Living Water Community Church: Recent Episodes
Living Water Community Church
We are a spiritual hospice for redeemed sinners. We seek the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ through the balm of His word applied to our broken hearts. Join us as we drink deeply of the Living Water of Jesus Christ.
We worked through the section where Ahab met Elijah before going to Mount Carmel. In this meeting Ahab clearly lays the blame for Israel’s drought at Elijah’s feet. He calls him the troubler of Israel. Elijah doesn’t just take it but points out how Ahab is the one who has troubled Israel. He lays the problem of the drought clearly at the feet of Ahab. He points out how it was Ahab’s abandoning of the commandments of God and the following of the Baals which has caused all their problems. He then tells Ahab to gather the prophets of Baal and Asherah at Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel is a historical high place referenced by Egyptians and Assyrian documents. The Assyrians called it the Mountain of Baal of the Promontory. Dale Davis suggest it would have the been similar to calling it Baal’s Bluff. Elijah may have been setting the location at a central point of prime Baal worship. Ahab was probably thinking the goal in this meeting was to take care of the rain problem but God’s goal in this meeting was to take care of the worship problem
We explored the section which begins the famous confrontation with the prophets of Baal. There are two things really emphasized in the passage. First the importance of patience to the whole process. Elijah had really only been in two places over the course of three years. He waited on God. He rested by the brook being fed by ravens for the first part of the three years, and he rested at the widow in Zeraphath’s home for the rest of the three years. We grow easily impatient but God is always working and we see a snapshot of this as we see how He was revealing Himself to the widow and her son during this time. The Lord tells Elijah in the third year to go to Ahab and He would send rain on the earth. Elijah goes but as he is heading there Ahab calls Obadiah the head over his household to go with him to help look for water to save the horses and mules. They divide up to cover more area and start to search. Elijah meets Obadiah as he searches. This brings us to the second big point, what happens in these verses really emphasizes the way in which God works through ordinary means. Elijah tells Obadiah to go tell Ahab, “Elijah is here”. Obadiah’s response reveals how he will potentially be killed if he goes to get Ahab and Elijah is not here when he returns. Obadiah fully expects Elijah to be carried away by God because they have been looking for him for 3 years with zero success. He also reveals here how her fears God and twice how he hid 100 prophets in a cave and took care of them when Jezebel was trying to find and kill them. Obadiah has used his position as the head of Ahab’s household to serve God. He was aware of the work queen Jezebel was doing to find and kill the prophets. He used this inside knowledge to take action and move them to caves before the queen could get to them and kill them. But he not only hid them he brought them bread and water to keep them alive. God used this God fearing man in a powerful position in the house of Ahab to save His prophets. He did not use ravens or miracle jars of flour and oil. He used an ordinary God fearing man in a powerful position in the kingdom of Israel to save and provide for 100 prophets. This passage is a contrast to the miraculous provision for Elijah. In the contrast we see how God saved lives and provided for 100 out of 101 prophets through ordinary means. This emphasizes the normal way God is at work in the world. He orchestrates things and provides for His people through ordinary means. There is also a great foreshadowing of the way Jesus brings people to Himself. He uses us His bride to call people to come to Him. We see this foreshadowed in Elijah coming to Obadiah a God fearing man. Obadiah foreshadows the bride of Christ and Elijah again is a type of Christ. Here he sends the symbolic bride to go and call the symbolic pagan Ahab to come to him. All these verses really set up this picture. God could have had Elijah meet Ahab directly in the wilderness but we would not have been left with the picture which reminds us of how God works through the bride of Christ to call the world to come to Him. This does not mean they always repent but they are given the opportunity and are left without excuse.
We worked through the part of Elijah’s story where the brook the Lord sent him to dried up. Elijah is recorded here as being obedient to God and staying by the dried up brook until the word of the Lord came to him and directed him to move on. When the word of the Lord did come to him the Lord sent him to Zeraphath. This was a town which belonged to Sidon and Sidon is where Jezebel’s father was king. This means Zeraphath was part of the center of Baal worship. God told Elijah He had commanded a widow there to feed him. As he approached the city he saw a woman gathering sticks and asked her to bring him a drink of water. She went to go get it and as she went Elijah asked her to bring him a piece of bread. She responded to him stating first that Yahweh his God lives. And just as He lives she has no bread baked and only a little flour and water which she intended to use for one last meal with her son before they died. It is amazing a woman in a town committed to Baal worship would acknowledge that Yahweh the God of the Jews was the living God. This really points out how the rain and dew being withheld really showed the power of the God of Israel over the power of Baal. In this woman’s eyes at least the God of the Jews had won. Elijah tells her to not fear and do as he said and Yahweh has said the flour she has will not be used up and the oil she has will not run out until Yahweh sends rain on the earth. Elijah was asking the woman to trust God and act on faith in Yahweh. The woman did exactly as Elijah asked and demonstrated her faith in the God of Israel. And God did as he spoke through Elijah and provided flour and oil for the woman, her son, and Elijah
The time of gathering to pray with your brothers and sisters in Christ is precious in the sight of God. Corporate prayer is a means by which glory is brought to God in our dependence on him and in the answers to prayer that God brings (which glorifies God in the hearts of the body of the believers who prayed together). Prayer is an awesome gift from God. May the people of God wield this gift and seek their God in prayer. God, the believer, and communication are the three core elements of prayer and the primary focus here.
We looked at the lives of three kings which are recorded for us in the book of kings but are not mentioned in the book of chronicles. This raises the question of why does the writer of kings see fit to recount these rulers to the people in exile he is writing to? The first king of the trio was named Elah. He was the son of Baasha and he ruled for 2 years and not only continued to promote idol worship but he did not lead his troops to battle but instead stayed in the capital and got drunk. He was an idol worshipping drunkard who shirked his duty to lead. His short reign and murder at the hands of Zimri shows God’s hand of judgment on him, and would have been a warning to the people. Zimri wipes out the descendants and friends of Baasha fulfilling the prophecy made about him. But Zimri faces a siege against the capital of Tirzah and burns down the palace around him and dies in the fire. His short reign of 7 days is a warning. The writer of kings tells us his reign was cut short partly because he caused Israel to sin in her idolatry. Zimri only reigned for 7 days but the worship of God is so important to God that Zimri is held responsible for not calling on the people to repent and return to the Lord. This is a real warning to readers of this book during any period of time. God will hold the leadership of people responsible for pointing their people to God. Zimri only reigned 7 days but God holds him accountable for not calling the people to return to Him. Omri laid siege to Tirzah and took over the rulership of Israel after Zimri. He was a really successful king by human standards. He established a new capital city of Samaria. He made peace with the surrounding countries including Judah. There is even an Assyrian document which refers to the northern kingdom as the land of Omri. But this king continued to worship idols and lead the people in this sinful practice. His worldly success is a total failure in the eyes of God because he failed at the most important thing; repenting and returning to the Lord. We wrapped up lost time with the death of Omri recorded for us in verse 28. While all this is happening in Israel Asa is ruling over Judah and Asa was a God fearing king in stark contrast to the idolatry which was being practiced in Israel.
We began to explore the section where Elijah is introduced to us. He just suddenly appears on the scene. In the same way that Melchizedek foreshadows the priestly ministry of Jesus Elijah foreshadows the prophetic ministry of Jesus. He suddenly comes on the scene. He calls the people to repentance and does miraculous works. He ascends into heaven at the end of his ministry. We learn from the book of James that Elijah’s prayers were basis on which the rain was withheld from the land. Elijah prayed in accordance with God’s stated judgement on those who were part of Israel who turned their back on Him. We saw this in Deuteronomy 11. Elijah went to Ahab and informed him this judgement of drought was a supernatural event brought about by God. Then after giving the message he followed the word of the Lord and lived by the brook Cherith which is east of the Jordan. During his time there the Lord had ravens bring him food and he drank from the brook. This judgement by famine is happening after many years of Israel becoming essentially a pagan nation. Elijah is sent to the people to call them to return to the Lord. His message is confirmed by the miracles he performs.
We examined the passage dealing with the two kings of Israel in the northern kingdom which followed Jeroboam. Jeroboam’s son Nadab only reigned for 2 years and then Baasha assassinated him while he was attacking the Philistines. Baasha then went on to totally wipe out all the descendants of Jeroboam fulfilling the prophecy given by God. This prophecy had been because Jeroboam turned the people away from God leading them into idolatry. Baasha became king and continued to lead the people into idolatry. Jehu the prophet prophesied against the house of Baasha because he had continued to lead the people astray and also because he had destroyed the house of Jeroboam. What we explored in this passage is how God’s prophecy against Jeroboam had been fulfilled by Baasha but at the same time Baasha was judged for the wickedness of what he did to the house of Jeroboam. There is a tension here as God is actively bringing judgement on sinful men even using sinful men to carry it out, but at the same time not giving sinful men a pass simply because they were the tool of His judgment. There are two things about God which really stand out in the passage. One, God is present even when it seems everything is evil or being done with evil intent. Second, God is just and will judge everyone for the evil they do, even if that evil brings about God’s decreed plan. To the people in exile this was a needed message. They were a people living among idol worshipping pagan nations. This was a reminder of the need to remain true to God and be faithful no matter what is happening around you.
We will be dealing with a variety of questions related to heaven as we take one last journey into what scripture says about it. Because of this there is no single key passage but a variety of passages which touch on issues related to God’s revealed view on things. We will begin by exploring the question, “Will animals be in eternity?” Then move on to other questions. Will Life Become Boring in heaven? Will there be Craftsmanship and Technology in heaven? All of these things should be a means of prompting us in the here and now to think about God in eternity.
We explored the opening section of 1 Kings 15. In the first 24 verses there is a remarkable comparison between the two kings which followed Rehoboam as rulers over Judah. Abijam Rehoboam’s son followed his father. He reigned for 3 years and continued to plunge the people into idolatry. Asa his son followed him as ruler and he reigned for 41 years and is recorded by the writer as having a heart which was wholly true to God. The reason this comparison is so important is how it points the readers to a need to be true to God from the heart. Here Asa is clearly one of the kings of Israel who drew people back to God and was blessed with a long reign. By contrast Abijam’s reign was remarkably short and he drew people away from God. When we look at these kings as recorded in Chronicles we see how Abijam appears to depend on God when going to battle against Jeroboam and Asa appears to stop depending on God as much as he became older. This does not negate the way they are laid out for us in 1 Kings. The writer of kings is focused on the heart of the kings and how the heart is what determined the direction of their reign. The writer really wants the people in exile living among a pagan people to not lose hope but to remain wholly true to God from the heart.
We worked our way through the summary of Rehoboam’s reign in Judah. The section begins and end with the mention of Rehoboam’s mother and the fact that she was an Ammonite. The Moabites and Ammonites were descended from Lot and they did not help Israel when they came up out of the land of Egypt. To the contrary Balak the king of the Ammonites paid Balaam to try to curse them. Because of these things Israel was to maintain a separation from them. But Solomon married a woman from this tribe. Not only that but this marriage happened before he became king so this was not a marriage alliance this was Solomon being disobedient. This disobedient marriage produced Rehoboam and gave Naamah an Ammonite undue influence on the king. Rehoboam led Judah into more sin then all their fathers had committed. Because of this God began to bring judgement on Judah. Shishak the king of Egypt came up and took away all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the kings house. There was also ongoing war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. In spite of Rehoboam’s unfaithfulness God remained faithful to His promises to David to establish his throne forever and Abijam Rehoboam’s son became king after Rehoboam died.
We looked at the final recorded event of Jeroboam’s reign. Abijah his son becomes sick. Jeroboam sends his wife in disguise to Ahijah the prophet who had declared he would become king of Israel. When Jeroboam faces a real trial he doesn’t turn to the false gods he had set up but to the true prophet of the true God. But the fact he sends his wife disguised with a common offering of bread, cakes and honey, tells us he was trying to hide from God. He felt guilt but he was not repentant. Ahijah even though he is blind sees right through the deception. He gives Jeroboam’s wife the kind of news she did not want to hear. All the descendants of Jeroboam’s family who could lay claim to the throne will die and be eaten by dogs or birds. Only the son who is sick will die and be buried and mourned because he alone was pleasing to God. The fact that he was pleasing to God indicates he had faith in God. Because to please God you must have faith in Him. Ahijah also prophecies that God is going to scatter Israel to lands beyond the Euphrates because of the worship of false gods which Jeroboam has caused them to follow. He also basically tells her she will never see her sick son alive again because he will die when she returns. Everything happens exactly as Ahijah said it would. Jeroboam does not repent and turn from his sinful ways. He died and Nadab his son reigned in his place. Ahijah is there to declare Jeroboam’s kingship and there to declare the demise of his kingdom because of his disobedience to the God who had made him king. It is a tragic story of rebellion against God. It is also a clear declaration of how impossible it is to hide from God. You cannot deceive Him.
The results of speaking boldly for Christ, even at the peril of ones' life, can bring about an abundant harvest if the Holy Spirit brings remarkable change to bear. Even before rulers and authorities it is important to look to Christ, not to man, for the way in which we should walk. We got to see some of the sweet fellowship of the early church here.
We will look at the strange story of the prophet who announced the judgement of God on the house of Jeroboam and the coming cleansing of Israel by Josiah a future king of Israel. This prophet was supposed to give the message of God and the sign of God and leave Israel returning to Judah by a different path then he came. He was also instructed not to eat or drink anything until he returned to Judah. There was however another prophet who lived in the area who had sons or apprentices attending the sacrifice Jeroboam made and this prophet crashed. Their attendance indicates they were probably complicit in Jeroboam’s defection from the true God of Israel. This prophet seeks out the prophet of Judah and declares that an angel appeared to him and told him to have the prophet from Judah come to his home for a meal. The prophet from Judah listened to this false prophecy and during the meal God spoke through the false prophet declaring the impending death of the prophet of Judah for his disobedience. As the prophet journeyed home he was killed by a lion who stood guard over his body along with his donkey until the prophet came and took his body to have it buried. This book was written to people in exile. To them this message would have held a poignant meaning. They would have been reminded that being mostly obedient was not enough. God required complete obedience and perfect obedience. They would have been reminded that they needed God’s promise of a messiah. That promise was fulfilled in Jesus. He was the greater and better prophet. He was the one who was tempted to turn stones into bread and he did not. He was the one who offered his body as our source of nourishment and his blood as the seal of the new covenant. A better covenant. One which has been fulfilled for us and given to us as a free gift if we will just follow Jesus with all our hearts. The failure of the prophets just reminds us of how much we needed Jesus. Jeroboam sadly did not change but continued to lead the people away from God.
We examine more of the beginning of Jeroboam’s reign. It was a reign started and rooted in rebellion against God. He really set out to subvert the law which God had established for Israel. Jeroboam set up idols and commanded the people to worship them. He set up anyone who wanted to be priest except for the Levites. He established false feast days for the people to gather and worship the idols he had established. This of course angered God. The very God who had established the kingdom for Jeroboam. The total insanity of Jeroboam’s actions seems crazy when we consider how he came to be king. Yet this is the path he has headed for. We actually see him making an offering to a false god during a fake festival then a prophet from Judah shows up. This prophet declares the destruction of the worship of false gods in Bethel by a future king of Judah named Josiah. This is the very place the king is making offerings. So the prophet declares they will know this will surely happen because God will give a sign by the destruction of the altar which appears to split right after the prophet declares the prophecy and right after Jeroboam tells the people to seize him. When he points at the prophet his hand withers and he cannot draw it back. Jeroboam asks the man of God to pray to God to restore his hand and the prophet prays and Jeroboam’s hand is restored. Now Jeroboam asks the man of God to come to his house for dinner. This he refuses to do because God commanded him not to eat or drink and to return home another way. Jeroboam is left with a clear message that judgement from God is coming to his kingdom. This all came about because Jeroboam failed to embrace loving God and following God’s commands. He did what he wanted the way he wanted instead of doing what God wanted the way God wanted. The worship of God really matters to God.
We explored the beginning of Jeroboam’s reign in contrast to the beginning of Rehoboam’s. Rehoboam in Shechem witnessed the devastating breaking of the kingdom as 10 of the tribes rejected his rulership. He sent Adoram his task master to deal with them and they stoned him to death. Rehoboam fled to Jerusalem and began to call together and army to go fight against the rebellious tribes and restore the kingdom. God sent word through Shemaiah the prophet that this rebellion and split in Israel was from the Lord and they should not fight it. The king and all the people listened to Shemaiah and returned home. By contrast Jeroboam had been given the promise if he would follow God and trust Him like David did, God would establish his throne. Jeroboam immediately took unwise counsel and created 2 calves of gold placing one at the southern border and one at the northern boarder. He made temples on hight places and appointed priests from anyone except the Levites. Jeroboam in one quick series of events shows complete rebellion against God instead of following Him. He really becomes and anti-messiah or anti-christ. He is the opposite of Moses. He comes out of Egypt. He frees the people from the potential enslavement by Rehoboam. He breaks God’s laws about worship and establishes false gods before Him. He makes anyone a priest except the tribe God set aside to be priests. And finally he establishes feast designed to keep the people from going up to Jerusalem. Instead of following God he literally opposes God at every starting point of his reign.
We worked through the first 15 verses of chapter 12. The crowning of Rehoboam and the start of his reign is recorded for us in this chapter. It is remarkably different from his father Solomon’s anointing as king. As a matter of fact there really does not appear to be any anointing going on for Rehoboam. The people had all gathered at Shechem to make him king. Jeroboam returns from Egypt and appears to represent most of the tribes as they come to Rehoboam to lay down some conditions. They ask for Rehoboam to make their work load lighter to receive their loyalty and support. Rehoboam asks the old men who advised his father what to do and they suggested he listen to the people. Rehoboam did not like that answer and so he asked young men he had grown up with what to do and they told him to basically show the people he is going to be even tougher on them then Solomon had been. Rehoboam chose to listen to the young men and display how tough he was going to be. We wrapped up with verse 15 where it explicitly states this poor choice on Rehoboam’s part was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord. God did this because He had spoke through Ahijah the prophet that Jeroboam would become king of 10 of the tribes. The thing which this passage is really highlighting is how even things like civil disunity are brought about by God. In this case He is bringing this about because the people had been caught up in worshipping other gods under Solomon. The passage is really highlighting how God is in control even when things seem out of control or negative. Jesus death is a perfect example of this. It was God’s plan that Jesus would become our substitute and ransom us. But the means of Jesus becoming our substitutionary sacrifice was through betrayal and unjust judgement. Things which were sinful and evil brought about Jesus death and people will face judgement for those things. But at the same time God ordained for these things to happen and He removed the grace which would have restrained men and kept these things from happening.
We explored what our relationships will be like according to what we see in scripture. We explored how the scripture speaks against false beliefs about relationships in eternity even held by great spiritual giants of theology in history. In 1 Thessalonians Paul talked about looking forward to recognizing and interacting with those who have gone before us into eternity. The followers of Jesus all recognize him after the resurrection. While it appears Jesus could keep some from recognizing Him, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Mary Magdalene and the twelve clearly know Him when they see Him. God created us to love relationships and at His core God has always existed in relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit forming the Trinity. Since God is relational at a very fundamental level He has created us to love relationships. This is not something God will take away in heaven but rather something which will be deeper and richer because we now know and see God. We also explored the idea of children who God could have chosen from conception like He did Samson. This means miscarriages or children who died very young or in childbirth could indeed be people we meet and come to know in eternity. We also considered the implications of people we love here who do not put their faith in Jesus not being in heaven. The reality is while we do not fully understand how we will not grieve their absence, the truth is God will somehow help us to have a different perspective on their rebellion against Him. While last time we dealt with question related specifically to relationships and eternity.
We wrapped up chapter 11. It is such a sad chapter because in it we see the seeds planted which will lead to the division of the kingdom of Israel. The real driving force for this break up is found in how Solomon fostered and introduced idol worship in the land. Solomon lacked a real fear of God like David his father possessed. He embraced the false worship introduced by his many wives and this is ultimately the thing which brought about the judgement of God. He calls His people to be faithful to Him. When His people are not faithful He brings correction and judgement. God is always working to bring His people into faithful pursuit of Him. He is faithful even when we are not and He is always working to bring us what is best for us which is the gift of a relationship with Him. There is nothing in this world better for us then this. At the risk of sounding overly simplistic the truth of the matter is: every single problem which we have in this world finds its truest answer and solution in Jesus.
• Are you sick? Jesus is the great physician and the ultimate healing of every disease is found in Him. One day He will wipe away the effects of all sin and pain.
• Are you anxious? God tells us not to be anxious about anything because He is our provider.
• Are you weary? Jesus tells us to take His yoke upon us because His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
• Are you broken hearted? Jesus binds up the broken hearted and he comforts us with a supernatural comfort so we can comfort others in their distress.
This is just a short example of the reality of how every problem we face finds its ultimate answer in Jesus. Our problem is how easily and quickly we turn to something other then Jesus.
We explored what is essentially the detailing of Solomon’s kingdom declining. It starts with his disobedience to God’s command to not multiply wives. This led to him being introduced to the many gods of these wives. Ultimately the text says Solomon loved these gods. This is a dramatic departure for the man who started out in Kings with the declaration that he loved God. In a nutshell this really highlights Solomon’s decline. He went from loving God to loving many other gods. Yet there is a very real warning for us in Solomon’s decline. If the wisest man who ever lived can move from loving God to loving many gods what hope do we have.
• The hope we have is found in Jesus.
• The hope we have is found in continuing to pursue Him.
• The hope we have is in cultivating a passionate pursuit of Him in our hearts.
We explored a section which in one way foreshadows the kingdom of God and in another way is a warning to the people in exile of how the kingdom of Israel’s decline began. In the section we witness Solomon gaining a super-abundance of wealth. His wealth in his time would have made him by today’s standards a multi-billionaire. Given the lack of true capitalistic economies in Solomon’s day he would have no doubt been the richest man in the world. The wealth and abundance of the kingdom really foreshadows the greater and better kingdom of God which is coming. In God’s coming kingdom there will never be want. God will be supplying our needs in a sinless environment. It will be magnificent in every way. The problem in Solomon’s kingdom can be found in the fact that his was not a sinless environment. The massive build up of wealth would prove to be a corrupting influence on Solomon and all Israel. Silver was so abundant in Jerusalem it was said to be as common as stone. This would have driven the value of silver down in the city and surrounding area. This super common silver was used to purchase chariots and horses. This means these items cost Solomon very little because they used silver in the trade. We also see Solomon engaging in trade with Egypt which was expressly forbidden in Deuteronomy. In a variety of ways the exultation of Solomon and his wisdom is overshadowed by the wealth and power he acquires. The trade with forbidden foreign nations and the accumulation of wealth are items expressly forbidden for the kings of Israel in the book of Deuteronomy.
The early Church was united and devoted to prayer. A united pursuit of
God and a seeking after wisdom from God on the path forward after Jesus Ascension. A 50 day period takes place after the resurrection before we come to Pentecost. A brief overview of corporate prayer is a part of this study.
In this message Adam Gray and Argyl Dickson explore the topic of giving and the core issues that hamper our giving. We explore the different reasons that people give. We also attempt to lay a groundwork for Biblical reasons to give.
Nephelim, fallen angels, the corruption of man and the preserving of the seed that would come. Lots of different ideas are explored as we try to work out a Jesus centered biblically rooted view. Join us as we explore this passage and seek to know God better.
Here we explore the godly line the God preserves to keep the promise alive that He would send a Son to crush the head of the serpent. You see this whole line points to God preserving a Godly seed. God continues to preserve that seed in us today as He prepares a bride for His Son.
This time we see a picture of God's work preserving for Himself a remnant. There is a stark contrast in this section of scripture. Abel comes to God on God's terms. Cain comes to God on his own terms. Lamech does not even come to God yet feels completely justified in his own eyes. But God does not allow society to drift into complete oblivion. He preserves a remnant. Join us as we explore God's work here together.
Here we explore what I believe with all my heart is one of the most important yet missed issues facing the church and the world today. It is my prayer that God would draw you to Himself and into a more deep and intimate pursuit of Him for having looked into these things in His word. May God be praised by what is here.
Here we explore the amazing display of God's grace in Cain's life. Cain is treated more than fairly by God. In his pride he turns from God and pursues his own way. Cain and Abel are a real study in contrast. They display for us the dramatic difference between true religion and false religion. Join us as we gain clarity on this important issue through the lives of Cain and Abel.
Cain and Abel are contrasted here. We explore the contrast that exist between their hearts. How did they come to God? What did they want? How do their hearts reveal the focus in our own approach to God? Join us and find out. (Due to a technical difficulty the audio is not the best on this one.)
Here we see great faith exhibited by Adam, we see great compassion displayed by God, and we see great grace being poured out by God on Adam and Eve. Join us as we explore this amazing section of God's word.
In this meeting we explore how the pain that God has explicitly given to Adam in the curse ultimately points us to our Lord Jesus. We see how the curse is ultimately a blessing to those who put their faith Jesus because it reminds us of our need to depend on Him.
We look in detail at the curse on women and we find here an amazing revelation of God's grace. Join us as we look at the marvelous work of God.
Join us as we explore the greatest promise and the greatest gift that has ever been given Jesus Christ.
Here we see God's grace in action. From the calling of Adam in the garden after he sinned to the promise of the seed that will crush the serpents head. It is all grace. It is all of God and for His glory. This incredible revelation of God's gracious nature is what we explore in this message. Join us as we seek to know God better.
Here we explore how Eve was deceived by the serpent. How Adam engaged in an act of intentional rebellion. Because of their actions they died spiritually and all people born to them are spiritually dead and corrupted so that they do not desire God. We look unflinchingly at the fact that God allowed this to happen. Why? Well there are actually some important answers to this in God's word. Join us as we explore it and see the rich treasures of God that are revealed to us there.
Here we see God bringing about the miracle of marriage as He creates for Adam a Bride. We get to see how God causes Adam to realize his great need of dependence of God for completion. We also see the heart of God put on display in the method He uses to bring about the creation of the bride for Adam. In the middle of this we see an incredible picture of Jesus displayed by the Father for us. Join us as we explore this great passage together.
In this section we take a look at the garden where God placed Adam. We contemplate the trees that God planted there. We look at how God has intentionally planned the best way in which to display His glory. Everything God does is intentional. He works for the ultimate good of all of His children and we see Him displaying that Fatherly care here for the man He has created, and ultimately for the man's future wife as well.
In this section we explore the creation of man. We look at how man's creation differs from the creation of the other living beings. We see the foreshadowing of the Christ in the creation of Adam. Join us as we examine how Christ truly is the firstborn of creation and why.
Here we explore the seventh day. What exactly does it mean that God rested? Does it have any relevance for us today? Join us and find out.
In this section we explore an often quickly passed over section. In it we discover an intentionality in the creation that points us to the glory of Christ. What is here is practical and relevant to things that we experience every day. Join us and find out how relevant Genesis can be.
In this arguably pivotal verse in Genesis we see God giving man the first commands. These are man's marching orders, his reason for existence, his commission. What do these commands mean? What long term effects do they have? How is the heart of God and His Kingdom revealed in them? Join us as we explore these questions in detail.
In this passage we explore the creation of man. What does it mean to be created in the image of God? What was God ultimately fashioning and making as He formed man? What does the short three line poetic phrasing about man's creation indicate about His creation? Join us and find out.
In this section we get to explore the power and creative diversity of God. We look at how He fills the seas with creatures and fish. He creates all of the birds that fly in the heavens. We end by looking at the beasts, the livestock and all the creeping things that God creates. In a matter of two days God creates all the life that we see existing on the earth. It is an astounding picture of the power and diversity of God. Join us as we explore how God's powerful works draw us to Him.
We take a look at the magnificent creation of the great lights that rule the day and the night. We see here intentionality with the creation of these bearers of light following the creation of light. What can we learn from this? Where does it point us? Join us and find out.
In this section we explore how God separates the waters from the waters and what that must mean. We look at the dry land appearing and the creation of the vegetation. The planting of the garden of Eden is considered. On this day we see God at work creating a platform here for the redemption of His people.
In this section we explore the creation of light. What must that have been like? What kinds of things are being hinted at in the context? How is God's sovereignty on display? Lots of things to consider as we see God's creative power being manifest.
In this section we explore the greatness of the power and glory of God manifested in verse two. We look carefully at all the passages that have bearing on this passage. This helps us to walk away with an even greater understanding of the plan of God that is being worked out here in Genesis.
In this first message on Genesis we explore how the first chapter of Genesis is literal. We look at how the rest of Bible views the first days of creation. We also examine the personhood of Adam and how scripture sees him as a real person. In looking at this fist verse we also see how God's power is on display and what role the first verse plays in this first chapter.
We explore here the context of our existence as believers. How our lives should be marked by goodness righteousness and truth with the goal of reaching others with the gospel.
Guest speaker Ron Davis leads us as we explore how God's good comes out of some of the most trying and difficult of circumstances. Jesus never leaves us no matter how trying things may be.
We explore the amazing forgivness that is ours through Jesus. We look at how amazing God's love for us truly is in the perspective that is given in this passage. This should drive us to be more tenderhearted toward one another.
We explore how the body of Christ is affected by what we do either for the good or the bad. We talk about how we should seek to be yielded to the Spirit of God as He shapes us and leads us into a closer relationship with Christ.
We explore here how God calls us to a passionate pursuit of truth and how that pursuit of truth should drive us to passionately seek Christ with all that we are.
This passage is about the maturity of the body. We explore how as we grow in Christ that is where we find the true joy that most people long for.
God desires for His glory to be manifested through us to all people everywhere and to all generations. We explore this and how God has provided us with all things necessary for us to accomplish the magnification of His glory by faith in Him.
We explore the continuity between the true Israel and the Church of today. We see how we truly are one in Christ. This then pushes us toward a more inclusive view of all those that we come in contact with.
We explore the battle against pride and self exultation. How we should be more and more dependent upon Him, and more and more commited to Him because everything that we have truly comes from Him.
The glory of the most magnificent being that has ever existed is revealed to us and stands before us. We are challenged by this text to embrace the relationship available to us in Him.
We explore how fallen we are, where our hope lies and how marvelous his grace truly is for us. What do we have to look forward to? What does that mean for us?
We explore here the importance for us personnally of the exultation of the power of Christ. How that fuels our walk of faith and ultimately our relationship with Christ.
We explore the centrality of Christ work on our behalf. We explore how our value lies in God's choosing us and making us His own. Join us as we marvel at our great God and Savior and His work for and through us.
What is redemption? How does that redemption relate to forgivness? What is the mystery of Christ will that Paul relates here? All of these and other points as well are explored as we seek to know how to better embrace our precious relationship with Christ.
We explore in the passage the great way that Paul expands our vision of God and His great work for us.
We explore how we have been set free in Christ from bondage to sin. We look at what that means and how it should affect our lives. We look at the many benefits and why it is so hard to grasp them.
We explore here how we need to safeguard ourselves against the false teaching that so easily can corrupt our understanding of God and thus our relationship with God and lead us astray.
We explore how we are called here to be marked by love and restoration and not perfection. How does the Spirit transform us to be more like the Son? How can we glorify Christ in confronting brothers, bearing their burdens, and helping them grow.
We explore here how God calls us to live in the present reality of Christ. We look at what we need to do in order to accomplish this. How these things produce the fruit of the Spirit, and a deeper more intimate relationship with God.
We explore how we are called to be free in Christ. To love our neighbors through faith. To walk by the Spirit and not gratify our fleshly desires. We are called to engage in a passionate personal relationship with Christ.
We explore here how Paul is calling us to safeguard our freedom we have in Christ. He calls us to passionately embrace our Lord Jesus Christ not out of servile duty, but from the delightful joy of a son seeking his Father's pleasure.
We explore the adoption as sons. How it is initiated, how it is accomplished, and how it is brought to completion.
We explore how people who are transformed by Christ can be led astray by false teaching. Paul here calls the people back to a fervent relationship with Christ. We see here the elements of correcting erroneous followings.
In this passage we explore how law is a continuation of the promise. We look at how the law reveals our sin and helps lead us into a life of reliance on Christ and pursuit of Him.
Here we explore the planning evident in the promise of God of the incarnation as it is foreshadowed throughout scripture. It is truly exciting to see the plan of God unfold in His word.
A lot of people believe in Jesus, what causes faith to be saving faith. It is of critical importance because as we explore the passage it becomes clear that simple belief does not save one's soul.
We explore justification and how it is given to us through faith. We explore the great struggle to die to self in the area of justification. How attitude affects our hearts inclination towards dependence on God or self. The reality is that the struggle is so very relevant and subtle.
We explore justification by Christ. How can we rely on it and what impact should that have on us? What kind of attitudes result from a clear understanding of justification and how does that affect what we do?
We explore where justification comes from and see a vivid example of how easily our faith is corrupted by relying on the wrong things to justify us.
In this passage we look at how the mark of the truth in the Gospel according to Paul was the Glory of God. That should be the thing that marks our lives. We have to seek to preserve the truth of that gospel because that truth is the Glory of God
Paul talks about his life and how his life has been affected by the gospel. He aims to communicate to the Galatians the foundation and basis for what he is about to teach them. We explore how important these things are and how relevant they are for us today.
Paul talks about the discord that has been brought to the Galatians. He looks at how the gospel has been perverted and how that perversion has brought division. We explore how he seeks to overcome this division and how this overcoming reveals truth.