Peace Lutheran Church Sussex, Wisconsin

Congregation at Prayer: October 16, 2022

The Catechism: The Creed—The Second Article

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Catechesis Notes for the Week — The Flood—God’s Judgment against a Wicked World — This week’s Bible narratives focus upon the Flood. The Lord does not regret creating mankind, but after Adam’s fall, the corruption of man became so great that it grieved God’s heart of love. Throughout the narrative we see both God’s judgment against a wicked and unbelieving world and the gift of salvation for Noah and his family through water. The historical act of the worldwide flood completely transformed the world, its topography and climate, to what we now know as the world in which we live. This “recreation” is a type of the recreation that God begins in Baptism. Baptism drowns the Old Adam but raises up the new man of faith to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. Throughout the narrative it is God who acts. God orders the building of the ark. God brings the animals to Noah. God shuts Noah into the ark. God sends the rains from heaven and opens the doors to water beneath the earth’s crust. God also causes the waters of the flood to recede and the dry land and new life to appear. In the aftermath of the Flood, God gives permission to eat meat and institutes capital punishment for the sin of murder. At the end of the narrative we have His promise that the earth would continue to have its seasons. The Lord is in charge of the climate for His purposes. He will never again destroy the earth with a flood. The rainbow was set in place as a sign of God’s promise to us and to the entire creation. Ultimately, this sign of His grace is to point us to the source of His mercy, namely the death and resurrection of Christ in whom we are baptized.CP221016