Images of the Church: The Way

I.               Introduction

A.  Compass

1.    A compass is a really useful tool if you know how to use it.

2.    In 1942, Semenov, a Russian immigrant, was serving as a junior engineer on the American merchant ship SS Alcoa Guide, sailing from New Jersey to the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe with a cargo of supplies and equipment for the West Indies. On the night of April 16, about 300 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, a German submarine, the U-123, surfaced and opened fire with its deck cannon. Thanks to a small compass on the lifeboat, the crew sailed west by northwest toward shipping lanes and was rescued by the USS Broome.[1]

3.    Had they not had the compass, what would they have done?

B.  The Way

1.    This term is used only by Luke and only in the book of Acts (Acts 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14,22)

2.    It refers to the way of salvation

3.    It is also used as a descriptor of the way of the Lord

4.    It also calls to mind the statement by Jesus in John 14:6.[2]

5.    How does this image of the church challenge us?

II.            The Way

A. 

1.    Jesus
is the who blazed the way to salvation for us. He has gone before and found that there is a route that will get you to your destination.

a.    Hebrews 12:1-2

b.    Some translations use the word “pioneer” to translate the Greek word ἀρχηγός.[3]

c.    Jesus is the pioneer who blazed the way to our salvation.[4]

2.    Those we read of in the NT were people who wanted to follow the way that Christ had set before them.

3.    When we read about Saul’s persecution against the church, he calls them “the Way.”

a.    He was guided by a zealous heart, but toward the wrong thing.

b.    Jesus guides him in the right way on his way to Damascus. (Acts 9)

4.    If we watch and listen, He does the same for us today.

B. 

1.    Calling the church the way means there is a direction to follow.

2.    Jesus has shown us the way to find the .

a.    Matthew 7:13-14

b.    Matthew 11:29

c.    We are to do this even in our suffering (1 Peter 2:21).

C. 

1.    The fact that there is a way means there is also a destination.

2.    The church is like an airport illustration.

a.    Ephesians 3:7-13 is a passage that reminds us that the church has always been a part of God’s purpose.

b.    A part of that purpose is to reveal God’s manifold wisdom to redeem mankind.

3.  A big part of the church’s purpose is to help us reach .

III.         Conclusion

A.  The Way

B.  Invitation