Alton Gansky - The Indispensable Guide to Practically Everything: Jesus

The Indispensable Guide to Practically Everything: Jesus

ISBN: 978-0-8249-4774-3

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Acknowledgments

Every attempt has been made to credit the sources of copyrighted material used in this book. If any such acknowledgment has been inadvertently omitted or miscredited, receipt of such information would be appreciated.

Scripture quotations marked CEV are from the Contemporary English Version, copyright 1995 by the American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gansky, Alton.

Jesus / Alton Gansky.

p. cm. -- (The indispensable guide to practically everything)

ISBN 978-0-8249-4774-3

1. Jesus ChristPerson and offices. I. Title.

BT203.G36 2009

232--dc22

2009010194

Editor: Lila Empson

Cover and interior design: Whisner Design Group

Typesetting: Educational Publishing Concepts

Printed and bound in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Christ was not a deified man, neither was he a humanized God. He was perfectly God and at the same time perfectly man.

C. H. Spurgeon

It is hard to imagine someone who has never heard of Jesus. He is a global entity. But recognizing Jesus name and knowing about him are different things. Jesus is the best-known person in history, He lived two millennia ago, and yet people are still discussing him. For some he is a historical character; for others he is a good teacher; others consider him a prophet; and hundreds of millions of Christians call him Lord.

We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see Gods original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angelseverything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment.

Colossians 1:1517 MSG

This is amazing considering he lived in a time with no mass communication, slow transportation, and only word of mouth to get word out. Yet, he is the founder of a church that operates in nearly every country of the world.

More books have been written about Jesus than about any other person. He has been the subject of plays, novels, nonfiction books, movies, articles, sermons, and more. People dedicate their lives to him and work in careers that are rooted in his teaching.

This book is an effort to help people know a little more about Jesus. It is designed to be an indispensable guide to Jesus. Thats not to say what follows is a complete work of Jesus life. It is not. Personal bookshelves hold scores of books dealing with Jesus. If all the pages were counted, they would number in the tens of thousandsmaybe more.

Still, the book has value. An attempt has been made to touch on the key elements about Jesus and his work. Some of the topics that follow deserve books of their own. This book can be read bit by bit and referred to in the future. The specialized language of the theologians has been done away with. This is a look at Jesus in simple, straightforward language.

Bible verses are drawn from several major English translations. Each chapter ends with a set of questions to keep the mental juices flowing. It is hoped this book opens doors of thought for you and becomes a handy reference.