Life with Jesus: A Discipleship Course for Every Christian (Let the gospel and God's grace shape your attitude to church, Bible reading, prayer, ... or small-groups. Confirmation/baptism)

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This is appropriate for teenagers and adults, and can be a helpful discipleship tool in one-on-one meetings or in a group, but this is for people who are just beginning to learn about their faith, or who may have come out of a very shallow church where they didn't learn fundamental things about Christianity. If someone is looking for a deeper take on the topics this book covers, they are better off looking for another resource, especially if they are trying to deepen discipleship relationships in a group of people who have already professed faith and attended church for long periods of time. 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. 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.

control re: eating helps us with controlling other bodily/spiritual appetites (don't be flabby physically or spiritually); overconsumption robs us of the joy of satisfaction (because we're perpetually satisfied) food leads to conversation; at the table, we "shar[e] news, tell stories, and pok[e] fun"; "Values have been imbibed. Guests have been welcomed. People have found a home. Love has blossomed."; families bond by laughing around the table 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 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 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. 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. Great Course for a Homegroup, Youth Discipleship Group or Individual Use” (Review written for 'Life with Jesus') 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 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. Life With Jesus’ is a helpful resource, providing a useful Bible study structure to be done one on one or in a small group. Perfect for a new believer, but would have to disagree with the cover when it states that this is for “every Christian” as this is really Christianity 101 and more advanced resources would be useful for those more mature in the Faith. expressing appreciation for food can be "an involuntary exclamation of delight"; meals are "embodiment[s] of . . . love" Jesus enjoyed eating and drinking so much that he was accused of being a glutton and a drunkard (Luke 7:34)

Life-changing encounters from John's Gospel

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!) Includes plenty of material to engage mature Christians as well as new believers, and an emphasis on practical, real-life application to help people follow Jesus in every area of their lives. food isn't just fuel/utility—when we treat it as such, we deny God's gifts of rest, community, gratitude, etc. Follow this up with a couple of the "Thinking it Through" questions that seem relevant to the group The book concludes with a leader's guide, thus it's able to be used in a solo setting or a group setting.

I have always told the congregations I've served that if you take the mountains and meals out of the Bible, it's a very short book. In a world of competing church models and strategies, Tim shows us that Jesus employed one practice over all others: Sharing a meal with people. This book serves as a poignant reminder that grace, mission, and community are never enacted best through programs and propaganda, but rather through the equality and acceptance experienced at the common table. May our lives never be too busy to live this out.” 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" God-centered, application-oriented, and driven by the text throughout, this resource is a gift to God’s church." 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 The Good Book Guides have been developed to ensure that each session not only seeks to uncover the meaning of the passage and see how it fits into the big picture of the Bible, but also leads people to apply what they have learnt to their lives. Flexible and practical, the Good Book Guides are ideal for small groups, or individual study.

In ‘Life With Jesus’, Tim Chester provides a course for new believers who want to know the next step in their journey with Jesus, or for the more mature follower of Christ who simply wants a refresher. ceremonial washing was so complicated/expensive that the poor were practically excluded (vocabulary is another way to make people feel excluded) Matt Smethurst, Gospel Coalition reviewer and Master of Divinity student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 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 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 Discipleship Course for Every Christian

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. we share food with friends (or likely friends); companion literally means "with bread" (one with whom you break bread) Eating is an expression of our dependence" on God and others; "fasting reminds us that we're creature" 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.