Living Water Network Teachings

What was the strategy Jesus used to overthrow the evil empire of his day? What can we learn from the way of Jesus as we encounter systems of power around us that run counter to the reign and rule of Jesus? This week, we dive into the nature of power and authority in human systems of control. These insights give us a better understanding of how the fearless death of Jesus on the cross disarmed the...

How are Christians to respond to evil human empires? What does redeemed humanity look like in the midst of systemic injustice, despotic leaders, and geopolitical instability? For many Asian leaders in the Living Water Network, this is their present reality. Daniel had plenty of experience with tyrannical kings, unjust systems, and wild geopolitics. His lifestyle is characterized by critical distan...

Human empires set the context for our lives: occasionally for our benefit but often for our harm. How do we maintain a biblical perspective on the empires around us that grows our faith in God? In this teaching, we unpack Daniel 7, the climax of the entire Old Testament. The Old Testament gives us many helpful clues to help us interpret the puzzling imagery in Daniel 7. And in doing so, we find pe...

What does forgiveness mean in hard contexts of abuse, violence, and injustice? Does forgiving a perpetrator allow them to escape God's justice? How is it psychologically possible to forgive when the wounds go deep? Many questions surround the topic of forgiveness, and these questions are impossible to ignore when the stakes are high. In this teaching, Scott Williams mines the riches of scriptu...

Why should every believer be connected to the global persecuted church? In this teaching we explore the biblical mandate for koinonea relationship with other believers the global church in 2 Cor. 1. We discover that in an age of anxiety and overwhelming international headlines, real relationship with specific believers in hard places can be the antidote to our own anxiety. And connection with over...

When we feel like our lives have gone off the rails and we are utterly confused, Matthew's Christmas narrative reminds us that Mary and Joseph felt that way too. Matthew uses their confused story to speak to the early Church, where people were still confused about why Jesus left them without addressing some of their most difficult challenges. Yet Matthew also shows us that Jesus did indeed add...

We often forget that the Christmas story involved a genocide that made Jesus' parents displaced refugees in a foreign country. But this part of the story mattered to Matthew's audience, who had just gone through their own crimes against humanity in the sacking of Jerusalem. And it matters to anyone living in difficult and chaotic circumstances, wondering if God is still watching, and if he...

On the second Sunday of Advent, we explore the relational tension and pain that can be created when God moves in and through us. This pain is sometimes not just in spite of God's good work in our lives, but directly because of it. Matthew's narrative of Mary and Joseph's marriage is an honest portrayal of what it feels like when God does something new in our lives. And it gives hope to...

On the first Sunday of Advent, we examine the confusion of Matthew's audience: Jewish followers of Jesus who still didn't fully understand why Jesus left without dealing with the Romans, or why God was choosing Gentiles. Matthew's genealogy is a powerful message to Jewish believers: God may be powerfully, surprisingly at work, even when it doesn't match our expectations. Matthews e...