When Real People Follow Jesus, the World is Changed
Here are some real people who followed:
Mary, His mom: a single, teenage mother and wine enthusiast.
Joseph, his mom's husband: a carpenter, a really stand-up guy.
Peter: a fisherman with an identity crisis; until he understood grace and launched the early church.
Matthew: a tax guy/ swindler who applied his attention to detail to recording that Jesus was the long-awaited Jewish Messiah.
John & James: two brothers who fought so much they were known as the 'sons of thunder'.
Thomas: an avid follower who refused to believe Jesus wasn't dead until he saw Jesus alive with scars from crucifixion.
Martha: a woman obsessed with worry over household details, until Jesus raised her brother from the dead.
Mary: a woman who would not help her sister because she couldn't leave Jesus' presence.
Nicodemus: a Jewish leader who snuck around afraid to admit he believed in Jesus until after he was killed.
The woman at the well: she led a whole town to Jesus, after he revealed he knew all about her 6 'husbands' and still didn't reject her.
Mary Magdalene: a woman from whom Jesus cast 6 demons, and rarely left his side thereafter. She was the first to witness Jesus after the crucifixion and was sent by him to tell the rest of his followers the good news of his return to life.
The Egyption eunich: Was baptized immediately upon hearing Jesus' story from Phillip, another follower of Jesus.
Simon: volunteered to do menial work so more important leaders didn't have to, was killed after a dramatic public speech
Paul: single Jew who helped with the murder of Simon and persecuted Christians until his conversion to dedicate his life to planting new Christian churches.
Junia: a female apostle in the early church who shared Jesus' story with non-Christians. Her name was changed to Junias in the written records in order to restrict women's activity in ministry.
What's your story?
Joseph, his mom's husband: a carpenter, a really stand-up guy.
Peter: a fisherman with an identity crisis; until he understood grace and launched the early church.
Matthew: a tax guy/ swindler who applied his attention to detail to recording that Jesus was the long-awaited Jewish Messiah.
John & James: two brothers who fought so much they were known as the 'sons of thunder'.
Thomas: an avid follower who refused to believe Jesus wasn't dead until he saw Jesus alive with scars from crucifixion.
Martha: a woman obsessed with worry over household details, until Jesus raised her brother from the dead.
Mary: a woman who would not help her sister because she couldn't leave Jesus' presence.
Nicodemus: a Jewish leader who snuck around afraid to admit he believed in Jesus until after he was killed.
The woman at the well: she led a whole town to Jesus, after he revealed he knew all about her 6 'husbands' and still didn't reject her.
Mary Magdalene: a woman from whom Jesus cast 6 demons, and rarely left his side thereafter. She was the first to witness Jesus after the crucifixion and was sent by him to tell the rest of his followers the good news of his return to life.
The Egyption eunich: Was baptized immediately upon hearing Jesus' story from Phillip, another follower of Jesus.
Simon: volunteered to do menial work so more important leaders didn't have to, was killed after a dramatic public speech
Paul: single Jew who helped with the murder of Simon and persecuted Christians until his conversion to dedicate his life to planting new Christian churches.
Junia: a female apostle in the early church who shared Jesus' story with non-Christians. Her name was changed to Junias in the written records in order to restrict women's activity in ministry.
What's your story?