​​ Husband, Father, Pastor

One of the greatest compliments that we could receive is being called a “Christian”, or a “follower of Christ”. We may be a strange bunch, and we all are descendants of the original 12. Of all the traits of the Twelve, the three that are pretty well fitting and also representative of us are Ordinary, Imperfect but Chosen (Luke 6:12-16). 

Peter is the first named apostle within each of the four listings in the Bible.  Impressive? Well, sort of. It is also true that he best fits the general profile of the apostles; Peter was ordinary, imperfect, but chosen. Maybe that’s why he leads the list….  Let’s briefly consider a few aspects of Peter's life and align ourselves with his “rock-ness” more than his “clay-ness” (Matthew 16:13-23; 26:31-35).  

 In the world’s eyes, Andrew definitely slipped from prominence to obscurity, but Andrew did not seem to care and he finished strong. I’m not sure how influential you are (or are not), but one thing is for sure, position or prominence does not matter.  

What matters is your confidence and determination to accomplish what God wants you to accomplish. Andrew was driven by priorities, and we can be too (John 1:35-42). 

We are looking into the life of James this morning. The “thunder- like” personality of James shows us how much Jesus appreciates a motivated and active person. We could accuse James of a lot, but not inactivity.  James dug some pretty decent holes for himself, but he stayed active. I don’t know about you, but to me that’s great news. After we look into James’ life, let’s no longer be guilty of inactivity, even if it means making mistakes along the way (Mt. 20:21; Mk. 10:37).

Some of the greatest statements on the love of God were made by, (who else) the “apostle whom Jesus loved”. John mentioned love 50 times in just one book! He experienced the love of Jesus, he demonstrated it and under God’s influence he wrote a lot about it. So, for the love of John, let’s sharpen our love skills and live out God’s love in each coming day (John 13:22-25, 35). 

While Bartholomew (Nathanael) is barely mentioned in the Bible, the mention that he does have is impressive. Bartholomew was such a great guy that we can learn enough from his one Bible mention to challenge us a lifetime. While we will enjoy a brief look at his remarkable life, we will especially be challenged by the disciplines and healthy habits that made him that way (John 1:43-51). 

Matthew (Levi) was a bad man who gave it all to Jesus. Yet he became a man who used all his skills and connections so that others could know Jesus too. That is quite a legacy. After we look into Matthews’s life, let’s consider our own reputation, our potential legacy and decide if indeed it is what we really want it to be. The great news is that our legacy is still in process (Luke 5:27-32). 

In today’s age of Twitter, Thomas would have been pretty popular. His brief remarks are pretty powerful. We are looking into his three one-liners and will definately be better for it. Thomas clearly struggled with aligning his life up with what he believed. After this morning’s brief look at Thomas, we too can align our behaviour up even more closely with what we believe (John 20:28). 

Have you ever felt like you don’t fit the Christian mold? It’s probably because you have forgotten how crazy- diverse the mold really is. As we look at three under- the-radar apostles today, we’ll see how wide the range of God’s call really is. As unlikely as these disciples seem, they are just what Jesus needed… and so are you (Luke 6:15; John 14:22-23; Mark 15:40)! 

If Jesus had a “Judas” within his elite 12, might we have a few? Well, let’s not be hypocritical (no names, no witch hunts), but rather, let’s consider our own “Judas Potential”. As we finish our series on the apostles we will look at how Judas gradually became a traitor, and then run from any similarity that we may see.   (Matthew 26:48-49).