“I can already see myself rereading this one!”
“The Christian Manifesto” is an inspirational book about Jesus’ foundational speech called the Sermon on the Plain, detailing how we honor Him in our lives and relationships as members of His kingdom. It is “a description of the life we were all made for,” and yet it challenges us because it is difficult to act and operate differently than the world around us.
When I first saw this book’s mention of “the Sermon on the Plain,” it left me wondering because I had never heard the passage in Luke’s Gospel labeled this; I thought it was simply a condensed version of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. So through this book I first learned something I didn’t know: Each of these sermons took place at separate times and locations with different audiences.
The chapters of the book elaborate on topics such as Kingdom values, loving our enemies, and what the Golden Rule actually means. Each chapter seemed to helpfully build upon itself, and each was convicting in how it called us to represent God through how we live—with His help—in doing even the difficult, such as truly loving our enemies.
This is a book I could already see myself reading again and I definitely recommend it!
A few highlights:
“The hallmarks and priorities of Jesus' kingdom are different from this world's—and so its citizens will be different too. Jesus' call is deep, and it is wide, and it calls us to turn everything we naturally think upside down.”
“Advertisers may make good money, and politicians may win fleeting power, but members of Jesus' kingdom can make a difference for eternity.”
“God has showered his love upon his people—it is not a trickle, it is a torrent—and as our hearts are filled with our Father's love, so out of our hearts may flow his love toward others.”
Thank you to @thegoodbookcompanyusa for providing a copy of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.