Publisher's Synopsis
Many people are saying this is a time for "Reset" -- to do things differently than we've been doing them. This is surely a time to discover afresh the priorities and patterns Jesus laid out for us in the first eight verses of His public life.
If you want to know about something, go back to it's beginning.
"After this, Jesus began ... " (Matt. 4:17).This book focuses on the first eight verses of Jesus' public life (Matt. 4:17-24).
"Change your thinking / Repent" are the first words Jesus preached. These words of Jesus are also found at the beginning, in Matt. 4:17. Changed thinking leads to different conclusions and actions.Focusing on these eight verses lead me to discover that Christianity is different than what I thought it was. Among the discoveries ....
What if... Christianity is primarily about advancing Christianity, instead of making our circumstances better? What if... Jesus does love the world and has a simple plan to reach the world in a generation, if only we would follow His plan? What if... being like Jesus means doing what He did:
+ Advancing God's kingdom at great personal cost,
+ Making multiplying disciple-makers
(instead of making attenders) and + Healing and setting people free ---- what Jesus did in Matt. 4:17-24 ----Instead of doing what we like to do?Our world needs to see Jesus in and through us like never before. Surely, this is the time for a "Jesus Reset!"
I, Brad Marple, met Jesus while attending Cornell University in 1979. I attended Gordon-Conwell Seminary and graduated from Asbury Seminary in 1986. Then, I pastored three churches for 30 years in northeastern Pennsylvania. I have ministered in mainline settings, as well as in evangelical and charismatic settings. I retired in 2016 and currently live in Florida, though I escape to upstate New York in the summer. And Jesus continues to take me on this Journey of Discovery. Oh, to be more like Christ!
