Welcome

Hey guys...Ryan and I are so pumped to start this. I really hope you guys enjoyed last night. Ryan's message was RACTASTIC. Cheesy and corny, I know, but I love it. Like he said last night, we are called to be ambassadors of Christ, who have already been reconciled and are carrying out that message. That is why we are now known as RAC. Our hope and prayer is that you latch onto this vision. Meditate on 2nd Corinthians 5:17-21. Own the vision.

Again, this is a place where we will be talking about a lot of different things; however, one thing will always remain the same, the purpose. The purpose of this blog is that we become more informed about our faith and how to live it out, in order that we might be his ambassadors. On Tuesdays, Ryan will be giving us an inside look at what he's preparing for Wednesday night. On Thursdays, I will be talking about....who knows? What we do know though is my Thursday blog will be called The Way. So, with no further ado, thanks for coming along on this ride. Let's get started.

The Way:
Week 1- September 17, 2009

You know, when the church was first starting, it wasn't known as Christianity. It was known as The Way (Acts 9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). As a matter of fact, the term Christian is used twice...in the entire NT! We are left to believe that they were named The Way as a reference to John 14:6, in which Jesus claimed that he was "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." I love the name The Way and wish that we, as Christians, were still known by it. For so many today, Christianity is just a religion. A show. A concert with lights and a great speaker. Dead and filled with hypocrites. The Way stands in sharp contrast. The Way indicates an active faith. A journey toward the Father, through Christ, and with the Spirit's help. A path filled with hope. A relationship that existed in the beginning, that was wrecked by sin, and that has been reconciled through Christ's death.

That's why I love 2nd Corinthians 5:17-21: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

The beautiful thing is that God is reconciling the world to himself and he has asked to be a part of that. He sent his Son. Christ died for our sins. Now, he has made us new creations. That intimate relationship that Adam and Eve shared with God in the Garden, where he walked and talked with them, has been restored. And that should pump us up. That should control our mind and shape our worldview. That should be our passion. Take this message of reconciliation everywhere you go. Join The Way.

-Trace