we share food with friends (or likely friends); companion literally means "with bread" (one with whom you break bread) This 12-session discipleship course, perfect for individuals or groups, looks at how the gospel and God's grace can shape our attitude towards church, Bible reading, prayer, suffering, how to use our money, and many other aspects of life. God-centered, application-oriented, and driven by the text throughout, this resource is a gift to God’s church." This course is great for new Christians and for those who'd like a refresher about what living as a Christian distinctively looks like. There are some great sessions about big topics that we don't often revisit in our Christian lives (e.g. communion, money and witness). I particularly love the case studies offered in each chapter so that the bible passage can be immediately applied to see what it might look like in practice.

I love the way books like this take seemingly mundane topics (food/eating) and show their theological significance. Books like this are powerfully formative and can reshape people's thinking in significant ways. Leithart's Blessed Are the Hungry is mentioned/cited a lot. Leithart: Jesus "came teaching about the feast of the kingdom, and He came feasting in the kingdom" hospitality can go wrong (when withheld); Americans annually spend billions on dieting ("food gone wrong"; "curing our overconsumption"); "Food is so much more than fuel" I've read several blog posts and articles written by Tim Chester over the years and have typically enjoyed them so I was excited to get a chance to go through his new discipleship study. In this devotional, Tim Chester covers a variety of topics that are fundamental to the Christian faith, church life, and personal holiness. Each section includes an imaginary anecdote, a Scripture reading and explanation, comprehension questions, and suggested action steps. This is appropriate for individuals to work through by themselves, but the author primarily designed this for people to go through with a friend or in a discipleship group. At the end of the book, Chester includes advice for group leaders, suggesting different ways that they can adapt the material for their group's use and foster meaningful conversations.

Life-changing encounters from John's Gospel

A useful resource for those for those wanting to biblically guide newcomers in Christ” (Review written for 'Life with Jesus') Jesus enjoyed eating and drinking so much that he was accused of being a glutton and a drunkard (Luke 7:34) Look at the Head, Heart, Hands application as they're a good opportunity to really ground the application for the young people, perhaps using the whiteboard to draw these symbols and then talk about the possibilities for each, or giving them an opportunity to draw/write responses as something more creative. Here at Covenant Life Church, we have greatly benefitted from the small group resources from The Good Book Company. Many small groups in our family life ministry have used "Colossians: Confident Christianity" in their study of scripture. Additionally, our youth ministry has used "Romans 1-5: God and You" in their small groups. Both resources were very easy to use, helped the reader engage directly with the scriptures, and had a wonderful pastoral emphasis demonstrated in all the questions. I was really excited to read this book, and I really wanted to love it, but I just kinda didn't. I didn't hate it either, and there was certainly some good stuff in there, but it didn't offer the inspiration and encouragement I'd hoped for. That may be my fault -- I may have been wanting it to be something other than what it was, and therefore rendered myself unable to appreciate it.

The guide has plenty of content, so if you're aiming to use it for a homegroup or similar, you might want to start with it as a foundation and then trim it down, but most will find the sessions about the right length for a 45-minute session. It would also work well to go through one or two sessions with a friend over coffee.ceremonial washing was so complicated/expensive that the poor were practically excluded (vocabulary is another way to make people feel excluded) The book concludes with a leader's guide, thus it's able to be used in a solo setting or a group setting. Disclaimer, I'm a big fan of Tim Chester's books and came into this looking for the positives, but I'm pretty sure I found plenty! meals might "involve people invading your space or going to places where you don't feel comfortable"

He was a party animal" [bit of an overstatement, but okay]; "Luke's Gospel is full of stories of Jesus eating with people" Life with Jesus: A Discipleship Course for Every Christian" has a somewhat misleading title. It is for "every Christian" in the sense that it isn't for any particular demographic group, but this is best for new believers who are learning about their faith. People who have already been Christians for years may find this to be a helpful review, but the material focuses on basic concepts that will already be familiar to most Christians. Although there is nothing shallow about the material, it is very basic, and the title and book description could have better reflected the book's target audience. we need to sketch a biblical theology of food and meals"; food was a matter of obedience from the beginning (it's also dependance on God); we sinned by eating (mistrust); sin distorts our relationship with food Incorporating Bible study, clear explanations, and thought-provoking discussion questions, these sessions can be completed in around an hour and are designed to be used flexibly in different contexts. In this devotional, Tim Chester covers a variety of topics that are fundamental to the Christian faith, church life, and personal holiness. Each section includes an imaginary anecdote, a Scripture reading and explanation, comprehension questions, and suggested action steps. This is appropriate for individuals to work through by themselves, but the author primarily designed this for people to go through with a friend or in a discipleship group. At the end of the book, Chester includes advice for group leaders, suggesting different ways that they can adapt the material for their group’s use and foster meaningful conversations.we have a strong sense of forgiveness if we have a strong sense of our own need; otherwise, our help sounds patronizing ("become like me")

A couple of it's-not-the-author's-fault notes: The book could have used better editing to help direct the flow of the arguments. The typography was irritating. (Yes, this sounds petty, but noting such things is a professional hazard with me!) open your home and look for opportunities to throw a party for various occasions (personal, sporting, seasonal, cultural); "You don't have to give a little sermon—just be attentive to people and open about your faith" Great Course for a Homegroup, Youth Discipleship Group or Individual Use” (Review written for 'Life with Jesus') The Son of Man came eating and drinking" (Luke 7:34; statement of method/how)—we usually think of "The Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45) and "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10)—statements of purpose/why condemning vices from a distance is legalism (although some things deserve to be condemned)—come alongside people to help them in their weaknessesFollow this up with a couple of the "Thinking it Through" questions that seem relevant to the group Matt Smethurst, Gospel Coalition reviewer and Master of Divinity student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary great section on what exactly we are doing when we pray for the food (dependance on God and others, goodness of food, gratitude to God and for community); food points to the goodness of the physical creation Eating is an expression of our dependence" on God and others; "fasting reminds us that we're creature" Chester's call to use meals as a means to breaking down barriers is a little muddled. On the one hand he notes that, metaphorically, we are all poor, blind, crippled, and lame (p. 79), yet he scolds Christians who gather together as a "cozy support group" rather than in "adventurous mission" (p.82). Surely there's room and need for both. He identifies the traditional category of the elite as the wealthy and self-righteous, but does that necessarily fit in our culture? I don't think our in/out divide is strictly or even mostly a rich/poor divide. "Coolness" is a powerful kind of elitism in our culture, and the self-righteousness of political correctness is potent and hard to see.