Lesson 5 – Noah and the Flood
In the flood, God destroyed sinful people. Jesus, His Son, destroyed sin, once and for all, in His death and resurrection, giving life to sinful people.
Opening
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
This lesson will use the Bible, the Bible Exploration Guide and the Lesson 5Leaflet from the Student Pack. The front cover shows how the artist sees the Noah and his family making a sacrifice to God after the flood waters receded. Also colored pencils or crayons will be needed.
Do any of you remember your Baptism? If you were baptized when you were a baby, you won’t. If you were older, maybe there was something special about it that you remember.
What happens during a Baptism? The pastor puts water on the person being baptized. It’s a kind of washing or bath.
Baptism is a special kind of bath. It's not a bath that washes dirt away. The water used in Baptism is regular water. But the water attached to God's promise in His Word washes away sin. Because of our sinful nature, we sin in our thought, in our words and in the things we do. But Baptism washes away those sins. Because of Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection, God saves us through the forgiving bath of Baptism. On the anniversary of your Baptism each year, you can remember the special way God has saved you from your sins in Baptism. But every day, and especially when you hear or say the Invocation and make the sign of the cross, you can remember the forgiveness you have in Jesus Christ.
Sing along or read the words of the hymn "God's Own Child, I Gladly Say it".
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for the gift of Baptism, through which You forgive us and save us. We pray that You would help us every day to be sorry for our sins and to trust in You for forgiveness. Every day, help us remember how much You love us--You sent your only Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. Through Christ we pray. Amen.
God Speaks
Our lesson today about Noah and the flood will help us see that the flood was a type of Baptism. The flood in the Old Testament foreshadowed, or pointed to, Holy Baptism in the New Testament.
What does foreshadowed mean? Have you ever been somewhere on a sunny day where you can see a shadow on the on the ground, but you can’t see who or what is making the shadow because something is blocking that person or object from your view? You know something or someone is there because you see the shadow. The shadow is a real thing, but it points to another real thing, the thing that is creating the shadow. If the shadow is moving toward you then the object or person will be coming toward you. The shadow foreshadowed the arrival or the object or person.
In this lesson, we will discuss how the flood foreshadowed Baptism.
Read portions of Genesis 6 in the Bible following the directions on page 2 of the leaflet and write down answers to the questions.
Read Genesis 6:5-10.
What went wrong? Men were wicked, the thoughts on man was evil. Men were sinful in their nature. This sinful nature caused evil thoughts, words and deeds.
Read Genesis 6:13 and 17.
What was the result? God had to destroy sin, so He decided to make a flood to wash away sin.
Read Genesis 6:18-7:5.
What was God’s promise to Noah? He would rescue Noah because of Noah’s faith.
Read Genesis 8:1, 20-22, 9:8-17
What happened at the end of Noah’s story? God remembered His promise to Noah, saves him from the flood and makes a covenant with him.
What covenant did God make with Noah? God's covenant or agreement with Noah is that He would never again make the waters into a flood to destroy all flesh.
It says in Genesis 8:4 that Noah's ark "came to rest on the mountains of Ararat" There is a mountain by that name in modern-day Turkey, and many people have spent a lot of time trying to dig for remains of the ark there, but no conclusive evidence has been found to show where Noah landed. God's Word, however, is real and true, and the events of the Bible happened in real places and times. The Bible is not contradicted by world history.
Read pages 8 and 9 from the Bible Discovery Guide.
We Live
How does the flood foreshadow Baptism? God used water in a flood to drown sinful man. In Baptism, God uses water to drown our sins, granting me eternal life through Jesus.
On page 3 of the leaflet, read the words of 1 Peter 3:21 in the top of the shell. If you remember or can find out the date of your Baptism, write it on page 3 after the word on. On the next line, write your name. The shell is a symbol of Baptism, since a shell can be used to scoop up water and sprinkle it on a person during Baptism.
In the flood, God destroyed sinful people but rescued Noah and his family. Jesus, His Son, destroyed sin, once and for all, by His death and resurrection to give life to sinful people, rescuing us from sin and death.
On page 2 of the leaflet, under the Sacrament of Baptism, fill in the blanks that describe the benefits of Baptism.
It works forgiveness of sins, rescues us from death and the devil and gives eternal life to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.
Closing
Page 4 of the leaflet, provides the key point of this lesson, Bible and faith words used in the lesson along with a prayer and weekly devotions.
Again sing along or read the words of the hymn "God's Own Child, I Gladly Say it".
Print and cut out the cards from Noah’s Story sequence cards at the end of this lesson. Color and arrange in order to complete the story.
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for Your Word, which teaches about how You rescued Noah from the flood. Thank you for rescuing me and washing my sins away in Baptism. Help me to remember my Baptism and to be thankful because of Your great love. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
