Title Thanking Noah
Contents
Hymn: No. 489 “All the Winds and Waves of the World Shake You”
Meditation: What has been the most grateful moment in your life so far?
Confession of Faith: Apostles' Creed
Text: “And Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took it from all clean animals and from all clean birds and offered it as a burnt offering on the altar… ” (Genesis 8:20-9:2)
Word: After the flood stopped, Noah came out of the ark and built an altar of thanksgiving. It was a sacrifice of thanks to God for saving himself and his family. God received Noah's thanks and gave Noah and his family a great blessing. Those who give thanks to God in this way are blessed. We want to find Noah's thanks in the Bible and receive grace.
How did Noah thank God? First, they built an altar to the Lord. When Noah's family opened the ark and came down to the surface, the first thing they did was build an altar to the Lord. It is “for the Lord.” You say you built an altar for the Lord, not for me, for my family, or for my future happiness. Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” We must not forget that the most precious thing in life on this earth is to build an altar to God first. No matter how busy or difficult it is, it is important to worship ‘for God’ first.
I also gave thanks for the best sacrifice. It is not just a thoughtless slaughter of any animal or bird. The cleanest animals and the cleanest birds left on the ark were chosen as sacrifices. This heart of Noah was accepted and God accepted the sacrifices. It's not about worship. God is pleased when we do our best with the greatest devotion in life, the most precious thing.
You have blessed me. God has rewarded Noah who knows how to be thankful, and Noah who puts worship first in his life. The first is the blessing of forgiveness. He promised, “I will never again curse the earth because of man.” The second is the blessing of the season. He promised the change of seasons, ‘cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night’. Third, He blessed Noah's children. Fourth, He gave us the blessing of being fruitful and multiplying.
We learn from Noah how to be truly grateful. I earnestly hope that the family will be blessed with thanksgiving like Noah.
Prayer: We want to be like Noah who sacrifices with thanksgiving. We give priority to worship, worship only God, and we want to give the most precious thing. I pray in the name of the Lord. Amen.
Lord's Prayer