The Stilton Group of Churches

Jesus Christ selected 12 men from among his early followers to become his closest disciples.

 

After an intensive discipleship course and following his resurrection from the dead, the Lord fully commissioned the apostles (Matthew 28:16-2, Mark 16:15) to advance God's kingdom and carry the gospel message to the world.

 

We find the names of the 12 apostles in Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:14-19, and Luke 6:13-16:

 

And when the day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:

 

• Simon, whom he named Peter

• Andrew Peters brother

• James

• John

• Philip

• Bartholomew

• Matthew

• Thomas

• James the son of Alphaeus,

• Simon who was called the Zealot

• Judas [also called Thaddeus or Jude] the son of James

• Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor

 

These men became the pioneering leaders of the New Testament church, but they were not without faults and shortcomings.

 

Not one of the chosen 12 disciples was a scholar or rabbi. They had no extraordinary skills. Neither religious, nor refined, they were ordinary people, just like you and me.

 

But God chose them for a purpose - to fan the flames of the gospel that would spread across the face of the earth and continue to burn bright throughout the centuries to follow. He selected and used each of these regular men to carry out his exceptional plan.

 

Take a few moments now to learn a lesson or two from the 12 apostles—men who helped ignite the light of truth that still dwells within our hearts today and calls us to come and follow Jesus Christ.

 

This article has been supplied by About Christainity here: (http://christianity.about.com/od/peopleofthebible/tp/12-Apostles.htm)