Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God

The book was a very modern way of interpreting biblical characters. Lucado's writing makes these characters come alive, but provides a 20th century context tohelp the reader understand the relation of the character to the Bible, to the Lord, etc.

Definitely a Max Attack! & Hilarious at times, too!!! Max Lucado at his best! "Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God" takes you on a Bible ride you would have never expected. I highly recommend this for all....especially for those you have strayed away from the Bible because it may be too hard for them to comprehend. Max takes some of the stories from the Bible & turns them into our every day lives, every day situations, for us...the "Common People". Read some of the excerpts from the book and you'll feel right at home!!

Too often, we think the scriptures are filled with flawless characters. In truth, the opposite is true. The characters are human, each flawed, yet our Lord used them. Moses was a murderer, yet God used him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Saul/Paul persecuted Christians, yet God used him to reach the Gentiles. Max Lucado is an amazing writer who is always able to bring the gospel to life. He makes the characters easy to relate to. As an adult Sunday School Class leader, I am always looking for ideas for new studies. I hope Lucado develops a DVD to go along with this book. In Cast Of Characters Max Lucado tells the stories of : Mary, Peter, Matthew, Joseph, Nicodemus, Woman at the Well, David, Esther, Job, The Samaritan Woman, John, Rich Young Man. He has included scripture and study questions to go along with each character.

Max Lucado puts these characters in the Bible in our time perspective. Sometimes we tend to think people of the Bible are larger than life, not human. It is a classic "how God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things" situation. I love it, and go back to again and again. I am a Sunday school teacher, and I use excerpts to get my point across.

Max Lucado is one of my favorite Christian inspirational authors, and his latest book Cast of Characters: Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God continues to reinforce that opinion. Max has a gift of taking a character or story from the Bible, resetting it in an unusual environment, and then drawing out the application and message. It's wonderful to encounter a common passage and see it in a whole new light. Contents: Joseph - Joseph's Prayer; Matthew - Friends of Flops; Woman Who Washed Jesus' Feet - The 7:47 Principle; Mephibosheth - The Privilege of Paupers; Samaritan Woman - Two Tombstones; Mary, Martha, and Lazarus - Your Place in God's Band; Abigail - Barbaric Behavior; Paralyzed Man - Bright Lights on Dark Nights; John - I Can Turn Your Tradegy into Triumph; Paul - Hidden Heroes; Two Criminals - I Will Let You Choose; Moses - The Voice from the Mop Bucket; Joseph - When Crickets Make You Cranky; David - Facing Your Giants; Esther - Touching the King's Heart; Job - Where Man Covers His Mouth; Nicodemus - The Most Famous Conversion in the Bible; Jairus - The Sparkle from Eternity; Rich Young Ruler - The Affluent Poor; Sarah, Peter, and Paul - The Kingdom of the Absurd; Lazarus - The Final Witness; Peter - The Gospel of the Second Chance; Conclusion - Cast of Characters; Notes; Sources It's tempting to look at Biblical characters and attribute spiritual qualities to them, to "clean them up" to fit the way God used them. But the reality is that most of them were common people who were deeply flawed in many ways. Despite their failures, God used them in ways that made a huge impact. For instance, Moses was used to lead an entire nation to a land promised to them by God. But he spent many years hiding out in the desert, trying to escape an act of murder he committed. Peter turned his back on Jesus when he was being led to His death, yet he was used to spread the gospel to many nations. And Paul... an avowed enemy of Christianity who became an evangelist after a close encounter with God on a road in Damascus. Thought-out the book, you see that your background and status is irrelevant in terms of how God wants to use you. On top of his inspirational messages, Lucado does an exceptional job in resetting the stories in ways that make you stop and think. Moses and the burning bush becomes Henry the janitor and the glowing mop bucket. Matthew the tax collector is living the life of a organized crime member, complete with all the bling. Jairus the rabbi becomes Wallace the high ranking official of a religious denomination. Even though the trappings of the story change, the underlying truth remains the same. Each chapter ends with a series of questions for reflection and discussion, so it can easily be used for personal devotions or small group discussions. This is one of those books that you'll read and reread a number of times depending on whatever particular crisis you might be experiencing. And each time, you'll see facets