Baker Heights church, Abilene, Tex., hears Noah sermons in April

Baker Heights church, Abilene, Tex., hears Noah sermons in April

(BNc) — After the botched Hollywood version of the Noah story, preachers and teachers are setting the record straight. Seeing the moment as an opportunity to teach the gospel, Christians are taking on the challenge of presenting the truth about Noah.

BNc asked several people how and why they were dealing the the topic in their sermons and classes.

“I’m preaching a sermon series during the month of April on Noah. Since the story of Noah is in the public spotlight so much right now, there’s no better time to discuss who Noah really was and how the story applies to our lives today. Our congregational theme right now is, ‘Taking the Next Step by Faith,’ and this series will highlight how Noah was a man of faith (Hebrews 11:7). Despite the way Hollywood has mischaracterized Noah, the Bible teaches us Noah was a man who ‘walked with God’ (Genesis 6:9), and we should strive to walk with God as well.” Wes McAdams, preaching minister with the Baker Heights church in Abilene, Tex.

“I’m using our bulletin to present detailed reviews from sound brethren on the movie. Then I reference those in a lesson and talk about the biblical account versus man’s view, making application to what are our individual and collective beliefs.” Dave Dugan, Cache, Okla., congregation.

Steve Higginbotham, pulpit minister with the Karns congregation in Knoxville, Tenn., had the fullest reply.

“My wife and I attended the movie. (We were the only two people in the entire theater.) We wanted to see the movie firsthand so that I wouldn’t be influenced by another’s portrayal that might have been skewed. We wanted to make this lesson available in streaming video, audio only, and outline on YouTube, our Facebook pages, and our church website and involve the congregation in spreading the word.

“I had several goals in mind as to why I preached on this topic.

  1. Relevancy. Everyone seemed to be talking about this movie, and I wanted to weigh in on it. The several dozen members at Karns helped advertise this sermon to their facebook and email contacts. I wanted to use this as a tool to make contacts.
  2.  Correction. For many people, especially the biblically illiterate, ‘perception is reality.’ What they see on TV or at the movies may be all they know about this Bible story, and if the story isn’t presented accurately, they then embrace a perverted view of this biblical account. Furthermore, if you pervert the biblical narrative of the flood, then you potentially pervert Jesus’ teaching on his second coming (Matthew 24:37-39), and Peter’s teaching on baptism (1 Peter 3:21), and the nature of saving faith as described by the writer of Hebrews (Hebrews 11:7).
  3.  Application. I wanted to use the factual story of the ark as a backdrop to teach some much needed truths about God’s patience, his grace, his judgment, and the kind of faith we need.”

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