call:
The Lord be with you.
response:
And also with you.
call:
Today’s symbol is the ark and the rainbow. In the flood, God washed the earth clean. In baptism, we are washed and given new life.
response:
Thanks be to God!
Scripture reading : Genesis 7:17-8:3 (or 6:11-14, 7:17-8:3, 9:8-13*)
Yesterday we heard about the time when sin entered the world. Sin hurts people, it hurts the world around us, and it hurts our relationship with God. Sin makes our world broken, different from the very good place that God created it to be. And it’s not something we can fix by ourselves. In this story, God looked at the sin in the world and decided the best thing to do would be to wash it clean.
But Noah and his family remembered God. They listened to God’s words, and trusted that they were good. Because Noah trusted God and built the ark, his family and all the different types of animals that God had made came safely through the flood. They could ll the world again.
When the flood was over, God made a covenant, or a promise, with Noah. God promised never to flood the earth again. God would give new ways to wash away sin.
pray:
Gracious God, you love us too much to let us stay lost and apart. Thank you for keeping your promises, and thank you for the waters of baptism that wash away sin and give us new life. Amen.
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*longer reading are for adults or families with older children.