Living Water Community Church

We are looking at many different ways in which people in the Bible prayed. The examples of prayer are very rich and it will take a few weeks to go through these examples of prayer we find in the Bible. Different words are used for "prayer" depending on the way the person was seeking to approach God. Join us as we look through the ways we see prayer done in the Bible.

We worked through a section which showed us one of the longest reigns of any king in Judah. King Uzziah also known as Ahaziah reigned 52 years. Here was a king which in many ways honored God and yet as he entered the end of his reign he became proud and entered the temple to offer incense to God. This angered God and he struck Uzziah with leprosy in front of the 80 priest which assembled to stand against what Uzziah was doing. He lived the rest of his life in a different house as a leper. His son Jotham reigned after him. While his reign was said to be like his fathers he too fell short of doing all God wanted. While this was happening in Judah there were 5 reigns of different kings of Israel laid out for us. They did not seek to honor God and one after another they died often at the hands of people close to them. The writer of kings takes us through all of these kings in this short space showing us how time after time after time no matter how the king intended to go they all fell short. None of them was the

We explored the time when the kings of both Israel and Judah demonstrated halfway commitments to God. They either started out strong for the Lord and ended worshipping idols or they simply seemed to want God and idols too. It is a sad time in Israel of halfway commitments. People seem to be seeking for the Lord because of their oppression and God hears them and gives them relief but they continue to worship idols. God watching over them and watching out for them seems to have little or no impact on how they live or worship. And yet there is a warning here. A warning to honor God as God. Judah thought they could simply worship at the high places it would be fine. It was more convenient then going up to Jerusalem. Who cares that other idols are worshipped there. But God had established the temple and He had come to dwell there and establish His presence between the cherubim. He called on the people to come to Him and worship Him there. This was God’s plan. The worship of God is established by God and matters to

We worked our way through the lives of some of Jehu’s descendants as they ruled over Israel. We also witnessed the last acts of Elisha as he wrapped up his ministry and died. The descendants of Jehu were very much like their father. They seemed to have a certain type of zeal and regard for Yahweh but they continued to worship the golden calves and other false gods. It is a tragic act of disobedience as they show only a half way commitment to God. But the reality is a halfway commitment is not an act of faith. We saw in the story of Joash a real sorrow at the sickness of Elisha. He weeps when he goes to visit him. But his compassion does not translate into a greater commitment to God. Elisha gives him a prophecy about his future conflicts with Syria. He uses a bow and arrows to speak of the victories which will come. We also see a brief story about how a man’s body is quickly tossed into the tomb where Elisha’s body lay. The dead man came into contact with Elisha’s dead body and God brought him back to life. T

We explored the chapter in kings dedicated to the reign of Joash. He started out intent of bringing glory to God. He called the priest to account about the state of disrepair in the temple and he followed through with working to bring about the repairs which needed to happen. The tragedy is how as he aged he drifted away from his fervency for God and the temple. He actually gets to the point where he has Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest killed for calling them to repent and return to the true worship of God. This is really shocking because Jehoiada was really the only one he would have known as a father and it was Jehoiada and his wife Jehosheba who saved Joash from being killed by Athaliah when she tried to wipe out the royal descendants of king David. Zechariah would have been the only person in his life who was essentially like a brother. This shows us how far Joash had moved away from God. He preferred his idolatry over the family which had saved him and raised him. In doing this Joash led all of

There is a document which goes along with this live study. You can access it at https://www.livingwatercommunitychurch.info/depth-charge/ You will find a link to download the document there.The Bible begins with the earth covered in water and darkness and it ends with no more night and no more sea. This is an in depth cover to cover overview of a major aspect of God's glory on display in the Bible in the person and work of Jesus. We will be grappling with questions like. Why did God allow evil to exist? Is the existence of evil a problem for God? Why doesn't God wipe away pain if He is all good and loving? How did Satan fall? Why did Jesus have to become a man? What does all of this mean for today and the future? If God is sovereign, how could this have happened? Does all of this really bring Him glory? You might be surprised by what you discover as we explore these major themes together. Come join an interactive discussion of these topics as we seek to see the glory of God on display.

we explored the story of how Joash (also called Jehoash in todays passage) was saved from the slaughter of Ahaziah’s descendants by Athaliah the queen mother. Athaliah attempted to wipe out the descendants of David and set herself up as the ruler over Judah. Jehosheba a daughter of the former king and sister to Ahaziah, who had been killed, took Joash and his nurse and hid them from Athaliah so he was not put to death. Athaliah reigned over Judah for 7 years. She was a wicked queen and she promoted the worship of Baal in Judah. During her reign Jehosheba and her husband Jehoiada the priest kept Joash hidden in the temple. When Joash was 7 years old Jehoiada gathered the captains of the Carites and the guards together and made a covenant with them and made them swear an oath and after this he showed them how he had beer raising Joash in secret. These commander along with Jehoiada the priest made plans to overthrow the wicked queen Athaliah and install Joash as king in her place. On the sabbath they gathered al

we explored the last events recorded for us in the life of Jehu the king of Israel. His last recorded act is in his words to show his zeal for the Lord. He meets Jehonadab and invites him to come along as he sets out to demonstrate his zeal. On arriving in Samaria he kills the rest of those who were still connected to Ahab. Then he announces to the people he wants to have a solemn assembly for Baal. Word is sent out to gather all the worshippers and priests of Baal. Anyone who was committed to Baal and failed to come would be put to death. They were all given special garments and brought into the temple of Baal where Jehu begins a sacrifice. After the sacrifice was finished he left and 80 soldiers slaughtered all the assembled worshippers and priests of Baal. They them destroyed the temple and turned it into a toilet. This desecrated the area ensuring no one would ever try to rebuild that temple. While Jehu does all these things which God wanted such as the destruction of the family of Ahab and the wiping out

we explored the story of Jehu going to Jezreel to challenge Joram for the kingship of Israel. When Joram thought it was Jehu he rode out to meet him in his chariot. He asked Jehu if it was a message of peace he brought since he had been at the front lines of their battle in Ramoth-gilead. Jehu’s response was, “What peace can there be, so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?” Joram and Ahaziah who was with him reigned in their chariots and headed toward Jezreel because they realized Jehu was intent on opposing them. Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram through the heart. He died in his chariot and Jehu had him tossed onto the land of Naboth’s vineyard. Remembering Elijah’s prophecy about the coming death of Ahab’s heirs Jehu pronounced how prophecy was being fulfilled. He then pursued Ahaziah and shot him with an arrow in his chariot as well. Ahaziah fled to Megiddo and died there and his servants came and took his body to the city of David and buried it there. Jehu entered Je

We worked our way through the first 16 verses of chapter 9. In this section we see Elisha providing the final fulfillment of God’s command to Elijah to anoint Elisha in his place, to anoint Hazael as king over Syria and to anoint Jehu as king over Israel. As our story opens Elisha commissions a son of the prophets to take a flask of oil to Ramoth-gilead and anoint Jehu as king over Israel in a private ceremony, and then leave with haste. This son of the prophets does exactly what Elisha instructs him to do, and Jehu is anointed as king. When Jehu comes from the inner room and encounters his fellow commanders they ask what has happened and his response is you know the fellow and what he said. This statement indicates Jehu thinks they are in on it and it may be a set-up or joke. Their response however dispels this idea because they tell Jehu they don’t know what has happened. Jehu then tells them the man has anointed him in the Lord’s name as king over Israel. The military commanders who were present removed th

We are turning our attention to what properly might be called the mechanics of prayer. We continued our study of prayer by looking at the how people in the Bible focused on God’s actions as a basis for engaging with Him in prayer. We looked at a bunch of passages where we see prayers or praise rooted in things like His love, faithfulness, and judgements which are cast against His creation. His love extends to the heavens. His love is like the mountains of God. His judgements are like the great deep. What we see again and again is the writers of scripture taking the time to think about God and His works and actions in ways that a vivid to our imagination. This kind of thinking can begin to infuse our own prayers with a deeper sense of connection and awe as we engage our imagination in the pursuit of God in prayer. 

We explored the lives of the descendants of Jehoshaphat. They knew the promises of God because of their father Jehoshaphat. They were supposed to lead the people in following God but instead they led the people away from the Lord. This resulted in the judgement of God. Jehoshaphat’s son married the daughter of Ahab, and began to follow the sinful path of the people of Israel. Edom revolted from their rule and set up their own king. Joram went down with an army to quell the rebellion and was routed by the Edomites and had to flee. Libnah which was one of the cities of the Levites rebelled and separated from following Joram as well. Joram did not live long and Ahaziah his son reigned over Judah. He also led the people of Judah in the path of the house of Ahab king of Israel. The king of Israel was wounded in a battle with Hazael the king of Syria and Ahaziah went to see him in Jezreel while he was recovering. This is where we ended the last time. 

We looked at two stories at the beginning of chapter 8 which show us how God orchestrates all things. The first story demonstrates God taking care of those who are His. The wealthy woman of Shunam whose son had been raised from the dead returned to the land of Israel to find her property had been taken over during a time of famine. She went to the king to plead her case and Elisha’s servant was with the king recounting the works of Elisha. He had just talked to the king of this woman and her son’s resurrection when she appeared in the court to plead her case for the property. The king heard her story and granted her the property back as well as the revenue generated from the property while she was gone. We would typically call things like this a coincidence. But there is no such thing. God is working behind the scenes to direct people and even conversation to provide for the needs of His people. The second situation involved Hazael a commander who served king Ben-hadad of Syria. Ben-hadad had been sick and se

We worked our way through the story of the siege on Samaria. The king of Syria had come down with his entire army and they besieged Samaria. This blockade of the city eventually caused a famine. The writer tells us the famine was so bad the people were willing to pay 80 shekels for a donkeys head. He even reported how the people were resorting to eating their own children. The king of Israel on hearing about these things blamed God for the problems and swore he was going to kill Elisha. He sent his military captain to kill Elisha and Elisha told the elders who were with him to bar the door and not let him in. Elisha proceeded to tell the captain through the door that the Lord was going to provide flour and barley by the next day about this time in abundance. The man scoffed at the word of the Lord and Elisha told him because of his unbelief he would see it but would not get a chance to see it with his own eyes. That evening the Lord caused the Syrian army to believe they were under attack. They fled leaving e

Our wants can easily be justified as needs. At the same time we can look at people who accumulate things and think how good they have it. Even wondering sometimes why they have  it so good and we have to struggle so much. The up and coming generation certainly is marked by an attitude of entitlement as a general characteristic when it comes to work and the workplace. Entitlement however is not an exclusive domain held by those growing into adulthood. It is easy for all of us to fall into the trap of entitlement. It is easy for us to simply think more highly of ourselves then we ought to think. Greed and selfishness creep into all of our lives. People do not normally lay down their lives for each other. To the contrary we usually find it easy to demand more from others. We have an uncanny ability to mistake greed for need. We live in a society which is preoccupied with justifying feeling satisfied and safe. We are encouraged on every side to be preoccupied with our own well being. In this kind of environment w

We explored the story of how Elisha tells the king of Israel to avoid certain places at specific times because the king of Syria has laid a trap or planned a raid. The king of Israel would send scouts to verify it and discovered Elisha was saving him from these plans. This frustrated the king of Syria who became convinced there must be a spy in his court feeding his plans to the king of Israel. But the servants of the king know it is Elisha who is aware of the Syrian plans and alerts the king of Israel. The servants tell the king, “Elisha hears all of his plans even those made in secret.” This revelation frustrates the king and he sends his army to capture Elisha who lives in Dothan. The army surrounds the city and Elisha’s servant is frightened by the development. Elisha prays and God opens the servants eyes and he can see the horses and chariots of fire on the surrounding hills are greater then the Syrian army which surrounds Dothan. Again Elisha prays and God strikes the army with blindness. Elisha then le

We explored a passage which many see as fantastic or legendary. In it Elisha causes an iron ax head to float. From our perspective it seems almost like an extraordinary action for something we would consider a minor loss. But we need to consider the day in which this happened. The iron age had recently come into its own. This was probably about 200 to 300 years after what we would see as the start of the iron age. The amount of time and effort which the creation of iron implements in this day made it a really expensive metal especially when compared to copper, bronze or brass. The loss of an iron ax head in this day may have been similar to wrecking a car in our day. So while this reads as insignificant because of our context it was a great loss in their day. Even with our understanding of the cost it seems to raise the question of why record this event. In the context of the book of Kings this story is the 6th in a series of stories about God meeting the needs of His people. We had the widow who was about to

We explored 2 Kings chapter 5 and in it we saw the Lord orchestrating events to bring Naaman the Syrian commander to Himself. God did not simply bring this man facing the death sentence of leprosy to healing he brought a man who was facing the death sentence of sin to faith. It is a remarkable and because of this a famous story which starts with the faith a young girl. A girl captured from Israel during a raid and carried into slavery and captivity. This young girl lives much like Joseph when he was sold into slavery. She serves her mistress as best she can. She sees her role in slavery as an opportunity to do good. She believes by faith that God can use Elisha to heal her master Naaman and she tells her mistress what she believes to be true. You could say the faith of this little girl is the catalyst which God uses to bring Naaman to faith. Naaman goes to the king of Syria with the news of this potential cure for leprosy is Israel. The king sends Naaman with letters to seek this cure from the king of Israel.

We continued our study in prayer by examining how the Psalmist and other writers expressed joy in the midst of difficulty. How did they get to joy and what are some common traits of the journey to joy in a not so joyful situation. This is one of those areas where the Biblical writers give us a variety of examples for doing this. It is also something do not naturally  do and so it becomes something we need to practice and work on. We see this type of expression again and again throughout the Bible. We see it in the Psalms and wisdom books as well as commands by Paul to rejoice in the Lord always. David even appointed a whole section of the priests to do nothing but give thanks to God. This priority of giving thanks and praise to God in the Old Testament should certainly inform our own thoughts as we consider how we approach God and what the content of our prayers should include. We are not saying it should only be joy and thanksgiving but if we don’t find this theme being a part of our prayer life we should co

We worked our way through two stories about Elisha which on first glance appear disconnected accounts of things he did. The first story was about a visit to the sons of the prophets during a famine. Elisha told his servant during the visit to prepare a large pot of stew for the men. One of the sons of the prophets was helping and ended up gathering a poisonous gourd and cutting it up in the stew. Some of the men recognized this poisonous gourd and cried out that death was in the pot. Elisha asked them for some flour and he tossed it in the pot and it made the stew safe to eat. The second story involved a man who brought his firstfruits offering to Elisha. He brought 20 barley loaves. Again they are with the sons of the prophets and Elisha commands his servant to feed the men. His servant objects stating there was simply not enough to feed the over 100 men present. But Elisha restates the command to feed them and says there will be enough and food left over. While these seem disconnected stories they both invo