In the earliest days of the Christian movement, the followers of Jesus were not called Christians. They were called “followers of the way”. Jesus had said, “I am the way”, so they were followers of “the way”. The book of Acts tells us that the disciples were called Christians for the first time in Antioch. We use that term, “Christian” a lot. But what does it mean? That’s what this sermon is about.

First, let’s talk about what it does not mean. It does not mean simply that you have been baptized and you are a member of a local congregation. Certainly a Christian will want to do that, but there is more to it than that. It was Billy Sunday who was fond of saying, “Going to Church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.” You will not want to be a…