3. In these days he went out to the mountain to pray; and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles; /
4. Simon , whom he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James and John , and Philip , and Bartholomew , and Matthew , and Thomas , and James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. Luke 6:12-16. RSV /
7. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 2 Corinthians 4:7. NKJV /
8. If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. 2 Corinthians 4:7 The Message /
11. God doesn’t choose super men & women ; God chooses ordinary men & women so that the glory and the credit do not go to the person but to God.
12. You'll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God's master stroke, I didn't try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. /
13. I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did — Jesus crucified. /
14. I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate — I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it — and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. /
15. God's Spirit and God's power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God's power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. The Message /
16. Jesus does not choose us because of what we are, but because of what he makes from us.
