Living Waters at St. Luke's

WHAT IS LIVING WATERS?

Living Waters is an in-depth, Christ-centered program for people seeking healing in areas of sexual and relational brokenness. A healing, teaching and discipleship series, Living Waters addresses the reality that we are all broken in our ability to love others well. The goal of Living Waters is to lay a foundation for sexual and relational wholeness in our lives.

Through the worship, teaching, prayer, and small groups of Living Waters we learn about:

*   God's powerful love for us and how Jesus is central to our hope for wholeness.
*   The depth of our brokenness and our profound need for Him.
*   The power of the Cross to restore our souls, sexuality, and relationships.
*   The process of walking out our healing.
*   Our place in the church and loving others honorably.

WHO IS LIVING WATERS FOR?

Living Waters applies to everyone, but is particularly relevant to those struggling with homosexuality, sexual promiscuity or addiction, the effects of sexual abuse, codependency, self-hatred, or the inability to love others well. Thankfully, Christ's capacity to touch and restore us at deep levels of shame and brokenness extends to all of us, regardless of the specifics of our issue. 

PARTICIPATING IN LIVING WATERS  

We are excited that you are interested in attending Living Waters (LW) at St. Luke’s.  Because of the subject matter and the fact that healing and accountability occur most effectively in a consistent, committed context, LW is a closed program.  This requires that you fill out and return an application form (download below) to St. Luke’s at the address given below.  Upon receipt, we will invite you to a personal interview to discuss the appropriateness of LW for you at this point in your life.  Class size is limited and will be filled on a first-come-first-serve basis so please get your application in ASAP.  We plan to interview in late August prior to the start of the program. The  application package also contains a number of forms describing LW policies. Please read these policies, sign them and bring them to the interview.   

The 26 week LW program is divided into two semesters and meets on Monday evenings at St. Luke’s from 7:30pm to ~10:00pm 

Semester 1           September 18th to December 11th 2006       13 weeks
Break                     December 12th 2006 to January 7th 2007      4 weeks
Semester 2           January 8th to April 9th 2007                            14 weeks  

The LW program tuition is $300 and includes the Living Waters Workbook and the book Strength in Weakness.  Don’t let the tuition scare you away, apply and we can talk about it at the interview. Thank you for interest, we are excited about what God has planned.

LIVING WATERS APPLICATION
To View a printable copy
(PDF format)
 of the application and policy form
press here

 Please fill out and return the application to:

 Living Waters at
St. Luke's Church
565 S. Cleveland Massillon Road
Akron Ohio, 44333

 Sincerely,
Crispin and Annelyse DeBellis
Coordinators

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Living Waters was developed and is administered by Desert Stream Ministries. We

at St. Luke’s are grateful for their training and support. For more information about Desert Stream Ministries click here.  (link to www.desertstream.org)

HOW IS LIVING WATERS PRESENTED?

Living Waters is a 20-lesson program taught in a closed group format, usually over a 30-week period. The leaders have been trained and a confidentiality policy is in place to help ensure trust and safety in the group. Each meeting includes: 

WORSHIP - We focus our attention and praise on God rather than on our problems.

THE WORD - Living Waters teachings combine psychological insights and biblical truths that help us to know God and ourselves better.

THE WORKS OF JESUS - Through healing prayer in large and small group settings, we invite the Holy Spirit to heal our various wounds. We bring our sins, and those committed against us, to the Lord who is faithful to set us free.

 Foundational to Living Waters is the reality that God created us in His image as male and female. Therefore we value men and women working out their healing together. Great healing comes as men and women minister and receive alongside one another, thereby reflecting God's intention and character. (Although small groups are single-sex, both genders participate together in worship, teaching, and prayer in the large group.) Living Waters uses a detailed guidebook that includes teachings, questions and additional readings that help us move from brokenness to maturity.

 WHAT WILL I LEARN?

Some topics addressed include: 

• Acknowledging our need for God
• How "the fall" affects our sexuality and relationships
• Receiving the Father's love
• Who we are as men and women
• The cross and confession
• Renouncing our idols
• Reconciliation between men and women
• Roots of gender brokenness
• Healing from sexual abuse
• Restoring the true self through the cross
• Understanding and overcoming temptation
• Overcoming sexual addiction
• Embracing the church as our healing community
• Building healthy relationships
• Walking as mature Christians

 IS LIVING WATERS FOR ME?

If the following statements describe your heart for hope and healing, you may want to consider participating in Living Waters:

• A desire to deepen your relationship with Christ
• A desire to grow in your identity as a man or woman of God, allowing Him to reveal the good of your sexuality
• A willingness to face the sinfulness of your present state and the painful realities that led you there. This involves exploring hurts from your past specifically related to key people in your life, such as parents
• A willingness to be open and honest with others about your brokenness, including sexual feelings and practices, as well as issues of identity and emotional immaturity
• A willingness to receive the healing ministry of the Holy Spirit in these deep areas
• A desire and willingness to walk free from sinful patterns
• A desire to grow in your relationships in the body of Christ

 LIVING WATERS LESSON LISTING

 The following is a list of the lessons of Living Waters. There are 20 lessons to Living Waters although the Living Waters program usually takes between 25 and 30 weeks as some lessons consist of two parts.

 Section 1: Love Revealed

Chapter 1: Introduction to Living Waters

Chapter 2: Acknowledging Our Need

Chapter 3: The Father's Pursuit of Us

Chapter 4: Jesus, the Son

Chapter 5: The Realignment and Empowering of the Will

Section 2: Understanding Sexual and Relational Brokenness

Chapter 6: Welcoming Him Into Our Brokenness

Chapter 7: Triggers of Gender Insecurity

Chapter 8: Broken Boundaries, Invaded Heart

Chapter 9: Narcissism and Relational Idolatry

Section 3: Reconciliation

Chapter 10: The Cross: Resurrecting the True Self

Chapter 11: Forgiving Others

Chapter 12: Hope for Gender Wholeness: Restoring the True Feminine

Chapter 13: Hope for Gender Wholeness: Restoring the True Masculine

Section 4: Learning to Walk

Chapter 14: Embracing the Process

Chapter 15: Temptation: Bound or Determined?

Chapter 16: Freedom from Sexual Addiction Section 5: Learning to Love

Chapter 17: Devotion to Christ through His Community

Chapter 18: Healthy Same-Sex Friendships

Chapter 19: Healthy Heterosexuality

Chapter 20: Toward Christian Maturity