A Whale of a Tale

Introduction:  The book of Jonah is a powerful reminder of God’s patience and love for us even when we are running from Him.

Introduction:  The building of the City of Babylon illustrates the futility of trying to find solidarity significance and security apart from God.

Introduction:   Noah had an unblemished record of service to God until he fell into sin at the end of his life. Today we will learn the principles for finishing strong in our lives.

Introduction:  Storms always come to an end, but what we do after a storm reveals our true character, as we will see in today’s passage.

Next Sunday, we will be introducing the vision God has given us for our church’s ministry for the next two years, Mission 1:8 Built on the Bible. Our goal is to be a church built on the Bible, built upon God's Word. To be that kind of church, we must be a body of believers who are committed to building our lives on our relationship with Jesus Christ and on His Word. It means more than knowing about Christ. It means submitting to Christ, obeying His Word, and applying it in our lives.

Introduction:   The dramatic story of the destruction of the world through a world-wide flood is most significant because of what it teaches us about the character of God.

Introduction:  The story of the great flood that destroyed the world is not a story about water, animals or an ark.  The focus of this story is a man named Noah who illustrates what true faith is.

Introduction:  In Romans 5:20 Paul wrote, “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” We see that truth illustrated in today’s study of Genesis 5-6.

Introduction:  Exodus 34:7 declares that God inflicts “the punishment of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”  We see a demonstration of that truth in the story of the descendants of Cain and Seth.

Introduction:   Genesis 4 records another “first” in history – the first murder.  But more significantly, the story of Cain and Abel illustrates the danger of the most consequential mistake anyone can make: seeking God on our own terms rather than God’s terms.