The Bible... Simplified: An Easy Way to Jumpstart Your Faith Journey

By Ken Wilson

Are you struggling to read the Bible but really want to? 

Most of us have cracked open the Bible but haven't entirely read it, because it is too long, confusing, and overwhelming. Some of us even struggle with faith, religion, and our purpose. If th

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Nov 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9781637696491

Ken Wilson

Ken Wilson is senior pastor of a Vineyard Church in Michigan. Active in national evangelical environmental initiatives, his church is noted for serving the poor and exploring contemplative prayer disciplines, serving as online host to The Divine Hours.

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THE BIBLE...SIMPLIFIED

an easy way to jump-start your faith journey

Ken Wilson

Trilogy Christian Publishers

TUSTIN, CA

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive

Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2021 by Ken Wilson

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge Edition: 1769.

All Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

For information, address Trilogy Christian Publishing

Rights Department, 2442 Michelle Drive, Tustin, Ca 92780.

Trilogy Christian Publishing/ TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Manufactured in the United States of America

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 978-1-63769-648-4

ISBN: 978-1-63769-649-1 (ebook)

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to my loving wife, soulmate and best friend, Paige, and our two children, Tyler and Natalie, in hopes of helping them and generations to come develop a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God and Jesus.

CONTENTS

Introduction xii

The Old Testament 1

Genesis—Creation of Life on Earth 3

Exodus—Israel is rescued from slavery in Egypt. The Ten Commandments 11

Leviticus—Outlining the duties and laws for Hebrew priests 16

Numbers—Israelites journey to The Promised Land with Moses and Aaron 18

Deuteronomy—Summarizes Exodus 22

Joshua 26

Judges 29

Ruth 33

Samuel 35

Second Book of Samuel 39

First Book of Kings 41

Second Book of Kings 43

First Book of Chronicles 44

Second Book of Chronicles 45

Ezra 46

Nehemiah 47

Esther 48

Job 50

Psalms—Inspirational poems 52

Proverbs—Great life lessons 55

Ecclesiastes—What is the meaning of life? 57

Song of Solomon 59

Isaiah 60

Jeremiah 62

Lamentations of Jeremiah 64

Ezekiel 65

Daniel 67

Hosea 69

Joel 70

Amos 71

Obadiah 73

Jonah 74

Micah 75

Nahum 77

Habakkuk 78

Zephaniah 79

Haggai 80

Zechariah 81

Malachi 83

The New Testament 85

Matthew—Seeking God and finding purpose in life 89

Mark—Focuses on the death of Jesus and a passion to strengthen our faith 101

Luke—All humans are sinners and in need of

salvation 109

John—Leading people to Christ 117

Acts of the Apostles—The Christian Movement and Birth of the Church 128

Letter of Paul to the Romans 138

First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 143

Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians 148

Letter of Paul to the Galatians 152

Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 154

Letter of Paul to the Philippians 157

Letter of Paul to the Colossians 160

First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians 162

Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians 163

First Letter of Paul to Timothy 164

Second Letter of Paul to Timothy 166

Letter of Paul to Titus 169

Letter of Paul to Philemon 171

Letter to the Hebrews 172

General Letter of James 174

First Letter of Peter 175

Second Letter of Peter 178

First Letter of John 181

Second Letter of John 184

Third Letter of John 185

Letter of Jude 186

Revelation—The end of the world and offering hope that justice will triumph over evil 187

Conclusion and recommendations for growing in your faith 195

Timeline of Significant Events 197

Map of the Books of the Bible 201

Bible Verses in a Time of Need 202

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I want to thank you God for persistently pursuing me, having the patience, and putting people in my life (you know who you are) who have invited me for many years to follow You, and to finally have the awareness to open my eyes and accept Your invitation. Now it’s my turn to pursue and invite others and help transform their lives.

Ash by Mike Moyers. Used with permission.

MikeMoyersFineArt.com

For people who just don’t understand the Bible or don’t have time to read it.

NOTE TO READERS

Bible verses are taken from the New International Version (NIV) and the King James Version (KJV).

The title of the books, stories, poems, and letters are headlined in RED, while the main messages and lessons are listed in bold letters, and encouraging verses are listed throughout. Several of my favorite Bible verses are also showcased on separate pages with areas for you to take notes.

Bible verses are listed with the Chapter first, followed by the verse. Example: Genesis 15:1

A map of the books of the Bible gives you a visual of when and where events occurred, along with a listing of some important events in chronological order.

I chose the color RED for the text title of the book and headlines to symbolize the BLOOD that Jesus shed for us to save us, the PASSION of Jesus and his disciples to spread the good word, and for my desire to create and share this book with you. RED stands for so many different emotions—love, joy, war, courage, anger and encapsulates what I believe is everything the Bible portrays.

The images were carefully chosen by me to depict the timelines and most inspiring stories, people, and events relevant to the Bible.

This book is not about me. 100% of the profits from the sale of this book will be donated to charities to do God’s work in the world.

INTRODUCTION

My name is Ken Wilson. I wrote this book because I always had an excuse for not reading the Bible. It was too long, confusing, and overwhelming. There are 66 books, approximately 31,102 verses, 783,137 words and 1,200+ pages in it.

Initially, I started creating this book for my kids, so that they could have an easier way to read the Bible and start building a solid faith-based foundation in their lives. But as I got further into it, I realized that the need for this goes far beyond just my family. So, I have been on a mission to bring this book to the masses to help spread God’s word and Jesus’s teachings.

Let me be clear, I am not a Theologian, a pastor, nor a professional writer. I’m just an average person who for the first time in his life finally made time to read the Bible and got inspired by it. And now I want to share this gift with others, because it is the greatest book ever written. It has transformed and blessed my life in so many ways, and I want to help you jump-start your spiritual journey to experience it for yourself.

I actually grew up bored in church, had a tainted view of it, was uncomfortable with it, and wrestled my entire life with trying to read the Bible and understand religion. But I guess everybody has a season in their life when they say, okay ... it’s time. God nudged me and that time came on September 16, 2019, when I was fifty-one years old (halftime in my life). I bought one of those Bible’s with large print and Jesus’s words printed in RED (I highly recommend that version). I not only cracked it open, but I read, and read and read … and even started taking detailed notes on each page, while highlighting the verses that really stood out to me. I was intentional and told myself I WILL FINISH IT, no matter what.

To hold myself accountable, after I finished reading the Bible, I went back to the beginning and started typing out what I wrote on each page, for each book and chapter with the highlighted verses to help me better understand what I read. I immediately noticed that what I was typing made even more sense to me and brought me closer to God. It allowed me to take