Jesus: The Story You Thought You Knew

In this small book, Keith Strohm lays out the kerygma, the entire beautiful story of God's love and plan for the salvation of humankind through Jesus in a fervent and invitational way. Simply and beautifully he tells why this story and God's ongoing invitation to be part of it is important and how the reader can explore what that can mean, through a deeper personal relationship with God that includes acceptance, repentance, the sacraments, prayer and action leading to discipleship.Scripture reflections and questions for individual or group exploration at the end of each chapter provide an opportunity for integration. This would be a great group study for the Pre-catechumenate, or for teens and adults seeking a deeper faith. It would also be a wonderful gift for someone whose faith is tentative or needs refreshment.

If you are in ministry of any sort in the Catholic Church, you need to read this book.For too long we have assumed that just because people were baptized that they fully grasped what it means to live out the Christian faith. What we forgot to do is to introduce them to the person of our Christian faith, Jesus Christ. Before we start teaching theology or catechism classes or apologetic arguments happen, we have to know "the great Jesus story" in order to introduce people to Christ.Pope Benedict XVI, in God is Love (Deus Caritas Est) wrote these now famous words "Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction". As a great follow up Deacon Keith Strohm's book helps to teach us what it means for a person to encounter Jesus Christ; what is "the great Jesus story" and how do we share it?You might wonder what happened to the 3 or 4 step version of the Good News. You could use those, but you would miss a lot of details in Christ's saving work. What I appreciate about Keith's book is that it gives us many points and therefore many tools to meet anyone at any place of their journey. Not ready to hear about Jesus's death? How about how he became man? Or how he healed? Not ready to face sin? What about how God gave us this earth in which to meet him? There are so many entry points in an explanation of the basic Gospel message that you will want to read it a couple of times and imagine the various people you meet and what part of the story you could share with them to help them wonder what else is a part of the story.As Catholics, we need to do a much better job at knowing this part of our faith. It is the heart of our Catholic faith. Every Catholic - not just Church workers - needs to know the great Jesus Story so that they can incorporate it into their lives, give witness to it and share it with others. This is a brilliant tool that will help you do all three.

Jesus - The Story You Thought You Knewis an excellent book which reads refreshingly like a storybook. It is written with an inviting tone and creates a desire to know more and an eagerness to discover what will be shared in the next chapter. It is concise, deep and personal. It is accessible for the average reader who wants to know Jesus more and/or wants to know more about Jesus. This gem of a book teaches the truths about Jesus which have been revealed throughout the past 2000 years. We are presented the whole story without spending too much time on each aspect. Other in-depth studies can be found where the topics covered in these chapters are broken open more fully, if there is a desire to do so.Each chapter provides an opportunity to unpack and unwrap these truths about Jesus. Ideas for reflection, related bible verses and small group questions allow the reader to discover more deeply, the reason why Jesus' story is important to each of us. The story of Jesus is presented, in every turn of the page, to help the reader to develop their own intimate personal relationship with Jesus. The focus is clear and direct and it points us to the choice to transform and convert our life to be united with Jesus.Throughout the book, there are many opportunities for the reader to go beyond learning about Jesus to begin to personalize this story, to make a relationship with Jesus personal. The reader is given the chance to encounter the Person of Jesus.I recommend this to everyone.For the person who has been learning for years, and living a relationship with Jesus, this offers a chance to encounter the story and Jesus in a new way & to go deeper.For the person who is curious, this books reminds me of a love letter written to introduce them to Jesus and create a relationship with Him.

This book confirms the saying 'great things come in small packages'! Deacon Keith Strohm presents the Kerygma, The Great Story of Jesus, in a concise, readable, and engaging way. This is a great tool for RCIA, small groups, and individuals. The reflection questions are not only helpful for small group group discussion, but also offer a beautiful discernment opportunity after spending time in imaginative prayer with his recommended scripture readings. It is a gem that I will refer to often in my own prayer and study as well as something I use in my accompaniment of others.

Keith takes the reader on a faith journey into the cosmos and ends up looking deeply into ones heart to find Jesus there, and Jesus asks us to give all to Him. we used this book in book club and it proved to be a great read where we encountered Jesus and not just learned about the historical Jesus.

Catholics can know Jesus Christ as a personal Savior! In language we can understand and relate to, this book helps us to know and love Jesus more. Deacon Keith systematically unveils the story of salvation, what Jesus has done for us, and how we can respond to his invitation to live in relationship with Him. For those of us looking for the language to share our faith, this book is a treasure!