Journey to The Journey

Every week in the month of November, we are pleased to be hosting a different Acts 29 Midwest Network pastor at The Journey. These are men that we have had the opportunity to partner with in various ministry efforts over the years. While we all share a common passion for seeing healthy churches planted and the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed, each of these men bring with them a unique perspective and vision for growing God's kingdom in the context in which they have been called to minister. We hope and pray that, not only will this month allow us to hear from gifted friends in the faith, but that it will also provide our church family with a greater ability to see how God is working in places beyond Marietta, Ohio. So, without further ado, it is our pleasure to introduce this week's guest preacher...Pastor Tyler St. Clair from Cornerstone Church in Detroit, MI.

If I mentioned the name Billy Graham to you, you'd likely be familiar with the name and the impact he had on the landscape of American Christianity (and around the world) in the 20th century. He casts a large shadow. However, if I was to ask you about the men and/or women who were influential in discipling Graham, you, like me, wouldn't likely be familiar with the names listed.

There are many ways to live out our faith boldly and many possible outcomes for doing so. Paul's instructions to the Colossians were, like Jesus before him, simple and to the point. When it comes to living out your faith, it needs to be who you are, not what you do. In other words, our boldness comes from the inside out. When you are living out your faith, when your very identity is a Christian identity, it is a natural expression of who you are. In many ways, sharing your faith isn't even a choice you consciously make...it's just an expression of who you are. Likewise, as a sinner who has been radically transformed through the power of grace, everything we say and do, especially to those who haven't experienced the power of knowing the Lord and Savior we know, is seasoned with that same grace, because we naturally exude it. Again, because it is simply an expression of who we are in Christ.

Everyone wants to leave a legacy. We all want our lives to count for something and for someone to remember us when we are gone. The legacy we leave tells a story about the life we led; what we valued, how we lived, and where we invested our energy. Let's look at two different legacies and the story they tell.

In this week's lesson, Cody talked a lot about our identity as believers; and throughout our study over Colossians, I have been directing our attention to the doctrine of the believer's union with Christ. Here in chapter 3, we witness the collision of these two ideas. For Paul, our identity is found in our union to Christ (notice the "union" language in verses 1-4 and 10-11), and that new identity distinguishes us from the world around us in the way that we live. In other words, our faith is not merely a profession of belief, but it is rather a profession of allegiance. To be a Christian is not simply to believe a certain set of principles and ideals. Instead, it is to live in devotion and obedience to Christ as your Lord and Savior.