This is a copy of my talk given at Ayia Kyriaki and a joint service with Saint Luke’s & Stephen’s in the Anglican Church of Paphos on Advent Sunday 30 November 2025. The Lectionary Bible Reading was Matthew 24:36-44.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
I thank You for Your word.
By the power of Your Holy Spirit,
May You speak to my heart,
And change my life.
In the precious name of Jesus I pray.
Amen

Introduction

Today is the beginning of Advent, the word Advent is taken from the Latin word Adventus and simply means Arrival, Coming, or Appearance. Advent Sunday marks the beginning of a new church year; it’s the time, traditionally, when we look to, and plan for, the coming of Jesus, both as a child in a manger and as a returning King.

Noah and the Ark

Our Advent Season begins with Jesus taking us back to the story of Noah and the Ark, one of the most beloved of all Bible stories. It captures the imagination of children, young and old alike. It’s important to remember that Jesus is not talking about Noah to comfort us – he’s doing it to warn us, and to wake us up. Just as the story of Noah once did.

A little girl was sitting on her grandfather’s lap listening to the Bible story of Noah’s Ark, when she asked, “Were you in the Ark, Grandpa?” He laughed and said, “Why, no I wasn’t.” There was a pause, and she looked up at him, confused, and asked, “Then why weren’t you drowned?”

And, whilst the song: Mr Noah built an ark is an amusing, fun song we teach our children in Sunday school, it almost hides the fact that it is a song about how God sent the flood as a judgment on the earth because, as we read in Genesis 6:11-12: “… the earth was filled with violence. And God saw that the earth was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its ways upon the earth.”

God decided to put an end to it – except that Noah and his household were righteous before Him  so God commanded Noah to build an and to board the ark with his household and the animals, two by two, to keep their offspring alive on the face of the earth. The ark was 450 feet long, 45 feet high and 75 feet across.

You can well imagine what the ridicule Noah must have received from the people, building a huge boat, miles from a river or lake and telling them that God’s judgment was coming?  But Noah believed – in spite of the majority saying otherwise. Noah knew that the majority are not always right!  As do we!

He believed enough to act on what God had told him to do even if it did seem rather unusual! But to the people building an ark was a complete waste of time and money and pointless. Of course, when the flood came, the ark no longer looked like a waste of time and money. And it certainly wasn’t pointless! It looked like the most important thing ever built. Because it was. And Noah no longer looked foolish, but very wise. The ark was a lifeboat – the only thing between life and death.

The Church

And isn’t the church often viewed as a waste of time and money and pointless? We can spend our time doing something more worthwhile than worship and prayer, can’t we? And aren’t there more worthwhile things on which to spend our money? It will always be tempting to think that or say it, just as it was tempting to say about Noah’s ark. The church is either the most important thing in the world, or a waste of time and money.

The roof of many churches are built to look like the bottom of the ark. And the word often used for a worship space – nave – is a word that literally means ship (it is where we get our word, Navy). We believe that the church is here to help us to get ready for Jesus’ return to earth, and to help the world to get ready, too. Just as the ark was built by Noah to get ready for the flood.

And we, just like Noah before us, are getting ready. Advent – the season of preparation. We are getting ready, but not for a flood – God promised never again. We are getting ready for Christmas, of course, but that is not really what the Season of Advent is all about. What we are really getting ready for is the final coming of the Son of Man. We are building the church in order to get ready for his coming. Before Jesus comes, as people eat and drink and live their daily lives, the church can sometimes seem like a waste of time and money. The church exists, and we are here, because we believe otherwise.

Always Be Ready

There is an important difference between Noah and us: Noah knew exactly when the flood was coming. At one point, God said to Noah: “In seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights.” Noah knew when the flood was coming. He got his family on board, and the animals, knowing when the rain would begin. We, on the other hand, have no idea when the Son of Man is coming. Jesus himself says: “About that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Even Jesus himself does not know when he will return! (Remember that the next time someone claims to know the date that the world will end!). Jesus goes on to say: “You do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.”

The uncomfortable truth is that we have no idea when the Son of Man is coming. It will be like a thief in the night. No warning. No alarm system. A complete shock to everyone in the house. For some of us, we will fall asleep in death, and when we open our eyes, Jesus will be before us. And we don’t have any idea when that day will come. For others, perhaps, Jesus will make his promised, glorious return before we fall asleep in death. Either way, we don’t know when it will happen. We just know that it will.

And so, Jesus invites us to get ready. To go and make disciples. To baptise; teach; worship; pray. Wake ourselves up to what really matters in this life. It’s not too late. Jesus has not yet returned. Now is the time to get ready. To wake up. We don’t know when Jesus is coming, but we know that he is.

Keep Awake

When I think of this need to keep awake, an important theme of Advent, I can’t help but think of being behind the wheel of a car. That’s where I often need to concentrate to stay awake – especially on the journey from Paphos to Limassol.  I often get excited if I see another car on the road! It’s great to have Sat Nav’s and Cruise Control and all the driving conveniences we have, but they can lead us to not pay as much attention to our driving as we should.

It’s easy to let our minds wander. We can easily be lulled into not paying enough attention to what we’re doing. As we look around our world today, many are living on cruise control and not paying any attention to their spiritual lives or to their relationship with God.

Back in the time of Noah, people were arguably living their lives on cruise control. They were not paying attention to anything but their own lives, until the flood came and swept them all away. Only Noah was ready – everyone else was caught by surprise.  Right up to the moment the rain started people were eating, drinking and getting married. Life just went on as normal.

And Jesus says it will be exactly the same on the day he comes back. Two men working in the field. Two women, grinding flour by hand, as normal. Someone will have put the kettle on to boil but not yet made their tea. Someone else will be servicing their car, and they’ll have drained out the old oil but not put any fresh oil in.

Jesus’ return will catch many by surprise. We’ll have absolutely no prior warning. We’ll be in the middle of our normal day’s duties, just as if it were any other day. “Keep awake for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”

Stay Awake, and Wake Up Others

Let me use the illustration of driving a car again. Whilst it’s important for the driver to stay awake, it’s also important for the passengers to make sure the driver stays awake. When I’m driving a long distance, Paula will often nudge me and say, “Are you awake?” And of course, my answer is always, “Yes, of course I’m awake.” But her nudge might sometimes be why!

When we think about getting ready for the return of the Son of Man, of preparing for that day and of the importance of keeping awake, it is also important to think about people in our lives who might be in danger of falling asleep at the wheel.

Is there somebody that you can think of who seems to be slipping into cruise control in their life? Someone who might need to be gently awakened and reminded to get ready, to keep awake, because our Lord is coming soon? This might be as simple as calling them and asking how they are doing. A gentle nudge. An invite to a Christmas service. That may be all it takes. Sometimes we just need each other to stay awake and be ready.

Conclusion

The Season of Advent is a time to keep awake, to get ready, to watch and to wait for the coming of the Son of Man. A time to build the ark that is known as the church, to get on board, and to invite everyone to do the same. We are waiting for a flood, in a way, but a wonderful flood, of forgiveness and grace and mercy and love.

And there is another crucial difference between Noah’s flood and the return of Jesus – Jesus’ return, for the Christian, is nothing to fear, but something to eagerly anticipate, and look forward to with joy. So, may each of us this Advent Season, get ourselves ready, keep awake, and be sure to wake up others.

Maranatha. Amen. Come Lord Jesus. 

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER The text contained in this sermon (except where stated) is solely owned by its author, Revd Paul A. Carr. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name.

The Ark: A Type of Christ

The Old Testament is full of what we might call ‘Types of Christ.’ Whether this be situations, events or people, that draw a parallel with the person and work of the Lord Jesus. Noah’s Ark story is one of the most powerful. I thought I’d bring some of these (amazing) parallels to your attention …

  1. Just as the ark was Noah’s refuge from God’s judgment so is Jesus the believer’s refuge from the judgment of eternal separation from God.
  2. God Himself designed and planned the ark, even to the minutest detail (Genesis 6:14-16). God Himself designed and planned the coming of Christ to save man, even before the foundation of the earth (Ephesians 1:3-4; 2 Timothy 1:9-10; Titus 1:2; 1 Peter 1:2).
  3. There was only one door to the ark (6:16). Jesus is the only way to God (John 10:7, 9; 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 1 John 2:1).
  4. God gave the provision for light within the ark – an opening skylight, which ran all the way around the ark (it ran within eighteen inches of the top, Genesis 6:16).  God has given Jesus Christ is the light of the world (Isaiah 9:2; John 1:4; John 8:12; John 12:35; Ephesians 5:14; Revelation 21:23).
  5. Some kind of pitch, probably some form of tar or asphalt, covered and sealed the ark.  The Hebrew word for pitch (kopher) is the same word for atonement, which means to cover (Genesis 6:14). The blood of Jesus Christ covers the sins of the believer, cleanses and seals the believer before God (Romans 5:9; Romans 5:11; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:14; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7b; Rev. 1:5b).
  6. God Himself gave the great invitation to come and enter the ark (Genesis 7:1). God Himself invites man to come and enter the ark – the safety and security – of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Isaiah 1:18; John 3:16-17; Matthew 11:28; Matthew 22:2-4; Rev. 22:17).
  7. The ark was a vessel of refuge, the place of safety and security from the torrential judgment about to fall upon the earth (Genesis 6:17-18; Genesis 7:10-24). Jesus is the believer’s refuge from the coming judgment of hell and eternal separation from God (John 3:16; 5:24; Romans 5:9-10; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 7:25; 2 Peter 2:9)
  8. The ark saved Noah and his family through the waters of judgment (Genesis 7:10-24). Jesus Christ saves the believer through the waters of judgment. The waters of baptism symbolize the saving work of Christ for the true believer (Peter used the ark and the waters of the flood to illustrate this point, 1 Peter 3:20-21).
  9. God called Noah to separate from the world, from its wickedness, evil and doom, by entering the ark (Genesis 7:1). God now calls people to live a life of separation from evil through Christ (John 15:19; 2 Corinthians 5:17 & 6:14-15, 17-18; 2 Thessalonians 3:6).
  10. The ark was the salvation of both Noah and his family (Genesis 6:18; Genesis 7:1, 7, 13, 23). Jesus Christ is the hope of salvation for all families (Acts 16:30-31; cp. Acts 16:15).
  11. The ark was secured by God Himself (Genesis 7:16b). God Himself secures the believer through the Lord Jesus Christ. (John 10:28-29; Philippians 1:6; 2 Timothy 1:12b; 1 Peter 1:3-5; Jude 24-25).
  12. God kept the door of mercy, the door of the ark, opened right up until the end. But when it was time for judgment the door was shut. There had been a time for grace, but there was also a time for judgment (Genesis 7:16b, cp. 2 Peter 2:5). God has the door of mercy opened today, but the end is soon coming when the door will be shut and judgment will fall (Luke 13:24-27; Matthew 25:1-13).