An astounding story, riveting from beginning to end, that covers 3 generations of a family caught in the maelstrom of WW I and WWW II, which left the most disturbing skeletons in the closet. Reminiscent of the excellent television series "Heimat" from the 1980's.

D. A. Carson's father was a pioneering church-planter and pastor in Quebec. But still, an ordinary pastor-except that he ministered during the decades that brought French Canada from the brutal challenges of persecution and imprisonment for Baptist ministers to spectacular growth and revival in the 1970s. It is a story, and an era, that few in the English-speaking world know anything about. But through Tom Carson's journals and written prayers, and the narrative and historical background supplied by his son, readers will be given a firsthand account of not only this trying time in North American church history, but of one pastor's life and times, dreams and disappointments. With words that will ring true for every person who has devoted themselves to the Lord's work, this unique book serves to remind readers that though the sacrifices of serving God are great, the sweetness of living a faithful, obedient life is greater still.

You don't have to be perfect to do God's work. Look no further than the twelve disciples, whose many weaknesses are forever preserved throughout the pages of the New Testament. Join bestselling author John MacArthur in Twelve Ordinary Men as he draws principles from Christ's careful, hands-on training of the original disciples for today's modern disciple, you! Jesus chose ordinary men--fishermen, tax collectors, political zealots--and turned their weakness into strength, producing greatness from people who were otherwise unremarkable. The twelve disciples weren't the stained-glass saints we imagine. On the contrary, they were truly human, all too prone to mistakes, misstatements, wrong attitudes, lapses of faith, and bitter failure. Simply put, they were flawed people, just like us. But under Jesus' teaching and touch, they became a force that forever changed the world. MacArthur takes you into the inner circle of the disciples--their selection, their training, their personalities, and their incredible impact. As MacArthur took a closer look at the lives of the twelve disciples, he found himself asking difficult questions along the way, including: Why did Jesus pick each of the twelve disciples? How did Jesus teach them everything he could in just eighteen short months? Can the lessons that Jesus taught the disciples can still influence our faith today? In Twelve Ordinary Men, you'll learn that disciples are living proof that God's strength is made perfect in weakness. As you get to know the men who walked with Jesus, you'll see that if he can accomplish his purposes through them, he can do the same through you.

Read of Gods calling to Amos Sent out from the south to bring the Lord's message to Samaria Be reminded of the importance of the Word of God in our lives

An ordinary man found that serving a great God is always a rewarding life. He saw lives changed from the bondage and hopelessness of sin to lives of great victory and peace. His calling took him to dangerous places where he faced wolves, bandits, guns, bombs, and even being lost in the mountains at night. He faced poverty, famine, and the death of many loved ones, and he found that God was sufficient for each day. This man was Knute Hjalmar Ekblad, missionary to North China in the early 1900's. His faith in his great God is contagious to any reader.

After retiring as a veterinarian, the author had much more time to spend with others, so he related stories of many of the experiences in his life. He was asked by family, friends, and others with whom he had shared if he had recorded these stories. Ernest never wanted to write his life story, but God revealed to him that he should record his experiences and title the book An Ordinary Man, An Extraordinary God. His procrastination to write ended when he had a back fusion with two rods and ten screws which required him to lay on a bone stimulator for four hours a day for six months; and during that time, he was not able to do any physical work. The book would show how God could take a country boy raised on a farm and use him to bring glory to God. Explaining how God used him could encourage others who also thought they were "nobodies" to realize that God could use any person that believed in God and spent time in His Word to walk in the Spirit and be led by the Spirit. The book begins just before Ernest received Jesus as his Lord and Savior and continues showing how, through His Word, the author received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, learned to walk in the Spirit, witnessed about God to others, prayed the prayer of faith for healing, cast out demons, and did other works of God. His walk with God and how he grew in faith is shared chronologically in the book. Now he could understand the groaning of the spirit within a Christian for the day of redemption when he would enter God's presence and be with Jesus for eternity.