People of the Way

People of the Way

People of the Way

  • Confession
    • Intro Communion
      • 1 Cor. 11:28 Let a person examine himself…
  • Confession- Psalm 130
    • Reader- Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord, Hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.
    • People- If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?
  • REPENTANCE SLIDE (Silent confession)
    • Reader- If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?
    • People- But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
    • Reader- We wait for the Lord
    • People- In his word we put our hope.
    • Reader- For with the Lord is unfailing love and  complete redemption
    • All- He will redeem us from all our sins!
  • PARDON SLIDE

Let us now direct our attention to the word of God!

  • Please turn in your bibles to Acts 9:19-3, page 917
    • Invite Trina up to read,  Please stand for the reading of God’s word.
  • READ Acts 9:19-31
    • Review- Chosen,
      • Saul’s conversion and Ananias- GOD’S WORK is OUR WORK and gives us a DIVINE INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GREATEST, MOST EPIC ADVENTURE OF ALL ETERNITY, SEEING SOMEONE’S DESTINY CHANGED. TO EXPERIENCE DARKNESS TO LIGHT, DEATH TO LIFE, BONDAGE TO FREEDOM in the soul of another!
People of the Way.
  • Acts 9:1-2 Asked for authority from the High Priest to bind and bring “people of the Way” back to Jerusalem.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

  • Jesus people
    • Address unbelievers, hospital not a country club(?)
  • Ananias, we saw “the Way” was prayer, listening & obey.
    • This week we are going to focus on the idea of Christian community.
      • Hangin’ at Mike R’s house with a ton of “different” people.
      • Unbelievers
  • Establish ground work. 
    • Triune God
    • Imago Dei, in the image of God.
      • Created for relationship with God & others

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone” Genesis 2:18

Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment. Proverbs 18:1

Loners who care only for themselves spit on the common good. Proverbs 18:1 (The Message)

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. John 17:20-21 (high priestly prayer)

  • We are meant to do life with each other. Relationship with God/ Relationship with others. It’s a HUGE part of being people of the “Way”.
  • Based on last weeks sermon- We are “chosen”.
  • –Gospel lead in. For what?  To love God & love others
  • –The implications of that are endless, but it would be really hard to fulfill the “love others” without others in your life to love.

“That is the great joy of being chosen: the discovery that others are chosen as well. In the house of God there are many mansions. There is a place for everyone – a unique, special place. Once we deeply trust that we ourselves are precious in God’s eyes, we are able to recognize the preciousness of others and their unique places in God’s heart.”  Henri J.M. Nouwen

#1. Invest.  Read Acts 9:19-21 

  • Find someone/ look for someone/ pray for someone
    • Doesn’t matter how old you are. Spiritually or in age, start somewhere
  • Why? because “We are people of the Way”
#2. Support. Read Acts 9:23-25
  • Position yourself to be in others lives to be there for them.
  • If the shoe drops, who do you call?
  • If the shoe drops in someone else’s life, who would call you?

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

“The Christian, however, must bear the burden of a brother. He must suffer and endure the brother. It is only when he is a burden that another person is really a brother and not merely an object to be manipulated. The burden of men was so heavy for God Himself that He had to endure the Cross. God verily bore the burden of men in the body of Jesus Christ. But He bore them as a mother carries her child, as a shepherd enfolds the lost lamb that has been found. God took men upon Himself and they weighted Him to the ground, but God remained with them and they with God. In bearing with men God maintained fellowship with them. It was the law of Christ that was fulfilled in the Cross. And Christians must share in this law.”  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community

“We are people of the Way”

Invite, Read Acts 9:26-30

  • Dave’s cookies. “he’s with me” (Worshiping at WYAM)

Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. Romans 17:7

  • “Accept”- Greek, to take beside. Welcome or receive.
  • Jesus,  “He’s with me”
  • -We are so concerned about what people might think if people see us with an outcast but imagine how Jesus feels with us?
  • “We are people of the Way”

Read vs. 31

  • How do we not just survive but thrive as a church? Invest, Carry, Invite…

“We live as people of the way”

  • Pray
    • Introduce Communion together. 
      • Address non Christians

Sermon Slides

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Chosen
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Rise