Book "Cast of Characters - Common People in the Hands of an Uncommon God" by Max Lucado

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About the Book: Some of the most powerful stories from the Bible will come alive for today’s readers through these inspiring selections from the writings of Max Lucado. Max provides a compelling look at the most high-impact moments in the biblical narrative, drawn from his previous 20+ years of writing.

At the end of each chapter will be study guide questions so the reader can go deeper into this scripture.

Extraordinary stories are told about the following characters:

Mary, Peter, Matthew, Joseph, Nicodemus, Woman at the Well, David, Esther, Job, The Samaritan Woman, John, Rich Young Man.

About the Author: Lucado was born on January 11, 1955 in San Angelo, Texas, the youngest of four children to Jack and Thelma Lucado. He was raised in Andrews, Texas. His father was an oil field worker, while his mother served as a nurse. Lucado attended Abilene Christian University. Initially he had set himself to become a lawyer, but has said that a required Bible course at the university and a mission trip made him change his mind, deciding instead to become a missionary. However, this required that Lucado get a graduate degree in Bible and have at least two years experience ministering to a church. After graduation Lucado moved to Miami, Florida, to minister to a church. His responsibilities were to minister to a singles' group and write a column for the church's newsletter. Later these short columns were compiled to form his first book, On the Anvil. After two years in Miami, the newly wed Lucado and his wife, Denalyn, moved to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to become full-time missionaries. In 1987, Lucado's father died from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease.) After five years in Brazil, he brought his family back to the United States to be closer to his mother. In 1988 he was hired as minister to the Oak Hills Church of Christ in San Antonio; the congregation has been known simply as Oak Hills Church since 2003. He is father of Jenna, Andrea, and Sara. In a good week he reads a good book, has a few dinners with his wife, and breaks 90 on the golf course. He usually settles for the first two.

My Review: This is another piece of art from Mr. Lucado. In 22 Chapters he describes many bible characters, telling their stories and he does the analogy on theirs and our lives, showing how much God loves us no matter what (23rd Chapter is conclusion).

He selected the following characters: Joseph (Jesus' father); Matthew (Jesus' disciple); immoral woman (who washed Jesus' feet); Mephibosheth (Jonathan's crippled son); Samaritan woman; Mary, Martha and Lazarus; Abigail; paralyzed man (at pool of Bethesda); John (Jesus' disciple); Paul (Saul); two criminals (crucified at the sides of Jesus); Moses; Joseph (son of Jacob/Israel); David; Esther; Job; Nicodemus; Jairus; rich young ruler; Sara, Peter and Paul (again); Lazarus(again); and Peter(again). Through Max's eyes we see that all of them are sinners like us and there is always hope that God will reach each one of us.

At the end of each chapter there is a set of questions. The idea is to use them for discussion and reflection.
This book was written by Max Lucado in 2008 and published by Thomas Nelson and they were kind enough to send me a copy for reviewing through their Thomas Nelson Book Review Bloggers Program. If you are reading this review, feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts.