Living Water Community Church

we explored what our lives will be like according to what we see in scripture. Will we be ourselves in the sense of being unique individuals? We explored things like how the Bible indicates we will know specific individuals in eternity like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Bible indicates we will have emotional responses in heaven. There are good indications we will learn things in heaven. We will still be decision making beings but we will not want to sin or go against God, because of this we will be safe from ever sinning. We explored a bit of what our daily lives might be like. We will probably have meaningful work much like Adam had work in the garden of Eden before the fall. We will have a place God has prepared for us as individuals, which implies we will be able to invite people to our place and go to the place of other people.

Jesus was a living man, not a spirit or some kind of allusion. The Resurrection was testified to over and over by the disciples of Christ. Jesus wants His people to know that He is indeed raised and is with us now and also at God's right hand. 

The Resurrection of Jesus shows the power of Christ over death. Jesus was the perfect man who was sacrificed so that we could have life abundantly. The sacrificing of lambs at Passover is a picture that has been pointing forward to the person of Christ since it began in the book of Exodus. Christ's Death and Resurrection is the complete work that defeats every foe. All we need because of His resurrection is to recognize Jesus as our Lord. Everyone who was resurrected eventually died again, but Jesus never died again and never will. He is our forever hope and salvation.

We were looking at the end of Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the temple. What we saw as we worked through his last 3 petitions was Solomon interceded for the gentiles who would be coming to worship the God of Israel. This had to be a radical idea to the Jews who saw themselves as God’s chosen people. They were quick to point out their superiority and part of this was the history of God’s intervention on their behalf even against other people. But God’s promises to Abraham included the promise to draw all the nations to God through Israel. Solomon’s prayer really reinforces this idea and sees it at least being fulfilled in part through worship at the temple. Then Solomon turns his attention to God granting them victory in battle if the people turn to God and call on Him. And finally Solomon ends his prayer by pointing out how the people are bound to sin because we all sin. He asks God to grant them forgiveness even if they are carried away to a foreign land. He asks God to hear them and to grant them favor

We explored what the resurrected or new earth will be like according to what we see in scripture. We will have a central capital city called the New Jerusalem. As we examined Revelation 21 and 22 it is clear this city is described as having walls and gates. There are nations mentioned and people are said to bring things into the New Jerusalem from the nations. This indicates there will be rulers and trade will be conducted. The measurements given for the new Jerusalem are stated as being human measurements which places an emphasis on these measurements being actual and not symbolic. The gates of the city are always open which suggest everyone has access to the city all the time. This is important because it means everyone will always have access to the tree of life and the river of life which are both in the city. The idea of open gates also suggest we will travel and visit other areas. In the record John gives in Revelation he states the angel carried him away to a great high mountain which points out how ge

We have been working our way through Solomon’s prayer of dedication at the temple. The contents of His prayer is interesting because it really seems to reflect what we know about the heart of God. Solomon appears to be moved by God to say what he is saying. His prayer began with a request for justice. There is clearly a dependence expressed here on God bringing justice to the people when no one on earth actually knows the truth in a given situation. Solomon does not detail how God would bring that justice but he asks God to be the one who brings justice to His people. Second Solomon prays for rescue. He demonstrates an understanding of how depraved the hearts of men are. Solomon’s prayer supposes a situation when the people of God are defeated by their enemies, much like they were at AI. For the people of God this kind of defeat is directly related to their sin. Solomon does not suggest this might or might not happen. But rather Solomon says when this happens, declaring it in a way which presupposes this is g

We looked at the point in the consecration of the temple when Solomon turned and blessed all the assembly of Israel. He talked about the faithfulness of God. How He delivered His people from the land of Egypt. How He set David up to be king over His people. How David wanted to build God a house, but God told him he could not. But how God had promised David his son would build a house for God. Solomon David’s son has done the work God promised he would and has built a house for God. Solomon points out how this house holds the ark which contains the covenant God had made with His people. Solomon stands before the altar of the temple and begins to pray to God. He talks to God about the fact that there is no God like the God of Israel. The God of Israel is a God who keeps His covenant promises and shows steadfast love to His servants who walk before Him with all their heart. He then talks about the promise God made to David that he would not lack a man to sit before God on the throne of Israel. Solomon recalls ho

We worked our way through the dedication of the temple. This was a huge event. A once in a lifetime kind of happening. Solomon assembled all the key leaders of the tribes and the families to come and be present. Of course many of them would have brought their families and children if they could. This was one of the biggest gatherings which had even happened in Jerusalem. The ceremonies started with the ark of the covenant being brought up from the city of David to the temple mount. This was done with so many sacrifices that they could not be numbered. This had to be quite a few because earlier in 1 Kings we saw Solomon offering a thousand sacrifices. So this was way more then that. This was what was going on as they placed the ark of the covenant in the temple in the holy of holies under the wings of the cherubim. The ark only held the two tablets of stone which were inscribed with the law of God. This was the covenant God had made with His people. The law showed the people how they fell short of God’s perfec

We worked through the way in which God administers the rulership of His coming kingdom. First of all we looked at how Jesus whole purpose for coming was to establish a kingdom which Adam had effectively lost. If Jesus had not done this there would be no rescue, redemption or resurrection. Everything really hinged on Jesus defeating sin and death. Through Adam sin and death entered the world and passed to all mankind. Jesus fulfilled the role of the second Adam and lived a life of perfect obedience to God’s law. This qualified Jesus as our perfect representative to conquer sin and death through His atoning death on the cross. This was the defeat of Satan. Jesus took back the rulership of this world. He now rules and reigns at the right hand of God. While men continue to rule in rebellion against God, Jesus continues to reach into the hearts of men and bring them new life. Effectively Jesus changes people from the dominion of darkness to the the kingdom of light and life. But we are not just made a part of the

We worked through the details surrounding the items which held water. The massive sea which was really about the size of the average backyard swimming pool. This was used for the cleansing of the priests. The 10 basins which each held 240 gallons and were used for the ritual cleansing needed in some of the sacrifices. The basins and the sea were all cast in bronze. This should remind us of judgement. Also water itself is a sign of judgment. It certainly sustains life but it can also take life. The earth and all life on it were destroyed by the world wide flood. Pharaoh’s army was destroyed in the waters of the red sea. The bronze sea is a reminder that the power of water and judgement is in the hand of God. Even today in baptism we use water to remind us of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. We enter into the waters of baptism and are identified with Christ as we are raised with him to newness of life. In a sense we symbolically face the judgement of God but are identified with Jesus and cleansed by

We looked at the return to the record of the building of the temple. This is after we took a few verses and looked at the building of Solomon’s house. Here we learned about the worker in bronze named Hiram who came down from Tyre to work on the temple. He had a Jewish mother and a gentile father. It is a great  picture that the temple was for all people and so a representative of all people was the key artisan doing the bronze work. We also looked at the first items he cast for the temple. The two pillars named Jachin and Boaz. They flanked the entrance to the temple. Their names meant to establish and strength. Because they were the entrance to God’s house they speak of how He establishes and how we need to look to Him for strength. These pillars while beautiful were made of bronze and bronze is almost always a symbol of judgement in the Bible. Here their position points to the fact that those who seek to go before God must first face judgement. This of course points to the reality that Jesus has gone before

time we looked at the beginning of chapter 7. In the first 12 verses we have the description of Solomon’s building of his house and how long it took him. It is interesting because the writer inserts this section right in the middle of two sections describing the building of the temple and all of its furnishings. It is also clearly inserted here as a contrast to the building of the temple. The first verse starts with a conjunction in Hebrew. It is only recorded this way in a handful of english translations. The verse in Hebrew would start with the equivalent “and” or “but”. This is important because the last verse in chapter six ends with the statement about the temple that “He was seven years in building it.” the next verse then becomes, “But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years.” This opening verse is then followed with 11 verses describing in broad brush strokes the 5 buildings which made up Solomon’s house. The comparison becomes pretty striking. Solomon spent twice as much time building his o

We explored what it means for us to see God, dwell with Him and worship Him in the coming kingdom of heaven. We discussed how simply seeing God Himself will be the most awe inspiring sight we have ever seen. He is the pinnacle of what exists in all of His realm. Everything else pales in comparison to Him. Yet in God’s word this immortal eternal holy and perfect being calls us to know Him and pursue Him. This is an amazing thing. If a human king or celebrity invited us to come their place and spend time with them and get to know them we would feel immediately honored by such a thing. And indeed everyone would understand the honor you have received. But we are talking here about an invitation which eclipses the honor offered to us by a human. This honor is enormous. But it is not just a vague hope. God intends to dwell with His people on earth. It will be a return to God walking with His people and engaging in relationship with them like He did with Adam and Eve. Those who have come to be children of God will d

We looked at the finishing work on the building of the temple structure. We saw a lot of attention being spent of the construction of the Holy of Holies. Especially the two massive cherubim which stood 15 feet high inside the Holy of Holies. It is really amazing to think about this chamber receiving the attention it did when only the High priest ever entered it and that only once a year. The temples of other ancient peoples usually put their carvings and castings of their gods on full display for everyone to see. The place where God dwelt was closed off to everyone. The detailed carvings on the walls of the inner sanctuary and the massive cherubim were there for God. The reflective nature of the gold covering everything emphasized how God dwelt in unapproachable light. The massive cherubim are symbolic of the powerful beings which actually stand before the throne of God. These massive powerful beings emphasize the power of God because they serve Him and He is certainly far more powerful then they are. It is o

We worked through the way Solomon is addressed by God concerning the temple he is building. It is interesting if for no other reason then the fact of what God addresses. He actually says nothing about the building itself other then mentioning at the beginning how what He is saying concern the house Solomon is building. What this tells us is God is confirming that building the temple is recognized by God and thus a good thing. But God addresses Solomon’s actions and charges him with obeying God’s commands. God promises Solomon if he will follow God’s statutes then the promises of establishing his throne and dwelling among the people and not forsaking the people would be fulfilled. God is basically making it clear that His engagement with the people of Israel is not going to be guaranteed simply because they are building an elaborate temple for Him. This really reinforces the ideas central to the greatest commandment. The call to love the Lord our God is the foundation of real worship. Without a relationship of

There is an attack on Biblical sexuality in the Church today that must be fought against by those who value Truth. The Word of God is clear concerning what is right and wrong sexually and we have a responsibility to oppose the teaching and laws of Government when they run counter to the Truth of God's Word.

We examined the way in which the temple was constructed. It’s dimensions as well as the specifics of its construction. Details like the date the construction began. How long and wide and high it was. How it had windows and a vestibule in front. It records how Solomon built a storage structure 3 stories high around 3 sides of the temple. There is also details like how the stones used in the temple were cut in the quarry away from the temple mount so no hammer or any tool of iron would be heard on the temple mount while it was being built. The thing which really stands out in these opening verses is the detail of the record. God’s house was built with precision. Everything about it was very intentional. The intentionality of the construction of God’s dwelling really foreshadows the intentionality of the construction of God’s future temple which is made of the people of God and built on the great cornerstone of Jesus. 

we talked about the implications of the resurrection. With the resurrection comes the rolling back of the effects of sin. This means the death which Adam experienced when he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil will be undone. There will not just be a physical resurrection there will be a new spiritual life which we have never been able to experience. We will function in a whole new way. We will see with both physical and spiritual eyes. We will be equipped to hear both the physical and the spiritual realm. We will touch things which have spiritual properties and yet are very real. Remember the angel which stood in Balaam’s path with a sword. That sword was made of some material which exists in the spiritual realm. It was a sword which could be used to kill Balaam. Yet that sword could not been seen or perceived by Balaam without God opening his eyes to it. The spiritual sword was a very real threat to a physical man, yet he had no way of knowing it was there or of the angel which wielded it. Tha

The Birth of Jesus Christ is certainly not what we or the people of the day would have imagined or chosen. In it we get to see the wonder and the beauty of God's unfolding plan.

We worked our way through the establishment of a mutually beneficial relationship between Solomon and Hiram king of Tyre. Hiram would supply Israel with cedar and cypress trees to build the temple and Solomon’s house and Solomon would supply Hiram with food and wine for the duration of the lumber harvesting process. Solomon drafted laborers from among the people to help with the harvesting of wood and the quarrying of stone. This forced labor is one of the things which becomes an issue for the people as we will see later. This relationship with Hiram is also an extension of a positive relationship which David had with him. God’s hand of blessing is clearly on Solomon. His kingdom becomes a kingdom of peace which in this way really foreshadows the kingdom of Jesus which is coming. While we saw the writer of Kings chronicle the supply side for building the temple and palace.