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The Bridge Church of the Nazarene

Sunday, March 7, 2021

Sunday, March 7, 2021

Aloha, Bridge church ohana! We are now meeting at Wellspring Covenant Church building at 99-900 Iwaena Street, near Halawa District Park on Sundays from 1 pm - 2:15 pm. We look forward to seeing you in person! For those who can't make it at this time and location, we will broadcast church service online on Sunday afternoon at 1 pm at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bridgenaz/. Please join us for worship, prayer and a message from Pastor Michael! Mahalo and God bless!

Locations & Times

The Bridge

1298 Kukila Pl, Honolulu, HI 96818, USA

Monday 1:00 PM

Sermon Title: Hand-Me-Downs
Word(s) of the Week:
1) Antediluvian: The period of time before the flood; and,
2) Postdiluvian: The period of time after the flood.
Word of the Week
Chronemics: The study of time as a mode of communication.
Gen 9:1-29
9:1 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the land. 2 The fear of you and the dread of you will come over every animal of the land, every bird of the sky, everything that moves along the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand. 3 Every moving thing that lives will be food for you. As I gave you the green herb, I have given everything to you. 4 But flesh with its life, its blood, you shall not eat. 5 Surely, for your blood and your life I will require an accounting. At the hand of every animal I will require it. At the hand of humanity—at the hand of someone’s brother—I will require human life. 6 Whoever sheds human blood, their blood will be shed by humanity, for God made humanity in his own image. 7 Be fruitful and multiply. Increase abundantly in the land, and multiply in it.”

8 God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying, 9 “As for me, see, I establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the livestock, and every animal of the land with you, from all that go out of the ship to every animal of the land. 11 I will establish my covenant with you: All flesh will not be cut off again by the waters of the flood. There will never again be a flood to destroy the land.” 12 God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be a sign of a covenant between me and the land. 14 When I bring a cloud over the land, the rainbow will be seen in the cloud. 15 I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh, and the waters will no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16 The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the land.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the land.”

18 The sons of Noah who went out from the ship were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. 19 These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole land was populated. 20 Noah began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard. 21 He drank of the wine and got drunk. He was uncovered within his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. 23 Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it on both their shoulders, went in backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father. Their faces were backwards, and they didn’t see their father’s nakedness. 24 Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done to him. 25 He said, “Canaan is cursed. He will be a servant of servants to his brothers.” 26 He said, “Blessed be Adonai, the God of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant. 27 May God enlarge Japheth. Let him dwell in the tents of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant.” 28 Noah lived three hundred fifty years after the flood. 29 All the days of Noah were nine hundred fifty years, and then he died.
In Gen 1-9, there's an emphasis on "the earth/land." In fact, God makes a 3-way covenant between himself, humanity, and the earth/land.
· 1:10: God called dry ground “earth/land” and it was good
· 1:21-22: (To animals) Be fruitful and multiply and fill the “earth/land” and sea
· 1:28: (To humans) Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the “earth/land” and subdue and rule it
· 2:5: There is no human to cultivate the “earth/land”
· 3:18: The “earth/land” is cursed because of human sin, resulting in thorns and thistles
· 3:21: Humanity is clothed in death.
· 4:10: The Cain’s violence leads to Abel’s blood spilling on the ground.
· 6:12: God saw the “earth/land” had been corrupted by humans
· 6:13: “Earth/land” is filled with violence; I will destroy all
· 6:14: Noah takes from the “earth/land” trees and the like to build the ark to live in
· 6:17: Everything on the “earth/land” will die
· 7:4: Reiterated: I will wipe from “earth/land” everything made
· 7:6: Floodwaters engulfed the “earth/land”
· 8:17: (To animals) Be fruitful, multiply, increase in number on the “earth/land”
· 8:21: (To all) I will never again curse the ground because of humanity...nor destroy every living creature
· 9:1: (To humanity) Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth/ground
· 9:7: (To humanity) Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth/ground
· 9:11: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by a flood nor will it destroy the “earth/land”
· 9:12: Rainbow is a sign between humans and every living creature w/humans
· 9:13: Rainbow is a sign for God between him and the “earth/land”
· 9:15: God remembers covenant between humanity and every living creature of all flesh; no flood to destroy all flesh; everlasting with “earth/land”
· 9:16: God remembers the everlasting covenant between every living creature of flesh on the “earth/land”
· 9:17: God’s covenant between him and all flesh on the “earth/land”
The "Bow"
* Is not chiefly a reminder to humans, but to God himself and, secondarily, to the earth/land
* The flood occurred because of human violence (Gen 6). But God will destroy the land again on account of/because of human violence (Gen 9).
* God, unlike other ancient storm gods, hangs up his weapon, that is, his bow, in the sky to signify this.
Considerations
1. Noah didn't curse Ham, but Ham's son, Canaan;
2. Neither Ham nor his descendants were black;
a. Ham had 4 sons: Canaan, Put, Egypt, and Cush
b. The descendants of Cush went into South Africa were dark-skinned;
c. Moses married Zipporah, a Cushite/black woman (Num 12:1). When Miriam realized this, she cursed Zipporah. But, because she did this, she (Miriam) got leprosy;
3. It was not the Cushites/blacks that Noah cursed but the Canaanites;
4. In Genesis, then, Noah's curse is that the Israelites will take over the land of Canaan. That's precisely what happens.
5. Why is Ham shamed and his son, Canaan, cursed? Because Ham didn't act in a godly/God-like manner. In Gen 3:21, God makes clothing to cover Adam & Eve's shame/nakedness so as not to look upon it. Ham, however, looks upon his father's shame/nakedness. Shem and Japheth, however, do not and they act in a God-like manner by covering their father with clothing (while not looking upon him).
The Bottom Line
Wear God! Nothing else fits.