In a world fixated on credentials and achievements, Jesus deliberately selected twelve ordinary, flawed men—impulsive, proud, skeptical, even a traitor and a thief—to carry His gospel to the ends of the earth. He saw their faults and chose them anyway. This should radically reshape the way we evaluate ourselves. Through their stories, we recognize our own brokenness, and we’re reminded that God delights in using unlikely people so that His power can shine through their weakness. What He did with those unlikely disciples, He longs to do with us, if only we’ll say yes to His call.

Exchanging God for Lesser Things
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:09 — 19.9MB) | Embed
Quick, what images come to your mind when you hear the words, “idol worship?” Do you picture an ancient, pagan culture bowing down before statues carved from wood or stone? The problem is, when we think about idol worshipers, we never think about ourselves! But according to the Bible, idolatry is setting up substitute gods in our heart. So often we exchange God for other things — we allow other things to become more important to us, and when we do, we have become idol worshipers. Yes, idolatry is alive and well today, even in our churches!



