Acts 8:1 (NLT) Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen.
Acts 9:1–2 (NLT) 1 Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest. 2 He requested letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their cooperation in the arrest of any followers of the Way he found there. He wanted to bring them—both men and women—back to Jerusalem in chains.
Acts 9:3–6 (NLT) 3 As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” 5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! 6 Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The grace of conversion Conversion: the process of changing or causing something to change from one form to another. 1. We develop a desire to know him. 2. We obey the LORD. Acts 9:17–20 (NLT) 17 Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Instantly, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then, he got up and was baptized. 19 Afterward, he ate some food and regained his strength.
3. We see clearly
4. We get baptized
5. We have a new identity.
Acts 9:19–20 (NLT) 19 Saul stayed with the believers in Damascus for a few days. 20 And immediately, he began preaching about Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”
Acts 24:10–16 (NLT) 10 The governor then motioned for Paul to speak. Paul said, “I know, sir, that you have been a judge of Jewish affairs for many years, so I gladly present my defense before you. 11 You can quickly discover that I arrived in Jerusalem no more than twelve days ago to worship at the Temple. 12 My accusers never found me arguing with anyone in the Temple, nor stirring up a riot in any synagogue or on the streets of the city. 13 These men cannot prove the things they accuse me of doing. 14 “But I admit that I follow the Way, which they call a cult. I worship the God of our ancestors, and I firmly believe the Jewish law and everything written in the prophets. 15 I have the same hope in God that these men have, that he will raise both the righteous and theunrighteous. 16 Because of this, I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people.
The Jesus Way 1. The Way is a person “Who are you, Lord?” Hosea 6:3 (NLT) Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.”
John 14:1–7 (NLT) 1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. 2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the Way to where I am going.” 5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus told him, “I am the Way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!”
1. The Way to the Father
“Heaven is more than a place in the cosmos, it’s a place in the family.”
2. The Way of The Father
“Jesus came so that we can get God right!” Hebrews 1:1–3 (NIV) 1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word
3. The Way is our Way.
“As People of The Way, we are providing a way for Jesus.”
