is one thing God is telling you to START doing because of this message?
  3. What is one thing God is telling you to STOP doing because of this message?
  4. How will this message change how you act at home, at work, and in your relationships?

Sometimes, the challenges of life and the brokenness around us leave us craving a fresh start—to leave the past behind and embrace renewed hope and purpose. The Bible reveals that God once faced a similar situation with the world. Confronted with pervasive evil and suffering, He chose to hit the reset button through a catastrophic flood. The story of Noah and the Flood is more than a tale for children; it’s a narrative of divine resets and second chances—a story where God offers a fresh start amidst despair, no matter how badly we’ve messed up. From this ancient account, we will gain insights into how, even when things seem at their worst, God has a plan for new beginnings that can transform our lives forever.

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