Customer Reviews

Jesus Loves You...This I Know

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First off, let me say I am a big fan of Craig Gross and the [...]! I love what they are doing and how they are living life. So of course I was going to read this book...

"Jesus Loves You..." is a simple book, and I mean that in the best way possible. The authors take you on a journey of how and why Jesus makes such a difference in their life and why they believe He would make a difference to you.

These guys are more than just words though, they actually live it. As Craig puts it "So, as you read this book, don't assume that because two pastors wrote it, we are your typical Sunday morning TV preachers. We aren't. We spend most of our time outside the church with unchurched people. We don't care if they are people who can't pay their cable bill or people who perform for videos that show up on late-night cable." These guys are actually out in community, out with real people of all thoughts and lifestyles - with the kind of people Jesus got criticized for hanging out with. Especially in Craig's case, where the church often does either nothing with sex or pornography in hopes that by not talking about it that it will just go away - or they go they other way and constantly preach sermons berating people about it, ostracize and kick people out who struggle or reveal a hint of struggle, but never engage and help the men (and women) who are fighting through it.

This book is about how deeply Jesus loves everyone and the examples in Craig and Jason's lives of how God is working that out through them and their ministries. The book though is certainly not one of "everything is all good and do whatever you feel like doing", but it is about loving people where they are at and hoping that someday people will see the love and grace that Jesus offers - and let it into their lives.

"Doesn't matter what you do or who you are: Jesus. Loves. You." (page 16)

That's the book - simple, but so important and so true.

When I was handed "Jesus Loves You this I Know" by Craig Gross and Jason Harper for review, I was so excited to dive into it. I have been a huge fan of these guys and [...] for a such a long time and I knew they wouldn't hold anything back. And I was right.

"Jesus Loves You this I Know" is a refreshingly simple book but with a hugely powerful message. The message of Jesus' love is one that breathes, no matter who you are or what you've done, you are loved. With the greatest of all commandments in the Bible on their side, Gross and Harper bring this "love" to a world thirsty for acceptance... through their own stories and experiences with the least of these.

I recommend this book to the porn addict, the porn star, the accountant cheating on his wife, the woman with an eating disorder, the teenage girl cutting herself, the teenage guy struggling with homosexuality and to the megachurch pastor who is losing faith. Jesus loves you and the message of this book will bring some light to the dark place you're in right now.

Craig Gross' new book "Jesus Loves You," is about exactly what it says. He loves you...the bitter, betrayed, disconnected, broken,outcast, religious, glutton, forgotten, skeptic, etc. Craig and Jason are not your average pastors. They spend much of their time interacting with people that others simply would not reach out to. At one point, Craig is talking about a trip to Australia, and says, "Despite people's bad decisions and derailed destinies, despite the overdose of self and the sabotage of self-discipline and daily structure, Jesus loves us anyway." (p. 99) It is a reminder that no matter what you have done, or where you come from, Jesus loves you. For me, the book rose a challenge to love the unloved, reach out to the broken, and to be the church.

Certain people in my life have had an incredible impact. One of them is Craig Gross [...]. He and Jason Harper have written a book to remind us of a simple, but of the utmost importance, fact that Jesus loves YOU.

Through "Jesus Loves You...", Craig and Jason look at how Jesus loves over 10 kinds of people (I'm sure they could have written more, but they chose) who are the:

Bitter & Betrayed, Disconnected, Broken, Forgotten, Skeptic, Glutton, Crook, Outcast, Porn Star and Religious.

The book takes several stories from each author (included Gross' wife, Jeanette) and highlights Scripture introducing the point that Jesus loves each type of person.

While reading through, the most difficult and challenging chapters for me were "The Outcast," which brought up previous statements of my former Chancellor at Liberty University, Jerry Falwell, that stirred me to wish he never spoke them (p.134-135), to the chapter on "The Religious." Sadly the most damage for the communication of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been through the hands of the ones who have received it first. While I loved Jerry Falwell and all he did for me, it seems the most divisive of words are the strongest words that people remember, particularly by the ones that need to know Jesus loves them and died for them.

If you want to start engaging yourself in a on-going process of knowing the people that Jesus loves, go check out [...] and look into getting the book and Small Group DVD curriculum for you and your group or just follow the "Jesus Loves You Tour" featuring visits to Westboro Baptist Church, a Las Vegas buffet stop and a house give-away.

From reaching the broken, the outcast and even religious with that love- Gross and Harper discuss what the love of God means for all. This truth of the love of God is important for every believer today- especially for the religious. What Craig discusses is the importance of knowing the love of God even if things are going wrong, even if you sin- and then Craig calls for repentance because of that love.
God so loved the world that He gave His only Son; our message to the world must be: God loves. But we are so used to the fact that God loves us that we ignore it in our witness of Him. They try to get the Church back to the truth of how Jesus lived and loved. Their (valid) argument is that Jesus wouldn't be the protester outside of the porn convention, the bar, or the gay parade; He'd be living among people showing them His love and drawing them unto Himself. Gross and Harper understand that the Gospel offends while stressing that we don't have to be more offensive than the Gospel already is.
I would offer some caution though. Harper's chapters are slightly off at some points. He talks about how Jesus was found guilty for loving. Jesus did love the unlovable but that wasn't the cause of His crucifixion. Harper later corrects this by speaking of Christ's claims to deity being the reason why He was crucified. I was also left wondering about the people in the stories they told. They would talk about how they have reached out in community and loved the unlovable. But then they would occasionally drop off with seldom mention of a call to repentance. I don't mean that I was looking for one of them to lead a homosexual in the "sinners prayer", but, at some point while in community we must fulfill the Great Commission and make disciples. This means so much more than just providing for physical and emotional needs, but cannot be separated from providing for these needs. In other words- we cannot expect to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ if we only tell people that God loves them without providing their physical and emotional needs of food, money, community, and friendship (James 2.15-16). That is simply something to be cautious of. In their defense, this sort of work is difficult to portray in a book.

The fundamentalist, conservative, legalistic Christians are going to have a problem with this book not talking about how everyone is a sinner going to hell. At the same time, liberal/emergent types will probably hate the amount of time both authors spend at the cross talking about God's judgment on His Son. I think that's why they wrote it- to make us all uncomfortable in a good and necessary way. Being a Christian is not easy, loving people as God loves them is even harder- but that is what God has called us to. We're to proclaim the message of Christ- the message that says, No matter who you are or what you've done, Jesus loves you this I know.
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For far too long the title Christian has had a negative stigmatism to it. This is due largely to the fact that Christians are known more for what they stand against (homosexuality, abortion, porn) than what they stand for (love, hope, restoration). The image of Christ and what he stands for has been skewed. This book calls people everywhere to lay aside their preconceived notions about Jesus and Christianity and re-examine the true, simple message of Christ - You. Are. Loved. No matter who you are or what you have done, Jesus accepts you, loves you, wants to restore you and give you a hope and a future. These guys are real, authentic guys that are engaging culture with the true message of Jesus in unconventional ways. This is the message that all Christ followers need to be reminded of and embrace!

This books gets down to the basic's of what it means to be a Christian. Craig the "porn pastor" and Jason "the cable guy" have got it right on the money with this book. In the 1st chapter this quote appears "Now the concept of living a sacrificial life that is attractive to the broken has largely been replaced with a religious exclusivity that has made people broken." How true that statement is in our society today, so many people on both sides of the fence missing the mark... unable to see Jesus Christ for what He is. Craig and Jason discuss this travesty that occurs today when certain people attempt to share the truth about Jesus Christ, mainly the fact that people sell a "counterfeit" Jesus and how much this has caused confusion in people's minds about who Jesus is. This book clarify's the confusion and instead offers a foundational starting point for the conversation to begin...Jesus Love's YOU This I KNOW!

This book is written in a logical and easy-to-understand way. I have been impacted by the words written by Gross and Harper. Would recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about how Jesus would actually live.

Absolutely amazing book! It really reminded me of how much Jesus really does love everyone, unconditionally. So often we forget that because we get bogged down in the religious dogmas and creeds that we forget why we are even Christians. Craig Gross and Jason Harper relate stories to each of their points that really gives this book a whole new level. I highly suggest this book.

This book will make you realize that Jesus Loves you right where you are. You feel His love through the stories and understand you don't have to be perfect. This is an easy read and one book I will give as gifts to all my friends no matter what their belief.