The First Sunday in Lent, At-Home Service for February 21
A flood is not an abstract concept for me. As many of you know, it is something my family and I experienced shortly after moving to Pittsburgh in 2018. We had been out and about when the rain started late on that July day. When we arrived back at the rental where we were staying we noticed the water was already beginning to pool in the driveway. As a precaution, we chose not to drive the car through the water but backed out of the driveway and parked on higher ground. At that point, we were not concerned. The water continued to rise, inching closer to the doors of the integrated garage at the basement level of the house. Then the water started creeping up the bottom of the garage doors. We still didn’t think there was a reason to worry. There was a sump pump in the basement. Even after the water covered half of the garage doors we still thought things would be alright, but the water kept rising and swirling. Then the water rose above the top of the garage doors, filling the basement. We still comforted ourselves with the thought that it hadn’t reached the main floor living areas. Then the floodwaters surged across the front lawn, leaving the house an island in a sea of water. We were certain the water would start to recede any minute. The angry torrent continued creeping inch-by-agonizing-inch up the rise of the front stoop. It finally covered the top of that step and covered the threshold of the front door. We watched, powerless to stop it. We wondered just how far the water would go. By the time everything was over the water had crested between eight and twelve inches above the floorboards in the living room.
In his beloved hymn, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” Martin Luther conveyed a similar sense of helplessness. The words of the second stanza read, “No strength of ours can match his might.” Of course, Luther’s comparison was against the “Old satanic foe, sworn to work us woe.” The pervasive power of evil can seem just as overwhelming as the waters of a flood. The ancient flood described in the reading from Genesis was intended to rid the earth of all evil.
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Pastor Rike’s Sermon
Just as people can get carried away by evil, so too can they be carried away by a surging flood. That is what would have happened to Noah too if God had not remembered him. When Noah was powerless to determine his future, everything depended upon God. In less time than it takes to blink, God decided to end the raging of the flood. Totally eliminating evil by the waters of a flood was far too costly because it would inevitably involve destroying Noah and all life with him. Again, Martin Luther’s famous hymn
has proven to be descriptive of the situation: “Though hordes of devils fill the land all threat’ning to devour us… God’s judgment must prevail.” That judgment of God was codified in the covenant following the flood. There are two aspects of that covenant deserving attention. They are: reminder and promise.
Click here to read Pastor Rike’s sermon.
Video Options
Follow along with the service on video led by Pastor David Rike, with music performed by Randy Broker.
Click on the image below to view the video
The First Sunday of Lent Service for February 21st includes: Penitential Rite Hymn: Bless Now, O God the Journey, performed by Randy Broker First Reading Genesis 9:8-17 Gospel Mark 1:9-15 Sermon by Pastor David Rike Hymn: A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, performed by Randy Broker Prayers & the Lord's Prayer Blessing