As we continue this series on the Promises of God we turn to Genesis 6-9. As we begin we we see that man had multiplied greatly throughout the earth. Most did not follow God, but a few did. The society was an incredibly sinful place when Noah was born. In fact e are told that the thoughts of man was only evil (Gen 6:5). So God, being just set out to destroy the earth. Then in Gen 6:8 we see that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. It was this grace that gave Noah salvation. God had promised that He would destroy the earth by water and He did. Noah preached for 120 years of the coming judgment, no one listened and they perished when the flood came. Noah and his sons and their wives were all saved.
   After the Flood, Noah built an altar and worshiped God. God accepted the worship and sacrifice and made a covenant with Noah. There are a few aspects of this covenant, but the focus is on one thing: Gen 9:12-16. God said He would never destroy the earth with a flood ever again. The confirmation of that promise is the rainbow. Each time we see a rainbow we are to be reminded of that promise.
   The principle is two-fold: First, God truly never will destroy the earth by water. Secondly, God promised this 6000 years ago, and the promise has been kept and will be kept. When we make a promise it is usually broken at some point in some way, but when God makes a promise, it is never broken. Since we can trust this promise, we can also trust every other promise God makes!
   Praise God for the rainbow, and the confirmation of His Promises!!!
 - Assistant Pastor Rick Mitton

   We have seen God's first salvational promise in Genesis 3:15, and God was gracious to give hope in the midst of judgment. Now we look in to Genesis 4:11-15.
   At this point in Scripture, Cain has killed his brother Abel in the first murder. God asks where Abel is and Cain doesn't tell God, however we know the God knew where Abel was. God sends judgment to Cain and makes a promise to Cain. The promise is basically that Cain will have a harder time working the ground. We know Cain's profession was a gardener so this had an incredible impact on his job. Cain exclaims that he could not bear that punishment, it was not true repentance but he was overwhelmed by the punishment.Cain says that people will seek him out and kill him for they would know he had killed Abel. God promises him that anyone who kills Cain will have the Lord's vengeance upon them. So Cain is safe.
   It is an interesting promise to Cain, and one that does not affect us today because Cain is not with us, however there are a couple principles here. First, God will judge sin, God judges Cain for murdering his brother, and God will judge our sin. It may not be an immediate judgment, but it completely just and right. Second, even in judging Cain, there was a level of protection, God showed grace to Cain in that Cain would not be hunted down and killed. Believers are also protected by God, not physically, but we are secure in Him. Finally, there was a mark on Cain to distinguish him so nobody would harm him. God has given us the Holy Spirit and He works through us, we are to distinguish ourselves as belonging to God. We do not have a physical marking tha