Missions Moment

• Wednesday is a day of prayer and fasting for Grant Snode as he heads to Burkina Faso for six months.

• Read a missions book to your kids this week — Missionary Tales from Muslim Lands (Stephen Troell gave the Cofield’s for Abby).

• Many worthy stories told of heroes around 9/11.

Bible Reading

After more than a year in the ark, Noah steps onto dry ground for the first time. God has just judged the whole earth, and the human race has been reduced to eight souls. Everything in front of Noah says survive first — find shelter, clear ground, rebuild what was lost. What he does next tells us what he believes matters most.

20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. 22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Central Truth

Noah had every reason to delay worship, and you do too, but the altar still should be built first.

Opening

Noah steps out of the ark after more than a year. For the first time, his feet are on solid ground. Everything practical tells him to begin rebuilding immediately.

• He needs shelter.

• He needs to clear land and plant crops.

• He needs tools and supplies.

• Winter will come again.

• His family is starting over with no margin for error.

But Noah does not build a house first. He does not begin with the farm or the animals. The first thing Noah does is build an altar.

He takes clean animals, the very animals he will need to rebuild his herds, and offers them to God. Everything practical seems to say, “Save those animals. You need them.” Noah’s altar says something greater:

“God, You matter more to me than anything I could lose. You come first.”

That altar teaches us three truths:

1. Worship recognizes God’s intrinsic worth.

2. Worship reaches the heart of God.

3. Worship declares God’s character to the world.

1. Worship Recognizes God’s Intrinsic Worth

The Passage — Genesis 8:20 “20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”

• A burnt offering is wholly consumed on the altar — nothing withheld for the worshipper.

• This is the first time Scripture names this specific offering, before any law commands it.

• Noah takes the very animals he needs to rebuild his herds and lays them down completely.

A. Worship is an act of recognition, not a feeling. Jesus tells the woman at the well the same thing (John 4:23-24). True worship is not only what you feel in the moment — it is what you do about what’s true. Noah didn’t merely feel that God was worthy; he acted on it, laying his security on the altar.

B. Worship involves a real cost. David refuses a free offering at the threshingfloor (2 Samuel 24:24). Real worship touches what we actually possess:

1. Time we could use elsewhere.

2. Money that could provide comfort.

3. Control over our plans.

4. Status or personal preference.

C. God’s worth exceeds our survival. Paul makes the same trade from the other side of the cross (Philippians 3:7-8).

1. Noah offers his only means of rebuilding because God is worth more than survival itself.

2. Paul treats his whole record of status and security as nothing compared to knowing Christ — the same trade Noah makes, offered from the other side of the cross.

Application — What Has the Greatest Weight in Your Life

• Money promises safety.

• Status promises significance.

• Comfort promises peace.

• Control promises security.

• Entertainment promises escape.

Ask yourself:

1. What receives my best — my time, attention, energy, and creativity?

2. What do I sacrifice for, even when it means saying no to other good things?

3. What do I fear losing most?

Worship begins when you say, “God, You are more worthy than my comfort, plans, or security.” Then you act on it. You place something costly on the altar.

2. Worship Reaches the Heart of God

The Passage — Genesis 8:21 “21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.”

• “Sweet savour” becomes the standing refrain of Israel’s sacrificial law. Some form of the phrase appears 44 times in Scripture — mostly Leviticus and Numbers — plus once more as “sweetsmelling savour” in Ephesians 5:2, applied to Christ.

• “Said in his heart” is a Hebrew idiom for private resolve, the same language used of a person settling something within themselves (Psalm 14:1).

• Scripture describing His true disposition in terms we can grasp, not literal deliberation or shifting moods.

• The same heart-language appears in Genesis 6:6, where it grieved the LORD at His heart to have made man. Here, after the altar, that same heart resolves toward patience.

A. Worship is an offering that reaches God. Paul later hands that same “sweet savour” language to Christ (Ephesians 5:2).

1. What Noah offers in type, Christ offers in substance.

2. Ill: Story of getting a bear from the airport to bring to Stephanie.

B. God receives worship from broken people. The very next clause repeats Genesis 6:5’s diagnosis word for word — nothing in man has changed. God still receives Noah’s worship, though:

1. Noah and his descendants still carry sin.

2. The sacrifice does not make Noah perfect.

3. Future disobedience will come.

C. Worship is a personal turning toward God. Genesis 6:6 and 8:21 bracket the flood:

1. God’s heart grieved over sin. Genesis 6:6

2. God’s heart resolved toward mercy. Genesis 8:21

3. Noah’s sacrifice is valuable not because he is perfect, but because his heart is turned toward God.

Application — Come Honestly and Turn Toward God

1. God does not demand perfection before worship. He calls us to come honestly, broken, and willing to turn toward Him.

2. A broken heart is welcomed (Psalm 51:17).

3. Worship requires honesty and joy — not perfection, but confidence that God is still worthy.

When a broken person deliberately turns toward God, that worship reaches His heart.

3. Worship Declares God’s Character to the World

Genesis 8:21–22 “21 And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. 22 While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

• God’s private resolve becomes a public promise, formalized one chapter later with a visible sign (Genesis 9:12-13).

• What God settles in His heart, He declares to the world.

A. God reveals His glory and receives glory. David states both halves together (Psalm 29:1-2).

1. God reveals Himself first; His people return that glory to Him in worship.

2. Noah worships, and God’s response declares, “This is the kind of God you serve.”

B. God’s promise rests on grace, not human goodness. The same grace put Noah on the ark in the first place (Genesis 6:8).

1. God sustains the future not because man deserves it, but because His covenant character does.

2. This is common grace — mercy extended to the whole world, believer and unbeliever alike (Matthew 5:45).

3. Every harvest since Noah’s altar is evidence God is still keeping this promise, even to people who have never worshipped Him at all.

C. Worship participates in God’s purpose for all nations. This pattern runs throughout Scripture:

1. The Exodus — Israel is delivered so the people may worship God (Exodus 8:1).

2. Solomon’s Temple — Solomon prays that foreigners will hear of God’s name and fear Him.

3. The Captivity — Daniel’s faithfulness leads heathen kings to publicly honor the God of Israel.

4. The Consummation — every kindred, tongue, people, and nation redeemed and worshipping (Revelation 5:9-10).

D. Worship is visible. Joshua’s charge generations later carries Noah’s logic (Joshua 24:15). Noah’s family saw the stones, the fire, and the cost:

1. To his family — God is worthy and keeps His promises.

2. To his descendants — We did not merely survive; God preserved us.

3. To the world — This is the God who judges sin, shows mercy, and sustains life.

Application — Who Is Watching Your Worship

1. Your spouse — when you pray while afraid and worship while stressed, you declare that God is your security.

2. Your children — they watch you worship during financial pressure and learn what matters most to you.

3. Your unbelieving neighbor — watching you turn to God in fear or loss may lead them to ask why.

4. Your friend in crisis — seeing you worship in suffering shows them faith is deeper than circumstances.

Conclusion — Build Your Altar

The biblical story, from Genesis to Revelation, centers on God revealing His glory and receiving glory through the worship of His people. Noah’s new beginning includes building, planting, and ordinary work — but it starts with worship.

• He recognizes God’s worth.

• He declares God’s character to others.

• He places material security on the altar.

The Question

Have you built your altar? Not merely: do you attend church, pray, or feel spiritual. Have you told God, “You are worth more than this,” and placed something real in His hands?

The schedule is full. The world says, “Get busy. Be practical. There is no time for worship.” Noah had more urgent work than any of us — but he built an altar first.

The Action

• Money you are holding only because it makes you feel safe.

• Time you refuse to surrender.

• Status you are protecting.

• Control you will not release.

• Comfort you have made more important than obedience.

Place it before God. Not from guilt, but from joyful confidence that God remains your treasure even when obedience costs you something.

Good News

God is still welcoming worshippers.

• You may have failed, compromised, and worshipped lesser things — the gospel does not say you must make yourself worthy before coming to God.

• At the cross, Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice. He did not bring an animal or a material gift — He offered Himself, holding nothing back, bearing the judgment our sin deserved.

• Because of Christ, you can come honestly today. You do not have to pretend your worship is perfect.

• If you have never come to God through Christ: stop running. Turn to Him in repentance and faith. The cross has opened the door — come broken and honest, trusting Him to save you.

• If you belong to Christ: build your altar this week. Identify the thing, surrender it to God, and find your joy in Him despite the cost.

Final Close

Wherever you find yourself today... worship.

• In joy, worship. God is the source of every good thing.

• In sorrow, worship. God is trustworthy when circumstances are not.

• In uncertainty, worship. God’s character, not your clarity, is your foundation.

• In brokenness, worship. Turn honestly toward the God who receives broken hearts.

• In the presence of others, worship. Let them see that God alone has ultimate worth.

• Have you built your altar yet? If not, build it.