Twelve Ordinary Men

How the Master Shaped His Disciples for Greatness, and What He Wants to Do with You

John F. MacArthur

• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Year: 2006
• Print ISBN: 9780785288244
• eBook ISBN: 9781418567378
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religious Biographies

Discover how God used ordinary men, Jesus's twelve chosen disciples, to change the world, and how He can accomplish the same thing through you.

You don't have to be perfect to do God's work. Look no further than the twelve disciples, whose many weaknesses are forever preserved throughout the pages of the New Testament. Join bestselling author John MacArthur in Twelve Ordinary Men as he draws principles from Christ's careful, hands-on training of the original disciples for today's modern disciple, you! 

Jesus chose ordinary men--fishermen, tax collectors, political zealots--and turned their weakness into strength, producing greatness from people who were otherwise unremarkable. The twelve disciples weren't the stained-glass saints we imagine. On the contrary, they were truly human, all too prone to mistakes, misstatements, wrong attitudes, lapses of faith, and bitter failure. Simply put, they were flawed people, just like us. But under Jesus' teaching and touch, they became a force that forever changed the world.

MacArthur takes you into the inner circle of the disciples--their selection, their training, their personalities, and their incredible impact. As MacArthur took a closer look at the lives of the twelve disciples, he found himself asking difficult questions along the way, including:

• Why did Jesus pick each of the twelve disciples?
• How did Jesus teach them everything he could in just eighteen short months?
• Can the lessons that Jesus taught the disciples can still influence our faith today?

 

In Twelve Ordinary Men, you'll learn that disciples are living proof that God's strength is made perfect in weakness. As you get to know the men who walked with Jesus, you'll see that if he can accomplish his purposes through them, he can do the same through you.

Table of contents

• COVER PAGE
• TITLE PAGE
• COPYRIGHT PAGE
• DEDICATION
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• 1: COMMON MEN, UNCOMMON CALLING
• 2: PETER—THE APOSTLE WITH THE FOOT-SHAPED MOUTH
• 3: ANDREW—THE APOSTLE OF SMALL THINGS
• 4: JAMES—THE APOSTLE OF PASSION
• 5: JOHN—THE APOSTLE OF LOVE
• 6: PHILIP—THE BEAN COUNTER
• 7: NATHANAEL—THE GUILELESS ONE
• 8: MATTHEW—THE TAX COLLECTOR; AND THOMAS—THE TWIN
• 9: JAMES—THE LESS; SIMON—THE ZEALOT;AND JUDAS (NOT ISCARIOT)—THE APOSTLE WITH THREE NAMES
• 10: JUDAS—THE TRAITOR
• NOTES
• ABOUT THE AUTHOR