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Let's
Honor Our Parents Well
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(Genesis 9:24-27)
When
Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him,
he said, "Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his
brothers." He also said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May
Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend the territory of Japheth; may
Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave."
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There was a time when
people greatly sinned in front of God. So God punished the people by pouring
rain for 40 days and nights. In the whole world, a ship was the only thing
that was floating.
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The only survivors
were 8 family members of Noah, who served God very well.
God restarted humankind with these 8 people.
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God said to Noah and
his family. "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.
Everything on earth will fear you. I will give you everything on this
earth."
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Noah and his family
followed God's words very well and lived diligently. Noah's three sons, Shem,
Ham and Japheth had many children. The number of people increased more and
more.
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Noah started farming.
He started grape farming. His farming had an excellent harvest.
Noah harvested lots of grapes.
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Noah made grape wines
with the grapes he harvested. The wine tasted so good.
Noah felt good so he drank too much.
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Then, Noah got drunk
and fell asleep. Noah, being drunk, did not know his clothes were taken off.
He did not know that he was naked when he fell asleep. Ham, Noah's second
son, saw that his father was sleeping naked.
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Ham was so amused by
his father. So he went out and said to Shem and Japheth.
"Shem! Japheth! Go to your father's tent and see. There's something
funny to see.
Father is drunk so he is sleeping naked."
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Upon hearing Ham's
words, Shem and Japheth brought a cloth. They put the cloth across their
shoulders and entered Noah's tent by walking backwards. Then, they covered
their father's naked body by the cloth they brought. They did this for them
not to see the naked body of their father.
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Noah woke up and he
heard about his son¡®s deeds. Upon knowing what his second son, Ham did, Noah
became very angry. Then, Noah cursed Ham. "You will be cursed. You will
be the lowest slave that belongs to your brothers."
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And Noah blessed Shem
and Japheth. "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem. Ham will be a slave
of Shem. May God enlarge the land of Japheth, may Japheth live in the tents
of Shem, Ham will be a slave of Japheth."
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Ham mistakenly saw
his father sleeping naked and thought his father as a laughing stock and he
impulsively told that to his brothers. Because of this mistake he got cursed
by his father, Noah and became a slave of his brothers.
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But Shem and Japheth
reacted very differently. When they heard that their father was sleeping
naked, they brought a cloth, walked backward and covered the body of their
father. They got blessings from their father and lived a blessed life.
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God did not make us
born in this world alone. Everyone in this world are born through their
parents. And God ordered to serve our parents well. Let us read it together. "Honor
your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that
you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your
God is giving you." [Deu] 5:16
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So we should not take
our parents lightly like how Ham did. We should be careful not to make a
mistake of speaking impulsively about our parents and making them a laughing
stock. Serve our parents well and when our parents make mistakes, we should
cover and help their mistakes just like how Shem and Japheth did. When we
honor our parents, God will pour blessings of living well in this world.
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(You can change the conclusion of this sermon best suiting
to your listeners of this sermon. We want to make it clear that the provided
conclusion is only a sample conclusion provided by CTM.)
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