Choosing the Opposite: How the Sermon on the Mount Helps Us Rethink Our Assumptions, Recalibrate Our Instincts, and Rediscover the Way of Jesus

Tammy has given the church a remarkable gift—equal parts courageous, convicting, and compassionate. Choosing the Opposite is not just an invitation to rethink our assumptions; it’s a road map back to the radical heart of Jesus’ Kingdom. Reading this book felt like sitting across from a trusted friend who loves Jesus deeply and wants to help you live like him too. With pastoral wisdom and prophetic clarity, Tammy helps us confront our cultural entanglements and rediscover a way of living that is beautifully upside down. Rooted in the Sermon on the Mount, this book will comfort the weary, challenge the comfortable, and guide us toward a faith that looks a lot more like Jesus. It’s bold, honest, refreshingly clear

— and exactly what the church needs right now.

Choosing the Opposite is a bold, countercultural master class that will make you laugh, cry, and crave the ways of Jesus. Tammy Melchien is a genius

— her scriptural insights and prophetic voice have long inspired me. In this book, she brings the words of Jesus to life, offering a fresh, relevant, and deeply challenging path to follow. With wit, wisdom, and spiritual depth, she delivers an invitation to a richer, more meaningful way of living. You might as well buy multiple copies now because you’re going to give this one away!

The most important thing about this book is that Tammy Melchien lives out what she writes about. As a result, Choosing the Opposite is a book I highly recommend for everyone who is determined to live like Jesus in these challenging times. Make the choice!

This book delivers a much-needed wake-up call for those serious about following Jesus in a world that often distorts his message. With sharp biblical insight, cultural awareness, and prophetic challenge, Tammy Melchien dares us to rethink our instincts, reject fear-driven faith, and embrace the radical way of the Kingdom. She challenges the status quo, exposing the ways we’ve been shaped by fear, power, and division rather than by Jesus himself. This book is a wake-up call for a compromised church and a road map for those who long to live differently. If you’re ready to move beyond comfortable Christianity and follow Jesus with fresh conviction, read this book, wrestle with it, and seek to live it!

When Jesus finished his now-famous Sermon on the Mount, the first response was one of amazement, and the second one was a kind of disagreement: The crowds recognized that Jesus exceeded their expectations for what Jesus could claim. Most of us, if we were but honest in our reading of the Sermon, would join the crowds in thinking that what Jesus says is counter to many of our expectations—which is the excellent angle taken in this book by Tammy Melchien, Choosing the Opposite. Here the reader will find a clear explanation of the Sermon on the Mount with one insight after another. What if we, in discovering the kingdoms that are shaping our lives, were to choose the opposite of the well-worn direction we have been traveling in this Christian-life journey? If we did, we just might find ourselves walking with Jesus. Over and over Jesus carved a path opposite of the ruling kingdoms of this world, and he calls us to choose his opposites. Excellent for small groups as well as for teachers and preachers preparing sermons.

Like most followers of Jesus, I’m very familiar with the Sermon on the Mount. As I opened Choosing the Opposite, I wondered if I would find anything new. What a delightful, surprising, challenging, convicting, and ultimately deeply encouraging book! Tammy Melchien writes with the same winsomeness, authenticity, and straight shooting that I experienced with her in person back when we met occasionally for lunch in the Chicago area. Reading this book underscores the basic big-picture truth that our belief in Jesus must lead to simply doing what he says.

Tammy Melchien’s fresh take on the Sermon on the Mount is a lifeline for anyone tired of culture-war Christianity. She combines her patented deep wisdom with genuine humility on every page. And, as her friend, I’ve watched her live these truths in the “hidden corners” of her life, which makes her message all the more powerful. If you’re looking for a path forward that actually looks like Jesus instead of like our polarized world, this book is for you.

Wow, this is such a great read! Tammy is an engaging, funny, and insightful guide to the Sermon on the Mount. While she’s clearly read widely and thought deeply, she carries that lightly, resulting in an accessible yet trustworthy companion for this profound section of Scripture. Throughout the book there are regular challenges and invitations to respond, making Choosing the Opposite ideal both for groups and individuals.

With theological precision, honest grace, and wry humor, Melchien’s debut book offers the church a much-needed perspective on what it really means to follow Jesus in our day. Along the way, Melchien pastors the reader, ministering to the longing in our hearts for a different way, a truer home, and intimacy with Christ.

Whenever we forget that we were created in his image—and not the other way around—Choosing the Opposite serves as a gentle yet powerful reminder of the beauty of our Savior’s ways. Tammy’s writing invites you into the heart of the biblical narrative, painting vivid scenes that draw you in. Through thought-provoking questions, she encourages deep reflection, making each revelation feel profoundly personal.