We're talking about rivers, and we're going to do so from a number of different levels.

I'm going to put them up on the screen here.

We're going to first approach rivers for what they are as settings where many incredible

stories take place.

Now, that's true in history.

You think about from Julius Caesar and the Rubicon to George Washington and the Delaware

to Lewis and Clark and the Missouri to so many of the great stories Mark Twain has written.

Rivers are settings for powerful stories, and that is true when it comes to the Bible

as well.

So throughout the river wild, we're going to be looking at some of the amazing stories

in the Bible that are set in, on, near, through, around rivers.

We're also going to be approaching rivers as they are in Scripture as symbols.

Rivers are symbolic.

Oftentimes of God, and for that reason, rivers are throughout the Scriptures and throughout

history associated with worship, associated with baptism, associated with prayer.

Going down to the river is always synonymous with seeking God because of the idea of the

river as a symbol of knowing Him and gathering as His people.

We're also going to treat the river as it is in Scripture as a simile.

A simile is a comparison between two different things, and you always use the word like.

And in the Bible, we find that following Jesus is a lot like flowing down a river.

Following Jesus is a lot like a river suddenly bursting out, especially in a dry place.

I have found, and I want to show you through this series that as you go on this grand adventure

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