​Judas and Peter are often paired together because their sin was similar. Judas looked into the eyes of Jesus and clung to his hypocrisy. He flirted with remorse until his sin ultimately consumed him. Peter locked eyes with Jesus after denying Him a third time. He abandoned Jesus and wept bitterly over his sin, but ultimately found genuine repentance and was restored by his Savior. 

Worldly sorrow leads to despair, but godly sorrow leads to repentance and life in the Lord (2 Corinthians 7:10). Judas displayed a convincing front, but war was in his heart. If he confessed and repented from his sin, Jesus would have rescued him. Instead, his hypocrisy and treachery eventually led to Judas being consumed by his sin. 

Sin can have eternal consequences. But Jesus loves you and sees through you. He allows you to let go of sin and receive His forgiveness and righteousness. But there is a line that you can cross where there will no longer be any opportunity to do this. That's why the Bible says that today is the day of salvation. Jesus knows what's going on in your heart while He's holding out His wounded hand to you. There's nothing that you could do or think of or have done or will do that will repel Him or repulse Him from you. Be honest with Jesus, let go of your sin, and come to Him.

​Over the past 7 weeks, we’ve studied the unlikely and gloriously ordinary men that Jesus called to be His Apostles. They were transformed by the great love of Jesus as they were called to be with Him. 

But one of the Apostles missed out on that transformation. He never saw the resurrected Jesus or received the indwelling power and presence of the Holy Spirit. Though he wrestled with remorse, he never repented. In the end, his sin and unwillingness to repent of it eventually consumed and destroyed him.

Jesus was more than willing to rescue him, but Jesus is unwilling to override anyone’s free will. It was his choice to pretend to follow Jesus but harbored treachery in his heart. 

His name was Judas Iscariot. Watch our study from Sunday as we explore the lessons learned from this cautionary tale of a life. 

​Of the disciples who followed Him, Jesus called Peter and Andrew, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, James Thaddaeus, and Simon, and Judas to be His Apostles (His “sent ones”) to do the good work of The Good Shepherd.

These men weren’t religious professionals. In and of themselves, they were not qualified to be His apostles. In fact, they probably wouldn’t have been the first choice for many of us if we were to decide who to delegate the responsibility of the holy work of The Good Shepherd. 

But Jesus saw something in them that maybe no one else saw. He wanted them, so He called them to be with Him. He chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, the weak things of the world to shame the strong, and the things of this world that are common and looked down on. God chose things considered unimportant to do away with things considered important.

This is why He chose you, too—ordinary people called by an extraordinary God who wants and calls us to be with Him. Then out of the overflow of our fellowship with Him, we find ourselves living, loving, serving, and caring just like Him as we do the good work of The Good Shepherd. 

Like the Apostles, we might be unlikely from a worldly perspective, but God knows we’re perfect for what He has called us to do. Though we have failures, flaws, and personal liabilities, Jesus still loves us enough to receive us just as we are, but loves us too much to leave us just as we were.

​As we continue our study of the Apostles, we turn our attention to a group of lesser-known Apostles. Though they aren’t mentioned much in Scripture, Jesus chose these three young men from His disciples to be His apostles: James the son of Alphaeus; Judas (not Iscariot), who was also called Lebbaeus and Thaddaeus; and Simon the Cananite, who was also called Simon the zealot.

These young men were unlikely to be chosen. In fact, if we were to select a group of people to change the world, we would most likely never pair some of these people together. Not only was this group of 12 a group of different personalities, but also a group of different perspectives. But with Jesus as their Lord and the Holy Spirit in their hearts, they turned the world upside down.

Watch our study from Sunday as we consider the impact these men had on the world for the cause of Christ.

​Maybe you haven’t connected or resonated with any of the apostles we've studied so far. Perhaps you haven’t seen yourself in the picture of Scripture with Peter or Andrew, James or John, Philip or Nathanael, or Thomas or Matthew. 

It could seem frivolous to you to consider these men’s personalities because all you can see is your sin. 

It’s possible that you even feel like there should be a special category of sinner that should be outside of God’s mercy, and that you’re the only one in that category.

If that’s you, receive this trustworthy saying: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” (1 Timothy 1:15).

Over and over again in Scripture, Jesus gives us example after example of how His mercy meets even the worst of sinners. He loves you enough to receive you just as you are, AND He loves you too much to leave you just as you were. Come to Him—He’s calling YOU!

​This past Sunday, we continued our study of the Apostles—the unlikely ones Jesus chose to be with Him. As we considered Thomas and Matthew, we again see the kinds of people God calls to follow Him. Thomas was a realist who was often perceived as a pessimist. Matthew was a notorious tax collector—a traitor to the Israelites. But we see that Jesus looks beyond those attributes and changes them from the inside out.

Maybe you feel like you say the wrong things and are often misunderstood. Or perhaps you feel like your heart and mind just aren’t working quite right. Jesus loves you as much as He loves Thomas and Matthew. He wants to be with you and mend your broken heart—not just sad hearts, but hearts that don’t function as they should. This is His specialty. He isn’t repulsed or annoyed by your personality. He’s not confused by who you are. He knows you and He loves you—and He’s calling you too!

Watch our study of Thomas and Matthew as we continue to be amazed by God’s grace!