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Frank D. Felker 13 February 2011 BIB 105 Jeffrey Fullam, Instructor

THE WAY! Have you lost your way in life? Do you often think; what is it all worth? Does your purpose in life often evade you? You have questions and we have answers. We invite you to join us in exploring those answers; and, it is FREE! All of us have question, important questions, that affect each and every one of us. The rich, the poor, land owners, and disenfranchised, all have a share in some of the deepest, of seemingly, inexplicable problems and worries. There are no hidden fees or charges and no surprises. In the following pages we are going to tell you who we are, who we represent, and what you can expect. So, if you want to live a happier, freer life eternal, then by all means, keep reading. WHO WE ARE At present, for want of a better term, we simply refer to ourselves as followers of The Way. Recently, some have started to refer to themselves as Christians. Do not let that last term discourage you or dismay you. We realize that Christ is another (Greek) word for Messiah and the Messiah has always been thought of as the domain of the Jewish race and religion. We assure you that this is no longer the case. We are believers in the man who changed all that. His name is Jesus and he is the son of the one true God, YHWH. We are sure you have heard of recent events in Jerusalem where this man Jesus was crucified because of his claim to deity. What was unexpected was for Jesus to rise up from the

2 dead and walk away from his burial site, in spite of guards placed there to prevent this very thing. We, his followers, can attest to this. We can attest to this fact because he came to us in the flesh and made a request of us. THE REQUEST He met with us several times after His death teaching us of the kingdom of God. On one of these occasions, as we reclined at table eating, he asked us to remain in Jerusalem until such time as he sent the Holy Spirit to us. This Holy Spirit was to be our advocate before God, our comforter, and our instructor to guide us in spreading the Good News, once Jesus must depart from our presence permanently. This we did. At the feast of Pentecost the Holy Spirit arrived. O, THE JOY! What an entrance He made! There were about 120 of us meeting for prayer, praise, and fellowship before God. Suddenly the building shook. There was a high wind, thundering, and tongues of fire alighted over each of our heads. There was a feeling of enormous, unbridled joy. We all rushed outside, our emotions could not be contained in a mere building. We had to tell the entire world of our unutterable feelings. We all began to prophecy and speak to the crowds that had assembled for the great feast of Pentecost. This would appear as shear foolishness. The crowds were made up of people of every nation of the world. How could they all possibly understand what we said? There were too many different languages that none of us spoke. But they did; they understood. Each and every one heard us speak in their tongue! O, the joy, it was as if God had fallen into our midst, He had, He was there sparking our every word and action. WHAT WE REPRESENT Peter stood and spoke. He told them of Gods love for us. He explained the part that that Jesus Christ had played in our lives and was now playing out in theirs. He spoke of happiness, of love, of everlasting life, and the gift that Jesus had waiting for one and all. He spoke of Scripture

3 and of prophecy. He explained that this redemption and everlasting life we were heirs to could be theirs also. He told how all these wonderful things could be obtained and the ease by which the gifts could come into their possession. Believe, simply believe that Jesus is the Son of God and died for our sins. Confess those sins and let your neighbor know how a sinner such as yourself obtained a place before the throne of God for eternity. What else could the people have done? Our ranks swelled by about 3,000 that day! And now, now dear reader, it is your turn. Dare to make the correct choice. WHAT TO EXPECT At present we are not the largest group of believers in a god, but we are the largest group of believers in The God and the redemptive powers of His Son and we are growing. We are banding together in fellowship and safety. We uplift one another and spread the Good News of salvation for all men. We tell others to be ready. Be ready because Jesus the Christ is returning. He is coming for the final battle for mens souls with the Evil One. We tell them to prepare, be ready, just as we are ready. It is not always easy. We band together for safety now because The Way has been proscribed by both the Jewish leaders and the Roman government. There are persecutions but we look forward to the Day of Judgment. Our sins have been paid for and we will lay in the shade of the Tree of Life. Wont you join us there

YHWH &

A.. MMXI XIII

References

4 Life Application Study Bible, NIV, Tyndale House Publications, Inc., Carol Springs, Illinois & Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1997.