The Way To Go Series

1. Unique

Here’s the history of Vernors:

In 1862, James Vernor was called off to the American Civil War. According to legend, he left a mixture of ginger, vanilla and spices sitting in an oak cask in a pharmacy he had been working in. After returning from battle three years later, he opened the keg and found the drink inside had been changed by the aging process in the wood. It was like nothing else he had ever tasted, and he purportedly declared it "Deliciously different," which remains the drink’s motto to this day. Its current slogan is "Barrel Aged, Bold Taste!".

Vernors is a golden ginger ale with a pungent flavor. While Michiganders who grew up with it tend to like it, many other Americans are suspicious of it, as it doesn’t taste like a "typical" ginger ale.

Vernors has a reputation of being highly carbonated and drinking Vernors from a glass can sometimes make one sneeze or cough from the bubbles it gives off. Some people consume Vernors hot as a remedy for stomachache, with ginger being the active ingredient.

Although both Hires Root Beer and Vernors claim the title of first American soft drink, some argue that while Hires Root Beer was just another root beer, Vernors was not just another ginger ale, due to its unique aging process and unusual sweetener. For many, Vernor’s Ginger Ale is, in fact, the first true American-born soft drink.

Vernors was not mass distributed nationally until the late 1980s. Previously the drink was primarily distributed only within a few hundred miles of Detroit, with particular popularity in Michigan, Western New York, Ohio, Chicago, and Southern Ontario, It is also popular in Florida, which has large numbers of retired Metro Detroiters.

It is a UNIQUE product – KFC and Coke have their unique formulas.

2. John 14.1-6

a. Preparing a place

b. The only way to the Father is by his Son

c. The literal definition of “way” is a path, a road, or even a journey. It is a means of getting from one place to another. It is a progression from something, to something else. It is the method we need to travel to get from one point in our lives to another.

d. The Way Will be Confusing If we walk on our own

3. Add Matthew 11.28-30

4. Jesus claims to be God in the way which provides rest for the souls

I. God’s Way is the HIGH Way – Isaiah 35.8; 40.3 cf. Mark 1.3)

Director’s Gimmick: Fiske Planetarium on the University of Colorado, An effort to raise money for the planetarium was done, the director produced brochures and flyers about the sale of 1,000 acre lots for a mere $20, the lots were on the planet Mars. The brochures told of all the benefits of living on Mars - lots of open space and quiet atmosphere, great deal of places for large rock gardens, pink skies make the area ideal for romantic getaways, gravity allows for better golf game, Mars has it all

Gimmick worked: Hundreds of people sent in their $20 for 1,000 acres of prime Martian land. The people received a deed to their property, space flight insurance and a simulated sample of Martian soil, Why was this fantasy real estate so popular?, Why did so many people make these false purchases? The gimmick hits at the very basis of human need, the three key needs that every person has: security, acceptance and direction

What was not provided was a WAY to get there – Jesus provides the way to the Father;

And a highway shall be there,

and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;

the unclean shall not pass over it.

It shall belong to those who walk on the way;

even if they are fools, they shall not go astray. Isaiah 35.8

A voice cries:

“In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;

make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Isaiah 40.8 Cf. Mark 1.3

A. God Is the Source of the Way – Psalm 25.8-10

8 Good and upright is the LORD;

therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

9 He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble his way.

10 All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

1. A Welcoming God– Micah 4.2 and Isaiah 2.2

and many nations shall come, and say:

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,

to the house of the God of Jacob,

that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.”

For out of Zion shall go forth the law,

and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

2. A Righteous God