Following Jesus with Guidance from St. Paul Zealous

by Mark Hart

Authors Mark Hart and Christopher Cuddy provide a contemporary look at the basics of spiritual life—the existence of God, the purpose of man, the coming of the Savior, our response to God, and our eventual goal of eternal life—and they do so through the lens of St. Paul’s epistles. With a clear, simple invitation, readers are encouraged to delve more deeply into Scripture to find answers to these timeless issues and internalize what God’s truth means for them personally. Quotes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church help bring both the writings of St. Paul and the Gospels to life. Questions to provoke thought and action are designed to motivate the reader to follow Jesus with same kind of zeal Paul had. Whether you’re new to the Bible or a seasoned student of its truth, you’re sure to gain practical wisdom from this book.

The audio edition of this book can be downloaded via

Unknown Binding

First published June 11, 2014

Reviews

[David Rees · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 / 5 ⭐

Hart does a great job introducing the major themes, concepts, and realities of the Christian way of living. However, within some chapters, it felt like he was trying to cover too much ground and went in multiple directions. While I think it would have been helpful to either 1) limit the content of each chapter or 2) spread it out over more chapters, the content itself was very rich.

My favorite section was the "Choose Your Own Adventure" chapter where Hart asks the question, "How far are you willing to go (to follow Christ)?". Hart's unpacking of St. Paul's letters in the appendix was also extremely helpful.

Definitely a book I will reference as I try to lead others (and myself) closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zealous is the latest book release from "Bible Geek" Mark Hart. In this book, geared toward teens, he and Christopher Cuddy walk use the book of Romans as a guideline for how to follow Jesus. The book begins with a foreword by Dr. Scott Hahn (instant credibility) and an introduction to the man who was Saul and became the greatest missionary, St. Paul. The first two chapters then seek to provide a basic understanding of two of life's greatest questions - 1. Who is God? and 2. Who is Man? We then see chapters focusing on man's relationship with God, man's relationship with himself, and man's relationship with his fellow man. The book then concludes with a plea and a challenge. The plea is for the reader to long for more than this earth and to long for heaven, and the challenge is a series of difficult questions related to your life. The questions build on each other, i.e., "Are you willing to be uncomfortable for God," and "Are you willing to trust God completely?"

The two sections I liked the best came at the end of the book. The first was the one I just told you about - the series of difficult questions. Even if you aren't able to answer yes to one of the questions? They are questions that you need to spend time thinking about and praying about, so that one day you can say yes to God about anything He asks of you. The other part I enjoyed was the appendix that detailed where Paul went and what he preached about. It is arranged in the order the books are ordered in the Bible but does provide the proper chronology for when the books are written. I think adding a map would have helped with this appendix and made it easier to follow/picture. With the approachable writing style and cultural references to music and movies, this is a book that is well-suited for the teenage audience, and perhaps early twenties. Will it stand the test of time with these references? Probably not, but it makes a great graduation present or birthday gift for the young Catholic looking to follow Jesus. Four stars.

[Resa]

I expected all of this book to be a little more like the structured study in the appendix so I was a little thrown when the text itself focused more on personal stories than scripture. However, while it wasn't the book I expected it still offers some valuable insight from St Paul and works to show how his words still speak to our lives today.