The Way -- Follow Me: Take Up Your Cross (Video)

Podcast Description

Every week, people show up at church to worship, study the Bible, and pray together, hoping that they will in some way -- by words or actions -- be able to get to God. They come hoping to hear from God, speak to God, understand or make sense of God, and know what He wants from them. The church is the place where God's people hang out, where God-stuff is done. It's easy to start thinking that coming to church is the way to get to God. But the church is not the way. Living a good life is not the way. Being a good person is not the way. "I am the way..." Jesus said. "No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6, NIV). The church is the place where you can come to know Jesus, and learn His way, His truth, and His life. It is the place where you can find help on your journey to work Jesus's way into your own life. The church is the community that has dedicated itself to connecting people with Jesus and helping them to follow Him. In fact, the name of the followers of Jesus in the early church was, "the Way" (see Acts 9:2; 19:8, 23; 22:4; 24:14,22). Are you a church member, or are you a follower of Jesus, who is the Way? How well do you know the One you follow? What does Jesus expect of those who follow Him? And what does He promise to those who follow Him? From December 2007 to May 2008, these are the questions we will be asking together as we follow Jesus from His birth, through His life, ministry, death, and resurrection, to the moment when He pours out His Spirit and His power on the followers He has called. Our prayer for you is not that you will be a proud member of a church, but that you will be a committed follower of Jesus Christ, learning His truth, taking on His ways, living His life. Christ has called. Let us follow. Join us on "the Way."